Premier Roger Cook’s decision to remove Nicky Winmar’s statue outside Optus Stadium raises the question – what are we actually honouring with things like this?

Is the erection of a statue or Hall of Fame induction simply recognition of what someone achieved on the field, or is it recognition of the complete person?

I believe it’s the latter, and that’s exactly why these decisions are never easy.

Winmar’s contribution to Australian football and the fight against racism will never be forgotten. It helped change attitudes, inspired generations of Indigenous footballers and Australians, and his stand became much bigger than football itself. His conviction this week for domestic violence offences doesn’t change that.

But the conversation has understandably shifted to whether someone who has been recognised with some of the game’s highest honours should continue to hold that status.

Some sports fans believe what happens on the field should be judged separately from what happens off it. I understand that argument, but I don’t see it that way.

If a Hall of Fame or a sporting statue were only about performance, then the selection criteria would simply be games played, premierships won, Brownlow Medals and individual records.

But it isn’t. The AFL has established criteria for its highest honours, and one of the key pillars is character. As part of that assessment, the selection committee has the discretion to consider serious off-field misconduct when determining whether someone deserves to be recognised among the greatest figures in the game’s history.

That clause exists for a reason. If the game is prepared to celebrate the complete person when honouring someone, then it must also be prepared to assess the complete person when serious incidents occur. Otherwise, why have the criteria at all?

We’ve already seen Australian football face these difficult decisions recently. Barry Cable’s Hall of Fame and Legend status was revoked in 2023 after he was found to have sexually abused a girl in a civil case. It demonstrated that the AFL is prepared to act when it believes its criteria are no longer being met.

Players such as Wayne Carey and Ben Cousins are widely regarded as two of the greatest footballers of the modern era, yet Cousins has yet to be elevated and Carey had his planned elevation to Legend status in the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame blocked.

Whether people agree with those individual decisions isn’t really the point. The point is consistency.

The standards can’t change depending on who the individual is, or how popular they are, or what they did solely on the field. They can’t depend on public pressure or media attention. If there is a character clause, it must be applied fairly and consistently to everyone.

Throughout my career, I heard coaches speak about more than just becoming a great athlete. They wanted you to be a good person.

You have a responsibility to represent your club or your country, whether you agree with it or not. You aren’t just representing yourself. You represent your teammates, your supporters, and the game itself. Being a great player is only part of the job.

Athletes are human and, like everyone else, they make mistakes. But Hall of Fame honours and sporting statues aren’t recognising ordinary achievements. They’re recognising extraordinary people. That’s why the standard must be higher when serious offences are involved.

These honours aren’t simply recognising talent. They’re symbols. They’re saying this person represents the very best of the sport, not only for what they achieved but for what they stand for.

Winmar’s legacy in fighting racism will always remain one of the most important chapters in the AFL. That impact is permanent and reaches far beyond a statue.

But when it comes to Hall of Fame honours and statues, the responsibility is greater. If sport is serious about the standards it sets, then those standards must be upheld, even when the decision is difficult.

The WA Government made the right call with the statue and the AFL now has no choice but to remove Winmar from the Hall of Fame.

Because if the criteria only apply when it’s convenient, they stop being standards altogether.