AFL pundit Kane Cornes has responded after the Geelong footy club announced a ban on future Mad Monday celebrations in their ‘current form’, in the wake of widespread backlash around the footy world. Cornes singled out Cats stars Brad Close, Max Holmes, Bailey Smith and captain Patrick Dangerfield for specific criticism, describing some of their outfits and social media posts as ’embarrassing’.
Smith – who was dressed as Brad Pitt’s character Tristan Ludlow from Legends of the Fall – copped the brunt of backlash after causing offence in a number of posts he shared on Instagram. One contained a photo of Smith and Dangerfield dressed as cowboys, and made reference to the film ‘Brokeback Mountain’ which depicts a complex romantic relationship between two cowboys.
Geelong have announced a ban on future Mad Monday celebrations in their current format after the antics of several Cats players caused controversy. Pic: Instagram/bazlenka/Geelong Cats
The Cats pair were holding hands in the photo and Smith captioned the post with: “This is what losing a granny does to ya”, in reference to Geelong’s 47-point loss to Brisbane in the grand final. Former West Coast defender Mitch Brown – the first AFL player to publicly reveal that he is bisexual – led the uproar after suggesting that it reeked of homophobia.
“In all seriousness though, guys, do better,” Brown wrote on Instagram. “Last time I checked, losing a grand final doesn’t make you gay, but being homophobic definitely makes you a loser.”
Smith was also seen putting up his middle finger in a photo alongside teammate Max Holmes – who was dressed as veteran AFL journalist Caroline Wilson. Smith captioned the post: “Never looked better”.
Cats trio Mark O’Connor, Cillian Burke and Mark Blicavs also dressed as Irish rap group ‘Kneecap’. The AFL made it clear to Geelong they were not impressed with some of the antics from the players and Cats officials spent a large part of Wednesday in damage control.
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Geelong then issued a public apology and announced they were banning future Mad Monday celebrations of a similar nature. “Geelong Football Club sincerely apologises for the offence caused following our end of season gathering on Monday,” the statement from the club read.
“Certain costumes and associated social media posts were inappropriate and a significant error of judgement, and do not reflect our Team of All commitment. The club has decided future post season events will not continue in this current form, and we will take this moment to further educate our people on expectations and club and community standards.”
The Geelong Cats’ Mad Monday antics have sparked widespread outrage around the AFL world. Instagram/Geelong Cats
Kane Cornes slams ’embarrassing’ antics from Cats stars
Former AFL premiership winner Cornes responded to Geelong’s Mad Monday ban by saying: “12-year old dress-ups are done.” Earlier this week, the AFL pundit was particularly angry that his Channel 7 colleague Wilson had come in for ridicule, and labelled the Mad Monday antics as ‘one of the more embarrassing days’ at Geelong in a long while.
It was later reported that Holmes asked Wilson’s permission before dressing up as her. He’s previously dressed as fellow reporter Mitch Cleary.
“Imagine Max Holmes thinking it’s a good idea to disrespect a legend of Australian football media in Caroline Wilson, dressing up as her and trying to ridicule her and have a photo of that and put the caption alongside of that,” Cornes had said. “Geelong haven’t had many missteps, certainly off-field, for a fair amount of time.
“I thought that was one of the more embarrassing days at the Geelong Footy Club that I’ve seen in a while. “Now, this isn’t new. They’ve owned this space for a long, long period of time. But at some point in time with the issues that there has been in and around dress-ups, clubs have just got to say, hey, you know what? It’s not book week. We’re not in year five.”
Geelong’s Mad Monday controversy follows on from similar drama last year when the AFL handed down suspensions and fines to GWS players involved in an end-of-season function that involved sexist skits and inappropriate costumes. AFL football performance boss Greg Swann said it was the league’s preference to allow the clubs to deal with player behaviour moving forward, but indicated the AFL could step in if necessary.
GWS captain Toby Greene revealed this week that this year’s post-season get-together was much tamer, and there wasn’t any dress-ups involved.
with agencies