11:05AM, Fri 30 January
Flying the flag!
Australian basketball star and myFiba Ambassador Patrick Mills is a proud indigenous athlete and this week his myFiba website has been given a custom facelift to reflect Patty’s cultural heritage. Patty’s mother, Yvonne, is Aboriginal, and his father, Benny, a Torres Strait Islander, and the website design incorporates indigenous Australian colours and the flag of the Torres Strait Islands. It also features the word ‘Bala’ throughout the design, which means 'respected friend' or 'mate' in the Torres Strait Islands language.
Taking a break from training with Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California, Patty sat down with Nic Mercer, manager of the Boomers, to talk about his cultural heritage and what it means to him.
You’re building up a strong following in Australia and the US. How does it feel to be a role model to young indigenous Australians?
It means a whole lot. Obviously, I really enjoy being a role model not only for indigenous kids but for all Australian kids and I’m very proud of it.
When we toured with the Boomers you would let the guys know about indigenous celebration days and language. Is that something you consciously try to do or does it occur naturally?
I think it’s something that just occurs. Growing up as a young indigenous person I was learning about all the different cultures and it’s something that sticks with you. Growing up in Canberra, my Mum and Dad taught me a lot about it because I wasn’t growing up on the Islands and it’s stuck with me. It’s comments or sayings that I’ll just say, not because I mean to, but just because it’s part of my culture and part of my language. Some of the guys are picking it up and using words like ‘Bala’ and that’s great for me. It helps me a lot actually. If they end up joining in with the language and end up using some of the sayings, it gives me a good feeling that some of my culture is going through some of the boys that I’m constantly around 24/7.
So what’s next? Are you going to bust out some traditional dancing moves that we can all learn?
Yeah, well I’ve already started over here with my St.Mary’s teammates, teaching them how to do some traditional dancing. I’ve started with Clint Steindl [a fellow Aussie at St Mary’s] so that’s next in line for sure. We will start with the baby steps though, get the language down and then out comes the dancing!
It was a big day last week when Nate [Nathan Jawai] played his first game in the NBA...
Yeah, I felt very proud and very excited. I think not only indigenous people but all Australians were proud of what he has achieved. It was such a big deal and I was really proud of him being involved in such a big competition and big league. I've been cheering for him since the first days I’ve met him and always believed he could do something special in his life and he is definitely on the pathway of doing that now.
Mate, there is talk of you heading off to the NBA. Now that Nate has taken the first step, has the pressure of being the first indigenous Australian player in the NBA been removed?
I don’t think there is any pressure at all - for both of us. I guess we see it as already doing the indigenous people proud and we are doing the Australian people proud with what we’ve achieved. So I don’t think there is any pressure there. Obviously, making it to the top level makes people even more proud. It’s definitely a goal of mine in the future and something that I’m keen to have a crack at.
Let’s talk about the Beijing Olympics... when we arrived in the village, you put up the Aboriginal flag that Danny [Morseu, Patty’s uncle] took to the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics...
I’ll never forget when he offered it to me. We were at my house in the living room and I didn’t ask but the subject came up and he pretty much came out and offered it to me straight away. I’ll never forget that moment when he asked me, because it was very special. Not many people in sport can say they’ve done what he’s done. So when I got there I made sure I got it out and made sure it was flying high with a lot of pride. It was a very, very special moment then and I definitely enjoyed having the flag up.
When you got home from the Olympics was there a bit of a family gathering before you took off to the States?
Yeah, there was. It was very hard in the summer because when I got home from school [St Mary’s], I wasn’t able to stay for long as I had camps and tours for the Boomers. I wasn’t home for a whole lot so it was hard to catch up with everyone in the family and friends. So before I took off to the States, we had a big family and friends gathering. For me that’s very important. It’s something that I really love doing and just great to see everyone there talking about whatever. I just love seeing them all there together. That was something that was really important to me.
We’ve had Michael Ah Matt, Danny Morseu and now Patty Mills represent indigenous Australia at the most elite level - are there any other relatives that could play for the Boomers one day?
Ha ha. Yep! Sure is. Little Jordy Mills. He’s just turned seven in early January, so you need to watch out for him. He is my little cousin and he’s going to be coming through. He always wears his Spider-Man outfit, but he’s not a superhero - he’s going to be a basketball hero!
Look out for updates from Patty on myFiba. What do you think of Patty’s new-look website? Leave a comment and let him know.
Taking a break from training with Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California, Patty sat down with Nic Mercer, manager of the Boomers, to talk about his cultural heritage and what it means to him.
You’re building up a strong following in Australia and the US. How does it feel to be a role model to young indigenous Australians?
It means a whole lot. Obviously, I really enjoy being a role model not only for indigenous kids but for all Australian kids and I’m very proud of it.
When we toured with the Boomers you would let the guys know about indigenous celebration days and language. Is that something you consciously try to do or does it occur naturally?
I think it’s something that just occurs. Growing up as a young indigenous person I was learning about all the different cultures and it’s something that sticks with you. Growing up in Canberra, my Mum and Dad taught me a lot about it because I wasn’t growing up on the Islands and it’s stuck with me. It’s comments or sayings that I’ll just say, not because I mean to, but just because it’s part of my culture and part of my language. Some of the guys are picking it up and using words like ‘Bala’ and that’s great for me. It helps me a lot actually. If they end up joining in with the language and end up using some of the sayings, it gives me a good feeling that some of my culture is going through some of the boys that I’m constantly around 24/7.
So what’s next? Are you going to bust out some traditional dancing moves that we can all learn?
Yeah, well I’ve already started over here with my St.Mary’s teammates, teaching them how to do some traditional dancing. I’ve started with Clint Steindl [a fellow Aussie at St Mary’s] so that’s next in line for sure. We will start with the baby steps though, get the language down and then out comes the dancing!
It was a big day last week when Nate [Nathan Jawai] played his first game in the NBA...
Yeah, I felt very proud and very excited. I think not only indigenous people but all Australians were proud of what he has achieved. It was such a big deal and I was really proud of him being involved in such a big competition and big league. I've been cheering for him since the first days I’ve met him and always believed he could do something special in his life and he is definitely on the pathway of doing that now.
Mate, there is talk of you heading off to the NBA. Now that Nate has taken the first step, has the pressure of being the first indigenous Australian player in the NBA been removed?
I don’t think there is any pressure at all - for both of us. I guess we see it as already doing the indigenous people proud and we are doing the Australian people proud with what we’ve achieved. So I don’t think there is any pressure there. Obviously, making it to the top level makes people even more proud. It’s definitely a goal of mine in the future and something that I’m keen to have a crack at.
Let’s talk about the Beijing Olympics... when we arrived in the village, you put up the Aboriginal flag that Danny [Morseu, Patty’s uncle] took to the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics...
I’ll never forget when he offered it to me. We were at my house in the living room and I didn’t ask but the subject came up and he pretty much came out and offered it to me straight away. I’ll never forget that moment when he asked me, because it was very special. Not many people in sport can say they’ve done what he’s done. So when I got there I made sure I got it out and made sure it was flying high with a lot of pride. It was a very, very special moment then and I definitely enjoyed having the flag up.
When you got home from the Olympics was there a bit of a family gathering before you took off to the States?
Yeah, there was. It was very hard in the summer because when I got home from school [St Mary’s], I wasn’t able to stay for long as I had camps and tours for the Boomers. I wasn’t home for a whole lot so it was hard to catch up with everyone in the family and friends. So before I took off to the States, we had a big family and friends gathering. For me that’s very important. It’s something that I really love doing and just great to see everyone there talking about whatever. I just love seeing them all there together. That was something that was really important to me.
We’ve had Michael Ah Matt, Danny Morseu and now Patty Mills represent indigenous Australia at the most elite level - are there any other relatives that could play for the Boomers one day?
Ha ha. Yep! Sure is. Little Jordy Mills. He’s just turned seven in early January, so you need to watch out for him. He is my little cousin and he’s going to be coming through. He always wears his Spider-Man outfit, but he’s not a superhero - he’s going to be a basketball hero!
Look out for updates from Patty on myFiba. What do you think of Patty’s new-look website? Leave a comment and let him know.
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