‘I've had a gutful': Caroline Wilson fumes at Jordan De Goey link after Bali scandal

Caroline Wilson is fed up with some badly-behaved footy players trying to justify their actions, slamming one aspect of Jordan De Goey’s apology.

Jordan De Goey has been in the headlines all week.

Veteran AFL reporter Caroline Wilson became the latest voice to criticise Jordan De Goey for referencing his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis in an apology for his Bali antics, saying she’s “had a gutful” of players using mental health reasons to explain poor behaviour.

Collingwood star De Goey has been granted personal leave by the club as he deals with the fallout of his mid-year trip overseas, which saw him come under fire when footage emerged on social media of his conduct towards a female friend.

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The forward has been given a suspended fine of $25,000 — a punishment slammed by many as woefully inadequate, given he won’t need to pay a cent if he stays out of trouble for the rest of the year.

Collingwood also confirmed on Tuesday it has parked contract talks with the talented player until the end of the season, after it was reported the Pies pulled a $3.2m offer because of the scandal.

De Goey revealed he was diagnosed last year with ADHD and appeared to link it to the “mistake” he made in Bali — which has been added to a long list of prior off-field indiscretions.

Melbourne broadcaster Neil Mitchell was one of many to criticise the ADHD reference, asking how that turns someone into a “Bali boofhead”, and Wilson was also upset.

“I want to address the diagnosis with ADHD. Jordan De Goey, I’m told, was adamant that was going to go into the statement (of apology),” Wilson told Footy Classified on Wednesday night.

“Nobody doubts that Jordan de Goey is suffering from ADHD and has been getting treatment for it. I’m disappointed he chose to put it in that particular statement.

“Frankly, I’ve had a gutful of players referring to their mental health problems every time they get into trouble.

“I’m not denying mental health does not play a major part in these situations. I simply say again, there are a lot of people sitting at home who have much worse mental health problems who look at privileged males who get to play footy.

“Yes, it’s a lot of pressure, yes, it’s tough. But I think he made a really bad decision to do what he did, given he knows the problems he has with ADHD.

“It doesn’t mean I don’t take him seriously with his problems. I think it was the wrong day to release that information.”

Wilson added she was “offended as a woman by what I saw” in the Bali video featuring De Goey and the female.

Caroline Wilson didn’t want any excuses. Photo: Channel 9.

De Goey was parting away in Bali. Picture: Instagram

Footy Classified host Eddie McGuire joined the debate from a different perspective.

“I don’t know when the right day is (to reveal De Goey has ADHD). You can’t apologise enough and if you do, you apologise too much,” McGuire said.

“I’m not here to be his defender, by the way. I totally agree with a lot of the things that have been said about his behaviour and he’s on his last chance, we know that.

“I believe he should stay at Collingwood now. I hope that my old club wraps its arms around him and that he gets the end of the year so he actually gets a contract then he can set himself up to finish his career and finish with something.”

Former Carlton and Brisbane star Brendan Fevola had his own off-field controversies during his playing days, and suggested De Goey needs to learn how quickly things can be taken away from him.

“I was in a similar situation back when I was playing footy, I didn’t really have the people around me,” Fevola told Melbourne’s 101.9 The Fox with Fifi, Fev & Nick.

“I thought that I was better than anything else and it cost me my career.

“You are blessed to be playing footy and earning money that people would dream about earning. Go play footy for eight years, don’t go anywhere and if you go somewhere don’t tell anyone.

“You go to Bali, everyone knows you go there, it doesn’t matter if you stuff up or not. It’s going to come back and it’s going to look bad.

“When I left footy, I was not respected, I played good footy, my footy career is never talked about with any other gun forward because of my off-field antics and that’s my own fault, I have to deal with that.

“I’d love to sit down (with De Goey) and say, ‘Mate, you can have everything gone like that!’

“I just think he needs to get himself around some people that help him, because he’s in the wrong circle.”

De Goey’s future remains in limbo. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Former St Kilda and Fremantle coach Ross Lyon says it’s up to AFL clubs to be part of the solution in changing De Goey’s behaviour.

“With Fevola, the missing piece was he was indulged at Carlton,” Lyon told Footy Classified. “He kicked goals, stuffed up but still got a bigger contract and a bigger contract.

“They get rid of him and Brisbane give him a bigger contract, so it’s up to the clubs not to indulge the behaviour because it’s just reinforcing it.

“That’s probably the only concern because you support them until you can’t and I think he’s in a support position, but at the end of the day every time you pick a team, you send a message.

“I just think the loud disapproval from Collingwood and the punishment, is it quite congruent with the noise they’re making?

“But ultimately what’s symbolic is pulling on the jumper and you represent the values, at some point the behaviour has to be modified to align with the Collingwood values or he can’t stay there.”