C260/09
Dr Sean Gorman, author of Brotherboys, a book about the Krakouer brothers and their journey through football, has been appointed as a Research Fellow at Curtin University of Technology.
He joins Curtin’s Centre of Aboriginal Studies (CAS) and plans to research the transition of Indigenous players into and out of the Australian Football League (AFL).
“My research will focus on the pressures faced by players and what clubs can do to improve the experiences of Indigenous players in the AFL,” Dr Gorman said.
He hopes his research will result in the AFL improving the way it recruits and integrates Indigenous players into the sport.
“I hope that once strategies for the AFL have been developed, they will serve as best practice for the employment of Indigenous staff in other organisations,” said Dr Gorman.
Brotherboys was the result of Dr Gorman’s five-year PhD study which focused on AFL football legends, Jim and Phil Krakouer.
The book was recently turned into a play by local writer Reg Cribb.
CAS Director, Associate Professor Anita Lee Hong, welcomed Dr Gorman’s appointment to CAS.
“Sean’s research will be important to ensure more equitable workplaces for Indigenous people in the AFL and beyond,” said Associate Professor Lee Hong.
Dr Gorman is currently completing research on the AFL Indigenous team of the century and hopes to have it published.
He previously spent 13 years working in various roles teaching Australian Indigenous Studies.
