Professional boxer Anthony Mundine has backed Damien Hooper wearing a t-shirt with the Aboriginal flag into the ring at his first Olympic bout in London.
Hooper won his fight, saying the shirt inspired him but later reportedly apologised to officials and promised not to repeat the incident.
Officials reprimanded him for breaching section 50 of the Olympic charter prohibiting the display of religious, political or racist propaganda.
Mundine says he can't understand how Australia's official Aboriginal flag could breach the charter.
"We fly a flag today that has the British emblem in the corner, which to get that flag planted in our country, owned by Aborigines, they went through rape, murder, genocide, stolen generations, they did so many bad things, it has a deep, dark history, when it comes to that flag, yet we're still flying it", he told SBS.
"How as Aboriginal people are we to embrace that, let's fly a flag for everybody, to unite as one".
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