Why Michael O'Loughlin fears racism in Australian sport will never disappear - as Swans great maintains the AFL 'let Adam Goodes down' following his infamous 'ape' slur from young fan

AFL great Michael O'Loughlin has expressed his fear that racism in Australian sport will never completely be eradicated.

He also still remains devastated at what former Swans teammate Adam Goodes had to endure from footy 'fans' at the twilight of his decorated footy career.

It followed Goodes calling out a young Collingwood supporter for labelling him an 'ape.'

A premiership winner with the Sydney Swans in 2005, fellow Indigenous star O'Loughlin experienced racism first hand aged just 10 growing up in Adelaide.

'The junior stuff was tough,' O'Loughlin told Fairfax Media.

'There was always the remark around skin colour, and who I was. It made me angry, made me more determined. It upset me, but I would try to fight, which is not the answer.

'My mother and grandmother pulled me aside and said, 'You'll be fighting every day of your life if that's the way you want to handle things. 

'See the football. Get the football. Play well and kick goals. That's how you'll get ahead.'

O'Loughlin moved to Sydney and was graded ahead of the 1995 season and went onto kick 521 goals in 303 appearances before he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Tireless previous work from fellow Indigenous figures such as Nicky Winmar and Michael Long ensured O'Loughlin wasn't often racially vilified on the field - but he pointed to rogue supporters as the ongoing problem, mainly those who are desperate to 'throw their two cents' at players.

He was also saddened by the racial abuse former AFL star Eddie Betts' children were subjected to recently while playing basketball in their backyard at home.

O'Loughlin felt it was another example of what is a repeated issue in Australian society.

The dynamic forward also remains adamant the AFL 'let down' his former teammate Goodes.

Goodes was booed out of the game after in 2013, he called out a 13-year-old girl at a Swans game against the Magpies for using an abhorrent racist slur.

He retired under a cloud of controversy two years later - and in 2019, the AFL apologised for his appalling treatment.

'I feel sad, I feel angry, I feel frustrated,' O'Loughlin said. 

'The game let Adam down. Absolutely let him down. And we are poorer for it. 

'It is something that I often reflect on. You have those moments when you just shake your head. 

'Aboriginal people, we are sick of fighting to prove our worth. And it's up to our non-Indigenous friends, when they hear and see stupid shit that is just not on, they call it out.'