- New details surrounding Chris Scott’s outburst revealed
Geelong coach Chris Scott lost his temper with a junior female AFL staffer after being ‘triggered’ by the presence of a legally blind reporter at his post-match press conference.
Scott made a personal apology to the staff member after she was reduced to tears by his aggressive outburst following his side’s qualifying final win over Brisbane on September 5.
Scott later phoned the staffer to say sorry after discussions with AFL officials and Cats CEO Steve Hocking.
It’s since been revealed that Scott’s blow-up was triggered by the presence of visually impaired ABC reporter Matt Lee at the press conference.
It is not clear why Scott had an issue with Lee, who said he was shocked to find out his presence had sparked the incident.
‘I was a little bit shocked and sad to hear about it, to be honest,’ Lee told News Corp.
Geelong coach Chris Scott’s aggressive outburst at a female AFL staffer was triggered by the presence of visually impaired reporter Matt Lee at a press conference
Lee (pictured) said he was shocked and ‘a bit rattled’ to discover that his presence sparked the incident on September 5
‘I must admit, I am a bit rattled by it.
‘It’s just really disappointing that someone would say something like that behind my back.’
Lee, who is legally blind and works for Vision Australia Radio, revealed that he had also had a run-in with Scott’s brother, Essendon Bombers coach Brad Scott.
‘Last year there was an issue with Brad as well. He said to me, “Is that a question or a statement?” at one of the games – and that did rattle me, but I don’t think he had an actual understanding of what my disability is,’ Lee said.
‘And from the AFL perspective, they say that they are inclusive and diverse, well, you’ve got to be inclusive and diverse all the time, not just when you want to be.
‘I suppose they are the barriers that I am trying to break down.
‘The condition that I have is hereditary and I’ve had this all my life – and my vision over the last few years has deteriorated but I still have a passion and feel that I have a right to be a part of the media landscape and participate.
‘That’s what I want to do and I have the skills to do it. I wouldn’t have worked at SEN for the period of time that I did if I didn’t think I was capable.
Bailey Smith sparked controversy at Geelong’s open training session when he swore and made a rude gesture toward a female photographer
‘I’ve been doing radio for about 30 years.’
The controversy unfolded on the same day Bailey Smith was caught swearing and making an obscene gesture towards a female photographer at a Geelong training session that was open to the media.
On Tuesday night, journalist Caroline Wilson said it had been ‘a very poor week for the Geelong Football Club’.
‘It’s disappointing that they (Geelong) let that behaviour happen,’ Wilson said on The Agenda Setters.
‘Why Chris Scott is so angry at the moment with the AFL, with the AFL media management, with a lot of things about the AFL and how they handle press conferences, is baffling to me, but it’s real.’
Wilson also branded Smith ‘pathetic’ for apologising to the photographer via a text message instead of doing so in person or with a phone call.
