Two-time Swans premiership hero and former Australian of the Year Adam Goodes has turned his back on being inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame.
In a statement, the AFL confirmed that Mr Goodes informed them earlier this year he would decline the honour.
"The treatment of Adam in his final years at AFL level drove him from football. The AFL and our game did not do enough to stand with him at the time, and call it out," Commission chair Richard Goyder said.
‘We hope that there will be a time in the future when Adam will want to be connected to the game again. This is a decision for Adam and Adam only and we understand and respect his choice."
Mr Goyder also repeated the AFL's unreserved apology to Mr Goodes for their failures during the back end of his career where he was subjected to persistent racial abuse and booing from fans and the public, which included a disgusting remark by former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire.
The Adnyamathanha and Narungga man became a target after he had a young spectator thrown out of a match in 2013 match for yelling a racial slur at him.
Spectators hounded the Swans star for the last 18 months of his career with incessant booing.
Yokayi Footy host and former teammate Tony Armstrong said its a shame Mr Goodes declined the honour but understands the effects the long-time vitriol would have had on him.
"I mean, we only have to look at the two documentaries ("The Final Quarter" and "The Australian Dream") to see just how poorly they were handled and how slow they were to put their hands up. And now, Adam Goodes is the one left picking up the pieces," he said on ABC News Breakfast.
"It's a horrible situation.
"Just rattling off some of the things, he won two Brownlows, two premierships, (he was) a four-time All-Australian and he played 372 games, all for the Swans. It's such a shame he can't look back on his career and share the joy he gave so many of us."
NITV has reached out to Goodes and the AFL for comment.
