Michael Long (footballer)

Michael Long (born 1 October 1969) is a former Australian rules footballer of Aboriginal descent and spokesperson for indigenous rights and against racism in sport.

Despite being drafted to the VFL, the West Torrens Football Club of the Adelaide based SANFL argued that Long was "contracted with the club and could not play anywhere else." "I was guaranteed this wasn't the case, so I took the contract to Darwin and met with Michael's father Jack and he was irate. He grabbed it and wrote the word 'bullshit' right across the front of it. When it became clear he wanted to play at Essendon, West Torrens agreed it wasn't a binding contract", Judkins said.

However, despite this Long did play for West Torrens during the 1988 SANFL season, winning the clubs best and fairest award, the third last player to do so as the Eagles merged with the Woodville Football Club following the 1990 season to become the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles.

Long played perhaps the best game of his career in the 1993 AFL Grand Final. Playing on Mark Athorn, Long ran amok, helping Essendon gain a healthy quarter-time lead, and to maintain it. By the end of the game, he had amassed 20 kicks and 13 handballs, totaling 33 possessions.

Long's performance was rewarded with the Norm Smith Medal, which was presented to him by fellow Tiwi Islander Maurice Rioli.

In the pre-season of 1994 in a practice match against the West Coast Eagles, Long injured his knee which required 12 months of solid rehabilitation, and he was not seen for the entire 1994 AFL Home and Away season.