Bill Lawry apologises for homophobic slur about cricket greats like Ian Chappell who attended Prince Alfred College
LEGENDARY commentator Bill Lawry says he is sorry for a homophobic slur against fellow cricket greats who attended an elite Adelaide boys school.
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LEGENDARY cricket commentator Bill Lawry has apologised after delivering a gay slur against Prince Alfred College, calling greats of the game who attended the school “a pack of poofters”.
The former Test captain made the comment while addressing a room full of advertising executives and major brand representatives at Nine’s launch of its upcoming Ashes coverage in Sydney on Tuesday.
His attempt at light-hearted ribbing of commentary colleagues like Ian Chappell created a distinctly awkward moment.
In an exchange first reported on advertising news website Mumbrella, 80-year-old Lawry said: “He went to Prince Alfred College where all the great cricketers from South Australia went to, and of course all majored in knitting and crocheting — they were bloody, all a pack of poofters … it was shocking.”
He then said “sorry girls” to the small number of women in the room.
Lawry played 67 Tests between 1961 and 1971, captaining Australia in 25 of them. He has been a member of the Nine commentary team since the late 1970s, although these days he only tends to commentate the Boxing Day Test in his home city of Melbourne.
A Nine spokesperson told The Advertiser on Thursday: “Bill apologises for the comment and for any hurt that has been caused.
“Those present at the function realise there was no malice intended in the remark but that it could have been expressed better.”
Australian Conservatives leader Senator Cory Bernardi, a PAC old scholar and free speech advocate, said Lawry’s comments “took me back 30 years where it was a regular sledge on the footy field”.
“I am sure many people will profess their outrage but I won’t be one of them,” he said.
PAC has a remarkable history of producing 85 first-class cricketers, including nine Test players and four Test captains.
All three Chappell brothers — Ian, Greg and Trevor — attended the school, as did Clem Hill, Tim May, Greg Blewett and Paul Rofe.
The Chappells visited the college together for the first time in decades to launch its Greg Chappell Cricket Academy last year.
At the time, Greg Chappell said: “It’s a privilege to be able to give back to the school that has done so much for me and my brothers.
“Prince Alfred College instilled in me the love of the game and I’ll never forget the first time walking out to bat in the 1st XI as a 14-year-old — that was the absolute highlight of my life to that point.”
Though he added: “For some reason my father wouldn’t let me wear long pants. I was the only one in short pants, which was a bit embarrassing.”
PAC governing council chair John Keeves said: “At this point the college declines to comment.” Principal Bradley Fenner is returning from overseas.