Media Street: Craig Hutchison discusses SEN’s approach to Tom Morris

SEN boss Craig Hutchison has broken his silence on his plans to bring former Fox Footy journalist Tom Morris to his radio station, saying he deserves a second chance.

Craig Hutchison has revealed SEN’s talks with Tom Morris Picture: Jay Town

SEN boss Craig Hutchison says Tom Morris deserves a second chance as he looks at employing the former Fox Footy reporter for the upcoming AFL season.

The Herald Sun revealed last week that the sports station had been in discussions with Morris about a possible role with Hutchison confirming he was keen to foster a relationship with the exiled journalist.

Morris hasn’t been sighted since he was sacked in March last year after offensive comments were leaked to social media about a Fox colleague.

“Whether it’s with us or someone else he (Morris) is a fine person who made a mistake, he deserves absolutely a second chance at the craft and someone needs to give it to him,” Hutchison said.

“I’m a believer, unashamedly leaving Tom to the left, in redemption and second chances. I’ll say that point blank, I’ve had a million of them (second chances).

“I’ve been sacked, suspended, sued. I made a horrible error at (Channel) 7 where I was given a second opportunity.

“As a leader of our business in the early days I was a bit too hard on people that made blues and I’m trying to be more empathetic of second chances as I get older because I was given so many.”

Morris was let go by Fox Sports in 2022. Picture: Ian Currie

Hutchison said he was aware of the work Morris had done in recent months, completing numerous education programs regarding sexism and racism, and other social issues.

“I’m privy to the work that he’s done on himself over the last year, I’m not here to defend the behaviour at the time,” Hutchison told The Sounding Board podcast.

“What he has done is an enormous amount of work on himself. Others will judge whether that was needed, how much of it – too much, too little – everyone’s going to have an opinion but I’m privy to the way he’s gone about the last year and the way he has worked on himself.

“He’s also very mindful of what work he does, how much of it and when and how.”

SEN is looking at pairing Morris with his good friend and former Fox colleague Sarah Olle on a Sunday morning AFL program called Sunday Crunch Time.

“Sarah and Tom have a great relationship and have been friends for a long time and a journalist on that program fits particularly well on a Sunday,” Hutchison said.

“And if you want to take a purely journalistic view of the role, he is very very good at what he does. So that’s the piece of work that we’ve been exploring.

“Could Sarah join us? And how would Sarah fit over and above that, could we build an audio career with Sarah that supports her AFL.com work?

“And then is Tom the right fit in that environment on a Sunday and work with someone who he had a good relationship with.”

Hutchinson is hopeful SEN can land Morris to use on a Sunday radio program.

The Morris scandal was one of the biggest in the AFL last year given the way it unfolded in the opening week of the season.

He was on the receiving end of an extraordinary personal attack by Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge after the season opener between the Dogs and Melbourne.

The following day Beveridge apologised but that was soon overshadowed by the leaking of the offensive Morris audio. A second clip featuring separate homophobic and racist slurs also then surfaced.

Morris immediately apologised for his remarks, calling them “disgusting and disgraceful”.

“I am deeply ashamed at my behaviour. My comments were hurtful to many and I will now take the time to listen, learn and work to improve myself, ensuring that I become a better person. I am truly sorry to everyone,” Morris said.

Fox Sports moved quickly, parting ways with Morris after seven years with the network where he also played a major role in its cricket coverage.