A female photographer who was sworn at by Geelong star Bailey Smith in a heated exchange at Cats training, says she has never had an issue with another footballer in 25 years.<\/p>\n
Smith singled out Geelong Advertiser photographer Alison Wynd, demanding she delete images of him receiving treatment.<\/p>\n
Smith walked towards the photographer, working from the stands near the fence during the open training session on Wednesday, after the images were taken.<\/p>\n
One photo was of the All-Australian flipping the bird at the camera while a trainer worked on his back on a massage table.<\/p>\n
Smith has twice been fined by the AFL this year for raising his middle finger during games.<\/p>\n
“I’ve been shooting Cats footy players for 25 years, I’ve never been sworn at or had someone be so aggressive to me,” Wynd said.<\/p>\n
“That’s twice Bailey Smith has unleashed his language on me [within a few weeks].<\/p>\n
“I’ve never had a player abuse me for doing my job, photographing them doing their job [at training].”<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old, second favourite for the Brownlow Medal, launched an expletive-laden tirade at 25-year veteran snapper Wynd.<\/p>\n
The incident, which played out over a period of about two minutes, happened in front of journalists, photographers and camera operators who were invited into a “vision opportunity” session by the club.<\/p>\n
Wynd said Smith was only a few metres away from her, telling her to delete photos she had taken of trainers working on his back on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
She said he had walked away after one outburst and come back, and that this had concerned her.<\/p>\n
“I thought ‘this guy’s not finished with me yet,'” she said.<\/p>\n
“I turned my camera around and started [taking pictures] of training, as I wanted to try and defuse the situation.”<\/p>\n
There was a coaching staff member \u2014 not one she recognised \u2014 a few paces behind Smith.<\/p>\n
“But no-one stepped in,” Wynd said.<\/p>\n
“Ten minutes later a Cats media team member came and apologised … for me having to put up with that while filming after being invited to training.”<\/p>\n
She said Smith told her it was a breach of privacy to take shots of him having his back worked on on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
However, Wynd had taken photos of Smith’s Geelong teammate Mitch Duncan being worked on a few minutes earlier and said that “no-one batted an eyelid”.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know how the Cats are going to manage him [Smith] and all the media attention that will be coming to him [during finals],” she said.<\/p>\n
She said she had expressed her unhappiness at being sworn at while doing her job.<\/p>\n
“I’d like to keep the relationship I’ve had with the Geelong Football Club for 25 years \u2014 I hope this doesn’t tarnish it.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Veteran photographer Alison Wynd said it is the second time in recent weeks she has been targeted by Smith. (Getty Images: Michael Willson\/AFL Photos)<\/p>\n
It is the second time Wynd has been singled out by Smith this season, shouting “Did you get enough f***ing photos yet?” at her as he walked up the race a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Smith has also previously been verbally aggressive at another female reporter at Geelong training and AAP said there were similar incidents when Smith played for the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n
“He said ‘well you’re doing a f***ing shit job’,” Wynd told News Corp of her interaction with Smith.<\/p>\n
“It was a bit rattling. Because he came back at me the second time, I felt a bit rattled by it.”<\/p>\n
Geelong coach Chris Scott was fuming earlier in the season when a conversation between he and Smith was broadcast at training.<\/p>\n
Scott later said: “If they keep doing that stuff, we won’t let them in, because it was so misleading, the way that was reported.”<\/p>\n
Geelong forward Shannon Neale spoke to the media after training in a scheduled press conference where he was asked about Smith’s behaviour.<\/p>\n
Neale wasn’t aware of the incident, choosing to comment on his own strategy when dealing with the media.<\/p>\n