ABC bans rugby league broadcaster David Morrow for State of Origin

VETERAN broadcaster David Morrow, off air since a racial joke was accidently broadcast live, has been banned from calling State of Origin.

David Morrow

VETERAN rugby league broadcaster David Morrow, off air since a racial joke was accidently broadcast live, has been banned from calling the State of Origin series and the NRL finals.

The Daily Telegraph was last night told that while an ABC investigation into Morrow had finished, the undisputed voice of ABC Grandstand would not return to calling until he completed a program of cultural awareness with the NRL's Indigenous Council.

Morrow has also been barred from undertaking any international travel on behalf of his organisation for the rest of the calendar year.

The ABC last night released a statement saying that while Morrow had accepted the seriousness of his actions and apologised, the national broadcaster "takes very seriously" the issues of discrimination and prejudice.

"The ABC understands that the community holds it responsible for everything it broadcasts, whether accidental or deliberate," the statement said.

Morrow was suspended indefinitely on May 8 after his joke was aired live before a game. Unaware he was already being broadcast into the Illawarra region, he first joked about electricity not yet being available in Darwin.

Moments later, he adopted a satirical indigenous tone and said: "Dat's da only way you can tell when there's anyone, er, awake is when dey smile."

While the incident drew a stinging response from NRL chief executive Dave Smith, Morrow insisted he was merely reviving something a local police officer said to him during his time covering the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

In a statement, he said: "A local police officer, who was part of our security, warned us against the risk of walking through a nearby area which was pretty dark because there weren't many working street lights. He had a deep southern accent and what he said was, 'Dat's da only way you can tell when there's anyone there, it's when dey smile.'

"We all found this funny, including his deep southern accent. The Atlanta policeman was obviously saying this because of his concerns for our safety if we ventured south of a certain street due to the bad lighting and high crime rate.

"His message was if you went there you wouldn't know you've got company until you see the smile and by then it'll be too late."

The ABC confirmed Morrow had agreed to meet with its advisory body on indigenous matters, to apologise and discuss how he could meet the objectives set out in the ABC Reconciliation Action Plan.

"At the completion of Mr Morrow's required training he will resume on-air duties calling the remainder of the NRL rounds," the ABC statement said.