Controversial ex-AFL great Sam Newman says political violence is on its way to Australia in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Newman was speaking on his You Cannot Be Serious podcast with former North Melbourne premiership-winner Wayne Carey as they discussed Kirk’s fatal shooting.
Newman told Carey Australia is moving towards the American and British political landscapes, where outspoken political figures are in danger of paying the ultimate price for their views.
‘This is where that country (Britain) is headed and we’ll probably follow the same way where if you disagree with what someone said it’s open slather to shoot and kill them,’ Newman said.
The former Footy Show star also predicted that US President Donald Trump’s life would be in danger while on a state visit to the United Kingdom this week.
‘That’s why they shot him (Kirk), because he converted people over to follow Trump and it’s all about Trump and they’ve tried twice now to kill Trump and they’ll probably try again over in Britain today when he arrives,’ Newman said.
Sam Newman thinks Australia could be headed down the path of political violence after Charlie Kirk was shot dead
Kirk’s assassination has left Newman and Wayne Carey worried about the future of free speech in Australia
‘People would have rejoiced in the streets if he (Trump) died and people did rejoice in the streets because Charlie Kirk died.
‘The man who is saving that country (America) is Donald Trump, I don’t care what anyone says.’
Carey repeatedly talked about his admiration for Kirk, whom he described as ‘one of the biggest supporters of freedom of speech in the history of the world’.
‘People are going to sit there and say “what’s Sam Newman and, in particularly, Wayne Carey talking about Charlie Kirk for”,’ Carey said.
‘I’ll tell you why, because I listen to him and I listened to him debate and he was intelligent.
‘I knew his work and I admired his work. This man never hurt anyone, he was a Christian-loving father and husband. America is absolutely ‘effed’.’
Carey said one of Kirk’s great talents as a debater was to change people’s minds within minutes, including his own.
‘I’ve heard him speak to every walk of life out there and I’ve disagreed at the start but by the time the debate ended I agreed with him,’ Carey said.
Ex-AFL great Wayne Carey described Kirk as ‘one of the biggest supporters of freedom of speech in the history of the world
‘That’s the type of intelligent, intellect, and debater this man was.’
Newman lamented how Kirk was stopped in his tracks at a young age and he didn’t hold back when he described the person who allegedly killed him, Tyler Robinson, 22, and his supporters.
‘He (Kirk) got condemned by the most disgraceful, despicable people that live on this planet,’ Newman said.
‘We’ve got to the stage in America, if you disagree with someone you can go and murder them…now very big sections of America say he deserved it.
‘That is the essence of trying to stop free speech.’
Newman and Carey haven’t been the only people in the AFL world who grieved the loss of Kirk.
Former Geelong and Gold Coast star Gary Ablett Jr posted a series of tributes to Kirk on his Instagram story on Monday night, thanking Jesus for the conservative activist and applauding him for spreading Christianity.
Ablett re-posted videos made by US pastor Cliffe Knechtle, who thanked Kirk for upholding the ‘Judeo-Christian ethic’.
Gary Ablett Jr mounred the loss of Kirk by re-posting videos made by US pastor Cliffe Knechtle, who thanked Kirk for upholding the ‘Judeo-Christian ethic’
‘Thank you so much Lord Jesus that he’s enjoying your presence like never before,’ Knechtle said in one clip.
Australian basketball great Andrew Bogut also claimed the assassination of Kirk jolted everyday Australians who usually avoid politics.
Bogut highlighted a thread by game developer Mark Kern, a former team lead on World of Warcraft and a producer on Diablo 2 and StarCraft.
In his posts, Kern argued that the left had destroyed public trust.
He wrote that ordinary people saw a clean-cut man with a microphone who got shot while conducting a civil discussion, not while leading a rally or a riot.
