shared of photo on X of the letter that was sent to his mother<\/a>.<\/p>\nAs the backlash ensued, the club issued a formal apology to anybody who was upset at the letter.<\/p>\n
McGuire said he understood that some members may have been caught off guard by it, considering the initiative had only just commenced.<\/p>\n
But the AFL supremo said it is something that is common place across the industry and ultimately laughed it off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m disappointed I didn\u2019t (get a letter). It must be my youthful looks,\u201d McGuire said on Triple M\u2019s Mick in the Morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just a supporter these days, so I\u2019m on the outside of it all, but have you seen a greater beat-up story than this? Seriously!<\/p>\n
\u201cI can understand a bit of sensitivity, but you have got to remember that half of Collingwood\u2019s list qualifies for that now! Pendles (referring to 38-year-old champion Scott Pendlebury) is at the front of the queue.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGuire said the initiative wasn\u2019t something that was in play during his time in charge, but said the club was just following other clubs across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou fish where the fish are, don\u2019t you?\u201d he said laughing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing honest for a second, every private school has a bequest situation. I\u2019ll go back to my time, the Victoria Park used to lift by an inch every year in level from the amount of people who put their ashes on Victoria Park. <\/p>\n
\u201cGoing back to the mid-90s, this has never come out \u2026 I\u2019ll give you an exclusive! Collingwood\u2019s finances weren\u2019t going great and they were going to lose some money and out of nowhere a farmer from Albury left the club $1 million cash and it came from nowhere. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo maybe that\u2019s what\u2019s at the back of everybody\u2019s mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite McGuire\u2019s take, footy fans were not happy with the Pies with many taking to social media to vent their frustration.<\/p>\n
\u201cUm. My mum got this today. Are they serious? How much money do they need?\u201d the user who first posted the letter wrote.<\/p>\n
In another post he wrote: \u201cWe do a lot of good stuff but sending my 78 year old Mum this when she is battling a bit is pretty s***. And I will be letting them know. Don’t worry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey tried to take her reserved seat back last year \u2014 now they want to be in her will. A***holes\u201d<\/p>\n
He responded to another X user by wrting: \u201cMum binned it. Disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n
One person who saw the post wrote: \u201cI find myself actually disliking this club sometimes over the last couple of years. Their obsession with money is vile\u201d.<\/p>\n
Former AFL player turned media personality Daniel Gorringe took aim at the club, posting on his Dan Does Footy account.<\/p>\n
![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/content.api.news\/v3\/images\/bin\/8077634f14e819fd320529db7feef973\")
<\/p>\n
In a statement provided to news.com.au, Collingwood CEO Craig Kelly offered up an apology to anybody who was upset at the letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sincerely apologise to anyone who felt upset or uncomfortable receiving this communication \u2013 particularly supporters currently navigating difficult circumstances,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur intention was to offer members the option to consider a legacy gift if they wish \u2013 something that is commonplace across many AFL clubs and organisations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collingwood\u2019s official website <\/a>has instructions on how the bequests process works digitally.<\/p>\nAccording to the website, users of the Side By Side Forever program receive invitations to exclusive recognition events with guest speakers including past and present players, a commemorative lapel pin and commemorative apron (due to arrive early 2026) and access to certain game day specials and experiences when available.<\/p>\n
The website states Side by Side Forever participants are able to let the club know which area of the club\u2019s operations they would like the funds to go towards.<\/p>\n
This includes one option for participants to direct their funds towards the club\u2019s community work.<\/p>\n
The Magpies begin their 2026 season against St Kilda at the MCG on March 8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Collingwood president has hit out at the backlash being thrown the club\u2019s way over a letter sent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,244438,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-496988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-ncaeditorialkayo","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}