Trent Cotchin says the backlash over his wife’s hub breach was disappointing
Trent Cotchin has spoken at length about his wife’s AFL hub breach, taking aim at those who attacked Brooke over the incident which landed the Tigers in hot water with the AFL.
Richmond
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Richmond captain Trent Cotchin says critics of his wife Brooke “lack a lot of the information” as he moved to defend a Queensland hub controversy that landed the couple in hot water.
The Cotchins agreed to personally pay a $25,000 fine handed to the Tigers after Brooke posted a photo on social media of her visiting a day spa last month in breach of the AFL’s strict biosecurity protocols.
Trent and Brooke, along with their three children, had been among the first football families to move into the AFL’s Queensland hubs together.
Brooke apologised for the mistake in an Instagram post earlier this month but has remained the subject of criticism and has not posted any images on her social media since.
Speaking at length about the incident for the first time, her two-time premiership husband Trent said the backlash from the saga had been disappointing.
“The challenge with regards to the football industry is that Brooke and the family never signed up to be part of the AFL bubble,” Cotchin said.
“But the reality is, when you move into a hub and so forth, that’s just part and parcel.
“I think it’s more so the people that have opinions or make comment when they lack a lot of the information, that’s the thing that really challenges me.”
Trent said as much as the family wanted to ignore the criticism, it was often hard to do so.
“There’s people out there that everyone says that you just need to ignore and so forth, but that’s a lot easier said than done,” he said on Triple M radio in Melbourne.
“It’s like they just have a free swing at attacking.
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“Whether it be Brooke or other things that are going on in the world today, I just think it’s pretty unjust and unreasonable. But the reality is, as she said in her post, she accepted that she stepped outside of what was recommended by the AFL protocols. Obviously we’ve all moved now, and (it’s) a lesson for all.”
Brooke said in her lengthy Instagram apology on August 3 that her day spa visit was an honest mistake but she would endeavour to be more careful in future.
“I wish to apologise for the mistake I have made and I am deeply sorry for any angst that I have created for anyone,” she wrote.
“It was an honest mistake and one that I am incredibly remorseful for.
“I am the first to admit I am not perfect, and I do make mistakes, this being one that I need to own and learn from.”