Geelong have apologised following the controversy around the club’s Mad Monday celebrations, and have revealed the event won’t continue in its current form.
The Cats came under fire for a series of Instagram posts by star midfielder Bailey Smith relating to dress-up costumes at the function, two days after their 47-point grand final loss to Brisbane.
The club released a statement late on Wednesday saying it “sincerely apologises for the offence caused”.
“Certain costumes and associated social media posts were inappropriate and a significant error of judgment, and do not reflect our Team of All commitment,” the club said.
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 late-day development came after AFL football performance boss Greg Swann said he was “not thrilled” with Geelong players’ Mad Monday costumes and social media antics, but will leave the Cats to deal with it.
Smith was dressed as Legends of the Fall character Tristan Ludlow, played by Brad Pitt, while skipper Patrick Dangerfield’s own cowboy costume was a nod to the TV show Yellowstone.
Smith later posted a photo of himself and Dangerfield.
In the caption, Smith referenced the movie Brokeback Mountain, which depicts a complex romantic relationship between two cowboys, and wrote “this is what losing a granny does to ya”.
Former West Coast defender Mitch Brown, the first AFL player to publicly reveal he is bisexual, was unimpressed.
“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 also posted a photo of teammate Max Holmes, who had dressed as veteran journalist Caroline Wilson, and in the caption suggested she had “never looked better”.
Swann expected Geelong to address the situation.
“Look, we have spoken to Geelong and had a chat to (chief executive) Steve Hocking,” Swann said.
“They’re actually dealing with it. We’ve always – well, certainly in my time – we think the clubs are the best people to deal with it, their players.
“We’re not thrilled, obviously, with what happened – and nor are Geelong.
“So they’re going to take some steps. I think there’ll be something coming out this afternoon around that.
“And so we’ve pushed it down to them to deal with, so we’ve had some good chats to them about it.”
Swann said when the AFL checked in, Geelong had already been handling the situation and attempting to round up their players.
“It’s hard to find people and they’ve all disappeared and they haven’t surfaced and things like that,” he said.
“So they’ve been doing a little bit of work in the background trying to sort that out.
“Hopefully this afternoon you’ll see where that’s landed, and we’re happy with that.”
Last year the AFL handed down suspensions and fines to GWS players involved in an end-of-season function that involved sexist skits and inappropriate costumes.
Swann indicated leaving clubs to deal with player behaviour was the AFL’s preference going forward.
“You might see that change. As I said, I think these are club issues,” he said.
“I’m not sure why the AFL (would step in). We will step in if we have to, but let the clubs deal with it.”
https://thewest.com.au/sport/geelong-cats/geelong-mad-monday-cats-apologise-amid-end-of-season-celebration-controversy-say-event-wont-continue-c-20204470
