The hysterical response to comments made by boxer Anthony Mundine, and the punitive actions of the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation following them, speaks volumes about both the dumbing down of public debate since the Sept 11th attacks and a fragile Australian nationalism that has defined itself largely through sports.

In an interview for the Nine network on Oct 21st Mundine, who converted to the Muslim faith in 1999, was asked by Richard Wilkins whether he supported Australia's deployment of troops in Afghanistan. The boxer replied: "I really feel it’s not our problem. They call it an act of terrorism but if you understand religion, and our way of life, it’s not about terrorism. Its about fighting for God's laws, and America's brought it upon themselves [for] what they've done in the history of time."

Talk-back radio and the tabloid press quickly condemned Mundine and, in spite of several public apologies and clarifications of his peaceful stance, the WBC has removed his world ranking and the IBF has threatened to take away his world title should he be victorious in next month's fight.

Much of this backlash and the general lack of sympathy shown to Mundine is probably due to his frequent proclamations of athletic supremacy reported in the back pages of the tabloid press. He has also been described, however, as a committed father, a considerate, polite and genuine man, and is respected to the extent that he was named the 2000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Person of the Year. He's not the most attractive public figure but he certainly isn't the least. He's just a sportsman who is enjoying a successful career. So the question shouldn't be 'why did he say what he did?' but 'why is he being asked political questions at all?'

Just a glance at the government tab for last year's Olympic games shows how committed Australia is to its sports. A young nation, geographically distant and different from its colonial roots, its government has encouraged sports as a means of both defining itself internationally and binding together its disparate immigrant communities. Sports people, therefore, are treated as both heroes and role models and one of the down sides of this is that they are sometimes asked questions that even the most educated and politically minded would hesitate to answer. Anthony Mundine – brash, inarticulate, successful, Aboriginal sportsman – is someone who is most likely to be asked difficult questions and least likely to satisfy the majority of people listening with his replies.

This was certainly the case on Oct 21st but the outrage is far from justified. His comments, although far from delicate, were honest and expressed a sentiment that has been felt by many people black, white, Muslim, Christian or otherwise: that America's selfish, short-sighted and arrogant foreign policy has invited retaliation and now that it has happened it should be America's responsibility to sort it out. Mundine has clarified himself in public statements, saying, "I condemn killings on any side and all acts of terrorism. I know people who were in New York on September 11th and my heart and soul goes out to those families who lost loved ones." So why have the WBC and IBF penalised him?
President Jose Sulaiman released a statement saying "The WBC read with stupefaction [Mundine's] statements justifying the terrorist attacks and consequent deaths of so many innocent victims... The WBC will not tolerate the utilisation of a position in boxing to make such absurd and denigrating public statements." The IBC also wilfully misinterpreted Mundine and justified its actions on moral grounds, although it is more likely that both parties were simply keen to keep away from controversy and used the current climate to justify their actions.

Since September 11th it appears that it is anathema to question the root causes of the attack, or the 'free world's' irrational and violent response to it, but quite alright for power elites to use the issue as leverage to further their own political agenda. Bush has pushed through a $200bn tax break to the wealthiest 1% of his nation calling it a 'post-terrorist attack economic stimulus'; Blair is pressing for laws to be passed that restrict the internet as a medium for free speech; and Howard has wangled a third term by labeling a few hundred impoverished refugees as potential threats to national security.
Naturally, this is to be expected, but when an Aboriginal boxer gives an honest answer to an awkward political question it is in the worst possible taste and is it quite right that he has his career threatened over it? Was Mundine not aware of this?