Sam Newman not sorry, despite Nine exit after George Floyd podcast tirade
An unrepentant Sam Newman has doubled down on his George Floyd comments, saying he had no regrets despite parting ways with Nine last week. It comes as former player Heritier Lumumba lashed Newman over the tirade in which he labelled Floyd a “piece of s---” and “crackhead”.
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Former Footy Show great Sam Newman is refusing to back away from his comments about George Floyd, which led to the end of his three-decade relationship with Channel 9.
Newman told the Herald Sun he had no regrets over what had unfolded last week, and stuck to his guns during an interview on 3AW this morning.
“I am 100% right on what I said about the two matters that caused some controversy,” he said.
“I think there’s a communal strain of syphilis infecting the grievance brigade and the activists who just will not bother to listen to what I say.”
Newman rejected claims he’d been ‘unfair’ and wasn’t ashamed of anything he’d done in his 35-year TV career.
“You could be ashamed on plenty of things people do in life but there’s no point being ashamed because you don't get a chance to resolve or right it, so it’s pointless saying so,” he said.
When asked by 3AW’s Neil Mitchell whether he left Channel 9 because of a staff complaint, rather than public uproar over the comments, Newman said: “I’m sure there probably has (been a staff complaint made about him)”.
Newman said if the AFL was serious about addressing racism, it should introduce a mandatory sign embossed on all AFL jumpers saying ‘say no to racism.’
“It was my suggestion if you had a designated size, colour and position on all jumpers, then you wouldn’t have the kneejerk or peacemeal reaction to people kneeling before games because it would be on all the jumpers,” he said.
Newman told the Herald Sun last week he had used ‘extravagant language’ on his podcast.
“Maybe the language, but when you are talking on a podcast to two other people you tend to use that sort of extravagant language,” he said.
“I could have easily said, and probably should have if I had known it was going to be reported verbatim, that he is of unsavoury character.
“The point is why are making a martyr out of George Floyd, we should be condemning the police brutality.
“What I said about him is absolutely accurate.”
The polarising figure said he had no regrets over what unfolded this week, despite his long association with Channel 9 ending yesterday.
“No regrets at all, it doesn’t affect me at all in the slightest,” he told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“If it affects the station, then that’s another thing. They got a bit of blowback and I said here’s the solution.
“I wasn’t really on the television anyhow.”
Newman said he only returned to the Sunday Footy Show last weekend with an interview with Kevin Bartlett.
He said he was disappointed some great interviews he did with the likes of Sam Kekovich, Mick Malthouse and Beverley O’Connor not be shown now.
Newman also said his podcast You Cannot Be Serious alongside Mike Sheahan and Don Scott would continue.
“The idea of it is I hope, if I say something and he says something and take the contrary view, someone becomes the devil’s advocate,” Newman said.
“I’m not being blasé or supercilious at all, I don’t crave it, I like doing it.
“It’s a shame people won’t get to see the other identities on the Sunday Footy Show.
“It (the criticism) makes people’s day, good or bad. Then I’m of some service.”
It comes as former Collingwood star Heritier Lumumba yesterday accused Newman of not seeing black people as “human”.
He also said the 74-year-old’s “bigotry” was the reason he never appeared on The Footy Show, where Newman was a long-time panellist.
“Sam Newman is doing exactly what he has always done. He is consistent with his bigotry, unwavering with his prejudice, and unapologetic with his tone deafness,” Lumumba wrote on Twitter.
“He is one of the reasons why I ALWAYS refused to appear on the footy show.
“Unsurprisingly, Newman’s comments re: George Floyd show that (he) doesn’t have a clue about what the #BlackLivesMatter is about. ANY black victim of extrajudicial execution by police or vigilantes deserves recognition by the BLM movement, as they are human beings, first and foremost.
“George Floyd’s criminal past shouldn’t disqualify him from being seen as a human being first.
“Police aren’t conducting background checks before shooting, beating or kneeling on the necks of black people. Why? Because they don’t see us as human. Newman doesn’t sees us as human.”
The mutual decision was announced last night by Newman and in a statement from Nine.
“Sam Newman announced today that he would no longer appear on Nine. The decision was made mutually and amicably,’’ a Nine statement read.
“We thank Sam for his service with Nine over several decades. His contribution to The Footy Show was paramount to the enormous ratings success the show enjoyed over many years.”
Newman tweeted last night: “Let’s see how this gets reported. Can’t wait. The 9 network and I have MUTUALLY decided that in the station’s best interests, I withdraw from appearing on their programs — forthwith. And, for me, the last 35-odd years have been fantastic. Really!”
If George Floyd’s death on May 25th was of such importance, why didn’t the NRL kneel in homage at the first opportunity when they played on 28th May? #wtf
— Sam Newman (@Origsmartassam) June 13, 2020
WHAT SPARKED NEWMAN’S EXIT
The development comes after comments the former Geelong champion made about George Floyd were widely condemned.
A number of Channel 9 employees turned on the 74-year-old, with a petition calling for his sacking also launched on Friday.
But despite the united front, Newman’s exit comes a day after he caused furore by calling the late George Floyd a “piece of s---”, “crackhead” and a “porn star” during a tirade on AFL players taking a knee for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Newman attacked Floyd, who died at the hands of police and sparked a global movement about racism, on his podcast You Cannot Be Serious alongside co-hosts Don Scott and Mike Sheahan.
“George Floyd … is piece of s---. He has been in jail five times, he held up a pregnant black woman with a knife, he’s a drug addict, he’s a crackhead and he’s a pornstar.”
“He’s dead because of the police brutality and it never should have happened. But I am telling you who George Floyd is, now they’ve made a monument about him and he’s a piece of shit”.
Floyd was arrested on several occasions between 1997 and 2007, mainly on drugs and theft charges, which resulted in month-long jail stints.
Newman’s “porn star” comment refers to content online of a man, said to be Floyd, performing in an adult video.
During the 10-minute rant, Newman questioned whether AFL players understood what it meant to take a knee before the match.
He also asked why the Black Lives Movement message kept changing and why Australian issues like Aboriginal deaths in custody were now being discussed.
“I wonder if these people know how it started and why they are kneeling,” he said.
“Rather than having a knee-jerk reaction, and virtue signalling to the fact that no one knows why they are kneeling at this stage, because it was inspired by an American event.
“The players wouldn’t have knelt if George Floyd hadn’t been suffocated by a disgraceful act by the American police, they wouldn’t have knelt.
“That inspired us over here to kneel in protest … the protest was about police brutality.
“Then it morphed into all those other things. Then they came out and said it was about racism and Aboriginals.”
Co-hosts Sheahan and Scott debated Newman’s views and told him to “stick to the issue” during the chat, when he brought up comments made by AFL journalist Caroline Wilson.
Wilson was critical of a tweet by Newman in which he called AFL players “preening” and “divisive” for taking a knee before the match.
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