Sam Newman sparks backlash by hosting well-known ‘neo-Nazis’ on podcast
AFL personality Sam Newman has come under heavy fire after promoting his latest podcast episode with two prominent ‘neo-Nazis’.
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Sam Newman is never far from the spotlight, with the AFL personality once again finding himself under fire over an upcoming episode of his podcast.
The AFL personality began trending on Monday when an image promoting the latest episode was posted to social media.
The image was uploaded by Blair Cottrell and showed him standing alongside Newman and Thomas Sewell.
“Today Thomas Sewell and I had a chat with footy icon Sam Newman. Keep an out for the podcast!” Cottrell captioned the photo of the trio.
If those names don’t ring a bell, let us bring you up to speed.
Cottrell was the first ever Australian to be charged with hate speech after he was convicted in September 2017.
The United Patriots Front leader, and two of his supporters, were convicted of inciting hatred, contempt and ridicule of Muslims after making a video beheading a dummy in protest of a Bendigo mosque.
Sewell on the other hand was listed as one of more than a dozen alleged neo-Nazis exposed on Monday following a protest in Adelaide on January 26.
Sewell is the Victorian-based leader of the NSN, who has railed against “corrupt police” and an “anti-white government” in an online fundraiser which he hopes will allow him to “transition into a full-time role”.
While the episode isn’t set to be released until Wednesday, the image uploaded by Cottrell quickly gained traction on social media with backlash towards Newman coming in thick and fast.
CODE Sports’ chief cricket writer Daniel Cherny asked on X if the promotion of two prominent neo-Nazis was “enough to be booted out of the Australian Football Hall of Fame?”
Cherny wasn’t alone with many social media users pondering if the AFL and Geelong would disassociate with the 300-game player.
One wrote: “I’m wondering if consorting with out and proud Nazis is enough of a blot on your copybook to be removed from the AFL Hall of Fame? What do you reckon, @AFL? How about you, @GeelongCats?”
Another added: “@GeelongCats Surely, it is time to remove Sam from the Geelong Football Club Hall of Fame.”
News.com.au has contacted Geelong with regards to the upcoming podcast.
Hours after the image of the trio was posted, Newman took to X to issue a statement claiming he had been asked to not publish the episode.
A request the 79-year-old promptly denied.
“I interviewed Thomas Sewell and Blair Cottrell … neo-Nazis on You Cannot Be Serious podcast,” Newman said.
“I haven’t posted it yet but I was asked by a journalist because Blair Cottrell posted a picture of him and me and Thomas Sewell on X and I’m associated now with being a neo-Nazi.
“I replied to the journalist who said is it appropriate to put this on and chat about who they are and I said I by no means condone what they’re on but I thought they’re people of interest and I’m going to put it to air.
“If you think I’m a Nazi, so be it.
“Why don’t you have a look at what they say and what I ask them and you make your mind up.”
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission who spearheaded the national campaign to outlaw the public displays of the Nazi swastika and salute, was quick to condemn the news of the upcoming podcast.
“Let’s call this what it is—an absolute moral collapse. A stain on Australian sport. A moment of shame so profound it should send shockwaves through every decent person in this country,” Dr Dvir Abramovich’s statement read.
“Sam Newman, has now plunged into the depths of disgrace, rolling out the red carpet for Australia’s most vile, unapologetic white supremacists.
“These are not misunderstood figures. These are the faces of hatred, and Sam Newman has just handed them legitimacy on a silver platter.
“This is not just ‘controversial’ or about free speech. It’s a betrayal of every Australian value. By giving these hardcore bigots and antisemitism a platform, Newman has spat in the face of Holocaust survivors, trampled on the legacy of the courageous diggers who died to defeat Hitler, and insulted every Australian who has fought against bigotry.
“So we ask: What next, Sam Newman? Will you invite other Holocaust deniers for a fireside chat? Will you stand shoulder to shoulder with the worst extremists in our nation and pretend this is ‘just another perspective’?
“Enough. There is no grey area here. No ‘both sides’ to this story. There is right and there is wrong—and what Sam Newman has done is dangerously, unforgivably wrong. He has given the forces of hatred a megaphone, and in doing so, has disgraced not only himself, but the very game that once made him a household name.
“Sam Newman, your legacy is now rewritten. Not as a sporting great, but as a man who stood with the vilest extremists in Australia. A man who provided the stage to the poison of neo-Nazism. A man who made the unconscionable choice to let hate and antisemitism take the field.”
The latest backlash comes after Newman doubled down on his controversial act during an Acknowledgement of Country at an Australia Day event, blasting the practice as “nonsense” and a “sham”.
The commentator and former Footy Show host was called out after he was spotted heading towards the exit during an Acknowledgement of Country at an Australia Day function at Victoria’s Government House.
Newman didn’t go so far as to exit the venue, with a guest in attendance claiming Ms Gardner had finished the address by the time the AFL star reached the door.
After turning around and resuming his place in the venue, Newman reportedly continued to position his back to the stage and take photos, the source claimed.
Addressing the moment on Sky News on Sunday, the controversial AFL commentator – who has previously urged Australians to boo the ‘Welcome to Country’ ceremony – said he began walking out of the venue “out of respect”.
“When they started the Welcome to Country, I started to move out of the hall out of respect,” Newman told the outlet.
“I don’t want to stay in any function … when they (deliver) Welcome to Country. I think it’s wrong and it’s nonsense and it’s … a sham. So I started to walk out, out of respect. Let’s not be a hypocrite, if you don’t like it, move out.”
While he admitted to taking a stand against the address, Newman denied turning his back for the remainder of the speech, insisting he was simply filming.
Newman’s controversial episode with Cottrell and Sewell is set to be uploaded on Wednesday.
Originally published as Sam Newman sparks backlash by hosting well-known ‘neo-Nazis’ on podcast
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