Welcome to The Sean Gorman Website

I have worked in the field of Indigenous History for 20 years. After completing my honours, applying Russian Formalist theory to the Murri guerilla poet Lionel Fogarty, I commenced a PhD in 2000. I looked at racism in sport (AFL) using the Krakouer brothers story to do so.
In 2005 my PhD was published with Allen & Unwin as Brotherboys. In 2009 the book was adapted into a play and had a national tour commencing in 2011. In August of 2011 Legends the AFL Indigenous team of the Century was published and launched by Michael Long and Professor Mick Dodson. I am currently the Lead CI on an ARC Linkage to review the AFL’s Vilification Laws.
I have worked at the following institutions: Murdoch University (1996-2004), Kurongkurl Katitjin (2004-2006), University of Melbourne (2007-2009), Curtin University CAS 2009 to present.

Publications

Brother Boys

Brother Boys

The Story of Phil and Jim Krakour

Jimmy Krakouer was released from jail in August 2004, having served nine years of a sixteen year sentence for trafficking amphetamines in Western Australia’s biggest ever drug bust. Twenty years earlier, Jim and his brother Phil enjoyed fans, fame and fortune in the heady days of the burgeoning AFL competition. So what went wrong?

Legends:

Legends:

The AFL Indigenous team of the century

Indigenous Australians have given us some of our greatest football champions. With names like Farmer, Winmar, Long, Rioli and Goodes, the stories of Indigenous footballers are some of the most compelling in the great game of AFL. The journey for some has been one of great struggle and difficulty. For them, football was the only way out.

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The Biggest Game in Town

The Biggest Game in Town

An analysis of the AFL’s vilification policy

The book describes an investigation into what footballers know and believe about the AFL’s vilification policy, racism, homophobia, and a form of social network analysis that seeks to understand the weighting of different cultural influences on these footballers. The study itself is fascinating. The results even more so.

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Derby!

Derby!

Wa footy fans on the Game's Greatest Rivalry

‘The State is divided. It’s not life or death, it’s more important.’
So says a poster on Dennis Cometti’s wall – and that’s what David Whish-Wilson and Sean Gorman found when they interviewed 40 fans of the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers, including David Wirrpanda, Shaun McManus, Dennis Lillee, Alison Fan, Gillian O’Shaughnessy, Julie Bishop, Melissa Parke, Jesse Dart, Ross McLean and more

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Recent Articles

Standing on the outside of the red carpet and lookin in!
October 12, 2018 | No Comments
Descending into Melbourne at 130pm on Sunday the 23rd of September I was reminded by the Qantas captain just how cold this old town can[...]
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Nicky Winmar
‘Black and proud’: remembering the day Nicky Winmar changed footy forever
June 20, 2018 | No Comments
There are rumblings in the West. Rest assured these are not the usual issues Western Australians like to chirp on about, such as secession, iron[...]
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Derby Get’s Immortalised At Optus Stadium
February 25, 2018 | No Comments
It was with great pleasure I got to see for the first time the Derby installation at Optus Oval. Quotes from the book David Whish-Wilson[...]
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Sean Gorman
All-Indigenous teams should be seen on the world stage
December 26, 2016 | No Comments
The AFL’s Indigenous All-Stars’ current tour of Ireland is the third overseas sporting tour by an all-Indigenous Australian team. The first took place 145 years[...]
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Presentations

Book A Presentation

“I have had the privileged of presenting my work to a range of groups over the years most notably this has been at the Australian Football League’s Players Association Indigenous All-Star camps. From these presentations I have been invited to come and speak with clubs and the playing groups about Aboriginal History as it pertains to Australian Football. I have had the honor to present at Fremantle, West Coast, Collingwood, Essendon, Geelong, Hawthorn, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Richmond. I am available to talk to schools or other groups about Indigenous history using the filter of football to tell those stories. Please contact me to arrange a booking

Friends and Links

Sean encourages and supports the following sites

The Outer Sanctum is an unconventional all-female footy podcast that features six passionate fans – broadcaster Emma Race, lawyer Kate Seear, author Nicole Hayes, poet and author Alicia Sometimes, and entrepreneurs Lucy Race and Felicity Race – who focus on stories and voices rarely heard around the great game of AFL.

Listen to Sean's Podcast here

The Footy Almanac

Visit the Almanac here

The Almanac is a writing and reading community, which seeks to give anyone who wants to have a crack at writing (or any other art form) a place to publish.We love footy and sport, but that’s not all. We’re interested in the arts, music, film, TV, politics, history, wine and all the other good stuff. Life really.

The Conversation

Visit Sean’s stories here

Curated by professional editors, The Conversation offers informed commentary and debate on the issues affecting our world.

Aiatsis

Visit the AIATSIS

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is a world-renowned research, collections and publishing organisation.

Get in Touch

For inquiries and to book a presentation, please feel free to contact Sean Gorman.

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