St Kilda has confirmed a call was put into multiple media outlets surrounding the coverage of their loss to Sydney.
Forward Jack Higgins kicked 1.6 in the side’s narrow loss, leading to AFL Media running with ‘Missy Higgins’ in a headline relating to the game.
Club Chief Operating Officer Simon Lethlean confirmed he made a phone call regarding the headline and that it had already been changed.
“There was some feedback about the use of nicknames like Missy Higgins and the like for Jack,” Lethlean told SEN Breakfast.
“No one likes young athletes being scrutinised with negativity, but our job is to put support around those players which they’ve got and focus on how to improve and it’s all part of the game to be scrutinised.
“I think as long as it’s balanced it’s all part of the industry.
“I put a call into the AFL. I think the AFL saw fit without us getting involved to change the headline yesterday. I’ve seen the Herald Sun have seen fit to redo it.
“We’ve got enough on our plates up here to deal with internally and the complexities from being away from home and dealing with the complexities of selection when players are unavailable. We’ve got enough on our plates let alone worrying about too much contact on that front.
“We let the media on balance decide on balance what’s appropriate and what’s not and we’ll look after the health of our players up here.
“He wasn’t the only talented player across the weekend that missed a lot of shots at goal. He had a pretty influential day, he was probably the best player on the ground apart from his execution in the end there.
“He’s a pretty happy go-lucky kid. He tries his hardest at goal kicking practice and he’ll be out there again doing that.”
"Missy" Higgins.... yikes. 😬#AFLSaintsSwans #afl pic.twitter.com/UklHDuxAiC
— Channy Lou (@Channy_Lou89) June 5, 2021
Lethlean also inquired with Fox Footy’s Garry Lyon after feedback surrounding his commentary of Max King during the game.
Some Saints fans on social media were unhappy with the constructive criticism from Lyon and Jonathan Brown throughout the game, prompting the inquiry from the CEO.
“I haven’t listened to it Garry, you and I spoke yesterday because I thought it was worth me talking to Fox about it because we certainly got a lot of feedback about it,” Lethlean said.
“My view on that stuff is so long as it is balanced. It’s a story when high profile people are not playing well. There’s background I guess to what players are dealing with.”
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