Gerard Whateley has slammed the AFL for a “betrayal of journalism” after it was revealed on Sunday night they stood down AFL Media’s Mitch Cleary.
Cleary was reportedly stood down indefinitely for reporting that Brooke Cotchin was the Richmond family member that breached the COVID-19 protocols by going to a day spa.
This is despite Caroline Wilson breaking the news a day earlier on radio.
AFL Media has long claimed independence from the AFL as a journalistic media body, something the head office seemingly just ripped from them.
The football industry across the board has canned the decision and Whateley has added his voice to the mix.
“The AFL standing down Mitch Cleary is a betrayal of journalism and it is an exposing moment and I would think it’s an unnerving moment if you worked at AFL Media and you believed that you were working as a journalist rather than as an employee of the AFL,” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“You always have to know who you’re working for, but usually when you’re a journalist it comes without interference.
“That’s just a straight out betrayal of journalism.”
Whateley explained what he imagines is the behind the scenes conversations that led to Cleary being stood down.
“There’s a couple of layers to this. There’s no understating the tension that has existed between the three parties in this – the Cotchins, Richmond and the AFL,” he said.
“Part of the resolution was that the family would not be named, not withstanding Brooke Cotchin had published her own material in the public domain.
“It had been mentioned previously on radio and then Mitch Cleary put it out there.
“I think there’s every reason behind the scenes that prompted a level of fury and the AFL flinched.
“If I was a workplace lawyer the question I would be focusing on is did Cleary think he was a journalist or did he think he was an employee of the AFL. If he thought the initial, then he’s been desperately undermined and treated incredibly poorly.
“If it was always made clear to him that he was an employee of the AFL rather than a journalist then I don’t believe he would have taken the job.”
Kane Cornes, who is employed by AFL Media, says only once has he been pulled up for a comment by them and believes that was fair enough in that instance.
“Everything that has been said about Mitch on social media in the last 24 hours is 100 per cent spot on. He is doing it tough and he’ll be hurt by it no doubt about it,” Cornes said.
“There is only one time I’ve ever been spoken to about what I’ve said (on AFL Media) and it was my mistake when I did say something about the umpiring and an agenda against Toby Greene.
“But I also did the same on Channel 9 and Channel 9 would have got me to do the same thing anyway. That is the only time I’ve been spoken to about it.
“Does this decision make you think ‘what can I say now?’, I’d be lying if I said no, so I guess it’s about seeking clarification from those there.”