A community football coach who was sacked for a vile social media attack on Tammy Hembrow is now facing calls to be axed from his daytime job.
John Baggetta, former league coach of Harvey Brunswick Leschenault Football Club in Western Australia, was dismissed last week after his offensive online comment was exposed.
Baggetta branded the fitness influencer a ‘c*** bucket’ in response to media coverage of her date with Geelong AFL star Bailey Smith, which was exclusively revealed by the Daily Mail.
The outburst was condemned nationally, with the club announcing his immediate sacking from its senior coaching position.
Now feminist campaigner and journalist Sherele Moody has turned her attention to Baggetta’s employment outside football.
Moody urged her large following to raise concerns with Baggetta’s full-time workplace, suggesting he should not hold leadership roles anywhere.
John Baggetta (pictured) is facing a new threat to his working life after being axed from his footy coaching job over his vile comment about Tammy Hembrow
Baggetta targeted Hembrow (pictured) after her date with AFL star Bailey Smith was exclusively revealed by Daily Mail Australia
Hembrow’s romantic lunch with Geelong star Smith (pictured) sparked headlines that soon took a darker turn
‘Football coach John Baggetta called Tammy Hembrow a C** Bucket … my understanding is he is still employed by [business name],’ Moody posted.
‘Look I won’t claim responsibility for this top bloke getting the sack … nah f*** it, it’s got me written all over it.’
Moody later said she believed people in positions of trust, inside and outside football, must face serious repercussions for misogynistic abuse.
However, the owner of another business later said Baggetta had not worked at the business Moody named since 2019.
Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to publish the name of the business.
There are also new claims that Baggetta’s club initially tried to resolve the matter by just fining him.
Moody alleged that Baggetta was first given a $500 penalty for breaching the club’s social media rules.
She described the initial punishment as ‘about as weak as you could get’ considering the seriousness of his comment.
Baggetta (pictured, centre) was condemned as soon as his disgraceful comment came to light
Feminist campaigner Sherele Moody (pictured) called for Baggetta to also face consequences in his day job
The Harvey Brunswick Leschenault Football Club allegedly fined Baggetta $500 for breaching social media rules before public pressure resulted in his dismissal over the comment (pictured)
Moody told her followers that the club only escalated its action against the ex-coach once she went public and applied pressure, claiming, ‘The club originally fined him $500 … but my post yesterday saw countless women contact the HBL about this shitty outcome.’
Her initial intervention triggered an avalanche of complaints from fans and community members.
That pressure forced the Harvey Brunswick Leschenault board to convene again and terminate Baggetta’s role.
The revelation of the $500 fine has generated a fresh wave of anger towards the club.
Many supporters accused officials of trying to brush the scandal under the rug until public outrage left them with no option.
‘The club initially fined him $500? Wow, they really took that seriously,’ one follower commented.
Another replied: ‘Yep, that’s as serious as they get unless they are forced by public opinion.’
A third added: ‘He should have immediately been cut loose from the club.’
The statement released by the Harvey Brunswick Leschenault announcing Baggetta’s sacking
The board released a statement confirming Baggetta’s sacking on Friday and stressed its commitment to women.
‘The board … wish to inform all players, members, officials and supporters that John Baggetta has been terminated as League coach,’ it said.
‘Regarding the social media post made by John, we do not condone those comments, and they do not reflect the values or standards of the Harvey Brunswick Leschenault Football Club at any level.
‘We have a large junior base of players, parents, supporters and officials and others that also believe such comments are not appropriate and not to be tolerated in society.’
Baggetta himself has not spoken publicly about the scandal since his dismissal.
His social media pages have remained silent since the controversy broke.
The coach’s removal has forced the club to quickly appoint a replacement.
Officials confirmed that Jesse Crichton would now take over as the new league coach.
The Harvey Brunswick Leschenault Football Club has been contacted for comment.
