Veteran AFL columnist Caroline Wilson has criticised AFLPA Paul Marsh and player manager Liam Pickering for suggesting the pay dispute was a media beat-up.
Last week after back and forth negations, the AFL players agreed to a 50 per cent pay cut until the end of May with the reduction to increase to 70 per cent if the season is delayed after May 31.
The AFL had initially asked the players' union for a pay cut between 75-80 per cent with pundits such as AFL great Leigh Matthews criticising the AFLPA for not being as cooperative given the harsh reality of the coronavirus shutdown.
After the deal was done, Marsh said "there was a fair bit of hysteria" surrounding negotiations from the media due to the lack of footy news with no AFL being played.
While Pickering said all the PR and speculation from the pay dispute "was driven solely by the media."
The comments from Pickering and Marsh didn't set well with Wilson who declared it was "the greatest load of balderdash" she had ever seen.
"I'm so sick of people pointing to the media in all of this, who I think have reported pretty responsibly with what went on last week," Wilson said.
"When Leigh Matthews says he's lost faith in the playing group, and I understand he's made his peace with the players now, but that is not a media beat-up.
"Liam (Pickering) doesn't know what he's talking about."
Just yesterday, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan secured a $600-million credit line from banks to help keep clubs and the game afloat during the shutdown.
"We are going into this with 18 clubs and we will come out with 18 clubs," McLachlan told SEN radio on Tuesday.
"That is our commitment over the next four, six, eight, 10 months, whatever it looks like, that we will have the same structure at the elite level."
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/caroline-wilson-blasts-aflpa-over-media-beat-up-comments/46240832-da39-48d0-8e26-ef28f1e346fb
0 Comments