Adam Goodes

“My mum taught me to treat people the way I want to be treated.”

“The best thing that I did was get myself out of an environment that was toxic to me and to my mental health. That was through retiring from football.”

“I ask every Australian to think about what the constitutional exclusion says to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, to see our vast and inspiring history in this land not mentioned in the official picture like that.”

“I play over-35s soccer on the weekend to get my fix of running into people and crashing and bashing, and I still have that desire to win in the sport that I play. I don't think that'll ever lose me.”

“You need to understand how you lead, and in my case it is through my actions and the way I bring others into the game and also how I am able to form relationships. I am somebody who can earn people's trust, and that's crucial to how I try to lead the team.”

“I've been visiting community centres and schools for 20-plus years and what I've seen is that kids are kids, they want to learn. They learn from experiences, they ask questions when they don't know something.”

“When I retired I was done and it was instant relief. Instant.”

“If people have got a problem with me, say it to me. If you're going to hurt my feelings, I'm going to point you out.”

“I just figured that, for me to get the best out of myself and do the right thing by myself, I really just needed to step away and find out what I really wanted to do and hopefully getting back to where my people are from and getting out bush could really re-energise me and help heal those wounds.”

“What I've seen, and the reactions from 'The Final Quarter' and 'The Australian Dream', is that a lot more people are more willing to share their stories around racism.”

“Because women are more than the people who raise our children, they are fantastic leaders in their own rights in our community, and we want to give them the same safe environment, as we would expect.”

“That's what I love about Australia: we can do things the way we want to do them, because that's the way our country is - no matter what culture you come from, you can come to Australia and practise your religion, you can practise your beliefs, and you shouldn't be judged for it.”

“Yeah you just have to be true to yourself, know where you come from, make sure that your relationships with family members back in country, back home, are really strong so that connection is always there.”

“Whenever I had been racially vilified before it had been by peers or drunk men. It's more shocking when it's a 13-year-old child. No 13-year-old is racist.”

“I was very lucky to have fantastic leaders before me in Paul Kelly, Leo Barry, Brett Kirk, Craig Bolton, Mick O'Loughlin and Stuart Maxfield, and all of those players led in completely different ways.”

“Yes, we do need better representation, but I'm a big believer that we also need to talk about the Uluru Statement of the Heart. We need all of Australia to understand what it was, and is, and what that movement is about.”

“Football, for me, was a place where I got accepted for being a good footballer.”

“I'm not afraid of confrontation. It doesn't have to be an argument. We all have a voice. And they are all worth listening to.”

“At the end of the day, it's my choice to do the lap. At the end of the day, it was my choice not to be nominated for the Madden medal. I had my last football responsibility as the club Best and Fairest and that's what I was looking for.”

“You know obviously my stand on racism is that it's unacceptable and that we should always stand up to it.”