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Monday May 20, 2013

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Canterbury Bulldogs' obscene Mad Monday behaviour would've been dealt with better by AFL

Posted by: Ellen Feely | 2 October, 2012 - 1:42 PM
Canterbury Bulldogs player Ben Barba at Mad Monday celebrations. (Photo: Mick Tsikas)

Neil Mitchell believes the behaviour witnessed during Canterbury Bulldogs’ ‘Mad Monday’ celebrations, obscene and sexist slurs were hurled at female reporter, would’ve been dealt with swiftly with the AFL.

”What happened yesterday I think shows the difference between so far at least the ways the codes react,” he said.

Nine News reporter Jayne Azzopardi told Neil Mitchell how members of the Canterbury Bulldogs, fresh from the NRL Grand Final defeat at the hands of Melbourne storm, yelled threats of violence and lurid suggestions to her yesterday.

"Imagine if that happened with an AFL club in Melbourne, Andrew Demetriou would go through the roof,” Neil Mitchell said.

Nine News cameras captured the men yelling: "There are some ladies here to stick their heads in your pants” and "I want to go and punch you in the face”.

Ms Azzopardi said the cameras weren’t being stuck in the men’s faces as they were positioned behind a fence.

”All they had to do if they didn't want us to see them was shut a window, instead they decided to stick their heads out and yell these awful things, knowing full well, not just that cameras were there (but) they were yelling these things at the cameras,” she said.

Ms Azzopardi said she had spoken to the CEO of the club, Todd Greenberg, who apologised for the behaviour and said it would be dealt with seriously.

”It's the sort of thing I wouldn't want my mother to hear, (and) they wouldn't want their mothers or their children to hear,” she said.

”This isn't about me, it's not a personal thing. To me, this is a story because this is exactly the sort of thing they shouldn't be doing. They're role models, they get paid to pay football and be role models to young people.”

Former rugby union player and journalist Peter FitzSimons told Neil Mitchell while he was ‘totally stunned’ by the behaviour, he had a very strong sense of déjà vu.

”This happens every single year, without exception here in Sydney,” he said.

”I cannot believe this is going on again in 2012.

"You can't actually have a track record of misogyny and get away with it in the 21st century."

Peter FitzSimons said last year Manly Sea Eagles official Peter Peters was stood down after telling a Sky News journalist she was a ‘good sort’, and called for a similar reaction at Canterbury.

The NRL is currently without a permanent CEO after David Gallop stood down in June. General Manager of Strategy, Shane Mattiske, has since stepped into the role as interim CEO.

LISTEN: Nine News journalist Jayne Azzopardi and Peter FitzSimons speak with Neil Mitchell:

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Blog comments Your Say

  • Why is it so hard to understand that telling a woman to stick her head in your pants in unacceptable. And if drinking a lot is the reason, then dont drink that much. My father-in-law was a stevedor down at the wharfs and was not above letting fly with a profanity when he felt it was justified, but he never disrespected a woman like that and would have had words with anyone who did.

    Mr C Thursday 4 October, 2012 - 9:38 AM

  • Are you for real Sinbad? I go to both Melbourne Victory & Carlton games but won't take my kids to Carlton games because of he drunkeness & swearing, where as i take them to most Victory games which has many more kids & many races & religions, far more noticeable than the AFL. It's obvious you have never been to a game & are influenced by the hysterical unfair media reports you hear on 3AW, which has a huge agenda to push. I love both sports but will not have this Soccer is unsafe line pushed by the likes of Mitchell who is a puppet for the AFL, because it fears Soccer so much.

    Marco Thursday 4 October, 2012 - 9:16 AM

  • Direct quote "they decided to stick their heads out and yell these awful things". Yet the didn't get any footage of them doing that? Very strange indeed. Gutter journalism at best. I hope they get done for illegally recording a private conversation. It will be so sweet to see the media aren't untouchable, and for them to come to that sudden realisation. There is no more disgusting, unethical job in the world than journalism. To make money of others misfortune, says it all really. Then on a slow news day they have to fabricate one. No integrity, no morals, no soul.

    Get a Real Job! Wednesday 3 October, 2012 - 11:46 PM

  • @garry, if these mealy mouthed idiots had been Collingwood supporters/players every commentator and anti Collingwood person would be calling for their heads.

    Willow Wednesday 3 October, 2012 - 10:04 PM

  • Neil Mitchell has a hide claiming the AFL would treat these players properly. Has he seen what these AFL players get away with? Does he listen to the news reports on his own station. If I carried on like these rugby players or AFL players have this season I'd either be (at best) sacked my job or (at worst) thrown in gaol.

    Instead, these "sportsman" are held up as heroes to our kids so 3AW can keep raking in the cash as they pander to their moronic sports-mad audience.

    Then they carry on wondering why there is so much disrespect and violence towards women.

    3AW and Neil Mitchell are not part of the solution - they're part of the problem.

    Peter Hillster Wednesday 3 October, 2012 - 5:45 PM

  • Sensationalist journalism at its best!! O.k so with the cameras & sound recording equipment present the carry on from INSIDE the ground probably shouldn't have gone on, nor should the comments have come from the room... But at which point were any of those comments directed to anyone by name?? For all any of us know they could have been having a joke among themselves, albeit a rather lewd one... Mad Monday is a time for the players to wind down...

    Karen Wednesday 3 October, 2012 - 12:57 AM

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