A painful reminder of the past, Eddie McGuire, has attempted to explain the reason behind some of his recent aberrant behaviour in an in-depth interview with GQ Magazine. Rather than just admitting he’s out of touch or apologizing, McGuire has laid the blame on the usual scapegoat for the out-of-touch media personality – painkillers.
The revelation came when discussing McGuire’s racist remarks against Sydney Swan’s player Adam Goodes back in 2013. Apparently, McGuire treated a knee injury prior to the comments, and the “Heavy-duty painkillers” he took as a result made him say it. ‘Cos, you know. He isn’t racist, you guys…just listen:
“I mean, the night before, I’d been hosting a function raising $300,000 for Indigenous scholarships [as chairman of former AFL star Michael Long’s foundation] … So I was doing all that and I should have stayed in bed that day. I haven’t really said this before, but I was on massive painkillers and crutches.”
As it turns out, McGuire was actually a victim of the situation, and bravely suffered in silence:
“… Did I lie awake over the Adam Goodes thing? Does it still rankle with me to this day? Absolutely. It burns me to the core that what I said would add any level of pain to Adam or the Indigenous community.”
The tell-all addressed other incidents that have occurred, including allegations he suggested ‘boning’ Studio 10 host Jessica Rowe. But again, guys, we got it all wrong:
“I checked myself, as it was a word that was bandied about – but it was a Sydney term and it was one that Mark Llewellyn, and others, used quite regularly. I use the term ‘burn’.”
McGuire even took the opportunity to defend Sam Newman, who managed to get some camera time last week when he came to the defense of McGuire following his joke at paying $50,000 to have a journalist Caroline Wilson drowned.
“It breaks my heart sometimes that he hasn’t really been allowed to show himself on TV in a way that he can – he’s unique, highly intelligent and highly respectful.”
Ah, again. It’s our bad that we’ve not given Sam Newman enough airtime.
C’mon, guys! When we see just how hard McGuire and his friends have it. When will we learn?
