Geelong star Bailey Smith has verbally abused a photographer at the club’s training session on Wednesday and accused her of “baiting” him, according to reports.
The incident occurred during the open-to-media session, as the Cats prepare for a home preliminary final at the MCG in two weekends’ time.
It’s understood to be the second time this season that Smith has lashed out at a photographer at Kardinia Park, after an incident in early August.
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The 24-year-old, according to the Herald Sun, said: “Stop trying to bait me”, as well as claiming News Corp photographer Alison Wynd was “doing a f—ing s–t job”.
Smith received back treatment during the session and was none too pleased about being photographed throughout, flipping the bird in the direction of the photographer.
Bailey Smith, getting his lower back worked on at Geelong training, flips the bird. Picture: Alison WyndSource: News Corp Australia
He’s said to have declared that his back treatment was “a private moment”, requesting that the photos be deleted.
Reports from the Herald Sun and The Age state Smith, who was treading the boundary line, circled back to deliver a second rant to the photographer, who said she was simply doing her job.
“Previously, when Bailey was leaving the pitch he said, ‘Did you get enough f—ing photos yet?’ to me while I was photographing,” Wynd explained.
“I just thought it was a completely unwarranted reaction to the situation.
“Prior to that, I photographed Mitch Duncan on the same massage table getting worked on. Bailey got on the table, I photographed him and then he said it was a breach of his privacy, that I was trying to bait him, which is incorrect.
“It wasn’t as if I was photographing him with his girlfriend. It was an open media training session.”
The All-Australian midfielder has been fined twice this season for flipping the bird, as well as drawn criticism for questionable social media commentary.