Back in 2006 Crikey asked, “is it time to dump Eddie McGuire?”
It’s a question we’ve been asking ever since, as more and more of his behaviour was passed off as the harmless gaffes of a regular bloke’s bloke who simply likes to speak his mind. That is until yesterday afternoon when the Collingwood president was finally held accountable.
McGuire resigned as Collingwood president in the fallout from the release of a damning report into systemic racism at the club. Last week, McGuire called its release a “proud day”. It was one gaffe too far.
Eddie has been one of those inexplicably famous men with fingers in every pie for decades — which means he’s provided plenty of fodder for Crikey. We’ve been pissing him off since we were still in nappies.
Early run-ins
In a 2002 Good Weekend feature on this esteemed publication, McGuire had the following kind words to say about Crikey founder Stephen Mayne:
“I wouldn’t even cross the street to give him a backhander — or a writ for that matter — because I don’t want to give him the oxygen he craves. His reputation is of having no credibility and of having dudded every person who tried to lend him a hand.”
There was little love lost. A year earlier, McGuire was the second recipient of the Gold Crikey, for “Media Personality Most In Need Of A Mirror To Have A Good Look At Themselves”.
What rankled us then (and still does now) was McGuire’s conflict of interest: calling footy games on the telly despite being Collingwood president, and appearing to promote his and the club’s commercial interests.
We were so rankled, we even sent a reporter, armed with an alias, to sneak into the Collingwood AGM and badger Eddie.
Eddie Everywhere
By the mid 2000s, we even had a name for McGuire: Eddie Everywhere. That’s because back then, Eddie really was everywhere. In 2006, Nine made him CEO for some reason, even though he was a game show host with no discernible business experience.
Eddie Everywhere lasted little more than a year, but he did give Crikey one of our big scoops. One of McGuire’s few acts as CEO was to fire a bunch of people. Much of that dysfunction was documented in an affidavit put together by former head of news and current affairs Mark Llewellyn which found its way to Crikey (which Nine then hastily went to court to block publication of).
Among the more damning extracts were allegations McGuire said he was going to “bone” (which in this case means “fire”) journalist Jessica Rowe. Eddie maintains he said something else — phone, cone or tone perhaps.
Llewellyn is adamant Eddie said it.
No surprises then that in 2007, Mayne said McGuire “has been one of Crikey’s favourite characters over the last seven years”.
Eddie still everywhere
Eddie Everywhere “stepped down” as Nine CEO in 2007, but he kept giving us content because he refused to stop saying extremely nasty things.
Like when he joked about drowning journalist Caroline Wilson.
Like when he compared Adam Goodes to an “ape” and then tried to save his reputation on Stan Grant’s doco.
When the “Do Better” report was released, and McGuire held that disastrous press conference, we pointed out it was yet more evidence of his “solid form” on race.
It’s little surprise then that in a piece written on the eve of the Pies’ last grand final appearance questioning why Collingwood was the AFL’s most hated club, Eddie McGuire was high on the list of reasons.
Even yesterday his resignation statement was all about Eddie. There was not a syllable of self-recognition or contrition in his statement. It was all breast-beating and “poor me” babble.
Just why do we have so many of these “..inexplicably famous men with fingers in every pie for decades”?
Still it was not a bad day. Not only Eddie but James Packer both getting their comeuppance at last.
The latent racism still possessed in eighty percent of white Australians is never more so than in Aussie Rules football clubs.
I grew up barracking for Collingwood and still do.
Eddie Maguire deserves to stand down as the Magpies President. Although he has transformed Collingwood financially he hasn’t taken the extra step of ridding the club of racism. But I’ll wager the other clubs are just as bad. Heads should roll more widely.
As a nation we have a long way to go. Witness the number if rednecks in our Australian Houses of Parliament for starters.
Don N
Absolutely agree, I was St. Kilda, but now a lapsed supporter.
Along with the corporatisation of the AFL, wall to wall or obsessive media coverage all year round, decline of the third tier, locking in regional cities with upgraded sports grounds, precluding other codes and activity (even cricket in many cases), cynical late introduction of WAFL (trashing existing women’s leagues), cheap shots taken at ‘sokka’ and the risible AFLX to occupy same rectangular stadia.
Meanwhile the style of the game and build of players are resembling some of negative aspects of rugby (while also borrowing from football).
Backgrounded by perceptions, real and/or imagined, that AFL is too ‘pale and male’ whose core constituency like cricket maybe in decline…. as opposed to the ’70s or ’80s there are many other recreational pursuits to be found on weekends.
The difference is that none of the other clubs have an “Eddie”, some who could put their foot so far in their mouth when it comes to talking about race, that their toes come out their backside.
Eddie lacks insight and will never understand the problem IS looking at him in the mirror. Also pleased we are moving to an intolerance of inappropriate behaviour.
As much as I’m glad to see McGuire fall (the way he handled the Goodes situation was deplorable), it’ll only be a victory if it leads to change in the way the AFL takes the urgency and seriousness of race as an issue.
Its hopefully pushing towards the right direction. Language matters and actions matter, particularly from the top. Half the problem is a lot of people don’t know how to listen, and don’t stop and put themselves in other peoples shoes.
Whatever Eddy McGuire’s clear successes as Collingwood president, as a television celebrity and working-class hero, does this justify the massive coverage he is receiving in the media? What does this saturation coverage tell us about Australian culture? That sport and celebrity still outweigh everything else in importance. One would have hoped that over the last five decades, with the improvement in education and the exposure of Australian culture to overseas and indigenous influences that the media, and through it the public, could see beyond this.
Does this mean the Collingwood Football Club remains one of the most powerful institutions in this society, an institution anchored in working class mythology, and a mirror of the country as a whole. If so, it is no wonder we still continue to have governments and a public that will not take climate change seriously or engage in lessening the worsening economic inequities in Australian society. A bit of razzmatazz and some celebrity whistling remain more important.