Powerful figures at Collingwood and Seven couldn’t protect Mitch Cleary. What unfolded behind closed doors exposes AFL media’s hypocrisy
What goes around, comes around. Channel Seven AFL journalist Mitch Cleary is learning that lesson the hard way.
But not before his media and footy buddies closed ranks to try to protect him from the same court of public opinion that eviscerated Brisbane Lions star Lachie Neale.
Cleary has been forced into a public apology after conceding he kissed a Collingwood staffer on an overseas junket late last year while very much engaged to racing commentator Kate Watts, who welcomed their first child in February.
‘I am sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I have caused,’ he said in a belated post to social media, after the Daily Mail broke the story.
‘The kiss was a terrible error in judgement for which I am incredibly sorry and I am dealing with the consequences privately with my family and those closest to me.’
On the surface, it looks like a sheepish Cleary is shuffling his feet and owning up to his act.
Channel Seven reporter Mitch Cleary apologised after admitting he kissed a Collingwood staff member during an overseas trip
Cleary said the kiss was a terrible error in judgement and apologised for the hurt and embarrassment caused
The incident happened late last year before Kate Watts welcomed their first child with Cleary in February
But it took several days of behind-the-scenes damage control and a social media blackout from Cleary during one of the busiest weeks of the footy year before the apology was forthcoming.
The Herald-Sun initially tried to get away with running the yarn without naming the star reporter, until the Mail forced their hand, and there was no whiff of the scandal on the Collingwood website or socials.
It looks like the media-footy industrial complex really thought the public was so clueless that they would get away with it. Do they really think fans aren’t refreshing Reddit and BigFooty the moment something like this bubbles to the surface? Please.
SEN, who Cleary also works for, at least did decry ‘rank cheating’ overnight. It just had nothing to do with him.
Instead, Gerard Whateley and Andrew Voss took aim at Brisbane Broncos ground announcer and former captain Alex Glenn for trying to put opposition players off their game.
Long after the story had broken, there was not a peep on the Seven sports pages. In a staggering twist, the network ran yet another Neale article on its homepage instead.
Neale, of course, has been the target of all media organisations since he all but admitted to an affair with Tess Crosley that cost him his marriage to Jules Neale.
Jules took their two children to Perth and media organisations, including the Daily Mail, have been dining out on the story ever since.
Social media and footy forums were flooded with fans weighing in on Cleary appearing to get off relatively lightly for his indiscretion
When Cleary was outed, the Mail did not shy away from the story simply because the man in question happened to be part of the media fraternity.
So why did so many outlets close ranks and decide to shield Cleary from ignominy? The silence is far more damning.
News parody website Nuffington Post teed off on media organisations shielding Cleary with a searing social media post, which tellingly was liked by Ms Crosley.
‘The AFL media’s usually ravenous pack of bloodhounds appears to have temporarily lost their sense of smell this week, with the industry showing remarkable restraint after discovering the latest salacious story floating around football involved one of their own,’ it read.
Turns out the public is not as naive as the media and footy powerbrokers think as well.
They come out in hordes to condemn attempted cover-ups and call out the hypocrisy of misbehaving footballers while protecting their own.
‘Mitch Cleary doing the dirty on his pregnant wife? Time to hammer this story non-stop for weeks then yeah? Shoe is on the other foot now,’ one footy fan posted.
‘Did any of the footy shows mention Mitch Cleary, or was that conveniently left off the running sheet? Amazing how quickly the moral outrage disappears when it’s one of their own. Imagine the coverage if it were a player,’ pointed out another.
Critics accused parts of the AFL media of staying silent because the story involved one of their own reporters
Channel Seven was criticised for continuing its Lachie Neale coverage while making no mention of Cleary’s admission
Social media users questioned whether an AFL player or coach would have received the same restraint from football outlets
‘Because it’s one of their own, it gets swept under the carpet. If it were a player or coach, it would’ve been thrashed in the media,’ posted yet another.
The human shield that wrapped up Cleary so tightly should think twice before trying it again.
The world has changed. In a social media landscape with millions watching, journos are no longer the gatekeepers. More importantly, the public has developed a finely tuned nose for hypocrisy wafting from the ivory towers of the fourth estate.
Reporters simply cannot torch footballers for their indiscretions and expect a blind eye to be turned to their own. Even if it is just a kiss on the dance floor rather than a full-blown affair.
We also live in an age of cancel culture. The online hordes are hungry for blood and have already claimed a number of big scalps.
Cleary’s indiscretion was minor and he’ll survive. He’s already put out a statement on his Tradies Podcast effectively drawing a line under the matter. But others have faced more brutal backlash.
Fox Sports sacked journalist Tom Morris in March 2022 after private WhatsApp audio leaked online containing sexist, homophobic and derogatory remarks about female colleague Megan Barnard. He bounced back and is now at Seven.
In June 2024, Seven fired veteran crime reporter Robert Ovadia following an internal investigation. The network acted on allegations of inappropriate workplace behaviour, which involved private messaging history with a colleague.
Lachie Neale faced intense coverage after admitting conduct that led to the breakdown of his marriage to Jules
Jules moved to Perth with their two children following the collapse of her marriage to Lions star Lachie Neale. His former mistress Tess Crosley is seen right
Paul Kent lost his high-profile media roles after several alcohol-fuelled incidents
James Hooper was another high-profile casualty after crashing his car while over the limit
Paul Kent and James Hooper were high-profile scalps at News Corp and Fox Sports after alcohol-fuelled incidents became public knowledge.
Journalists are not saints, and those recent examples of big names falling from grace should serve as a warning to all in the media.
Before the internet, before smartphones, Reddit, TikTok and Threads, journalists and footballers alike could be ratbags to their heart’s content and deny, deny, deny.
This is not the world we live in now.
The way Cleary’s kiss was handled with such delicate care after months of hounding the Neales and Crosley does not pass the modern pub test.
We all have skeletons in our closets – that includes this writer.
Media organisations only damage their own brand by pretending these sins simply never happened. It should have been 7News’ top sports story.
This is not baying for blood or calling for Cleary’s head. He will keep his job and hopefully rebuild trust with his fiancée Kate, with whom he has a small child at home.
They deserve privacy, to an extent. But Cleary and others in the game should consider their own actions before appealing to the better nature of fellow journalists.
Because what goes around, comes around. I’m sure Lachie Neale and certain Sydney Swans players are quietly smiling after yesterday’s news.
