Tom Morris to be unveiled as Channel 9’s chief football reporter

A media network is going all out in their battle for AFL supremacy by bringing in a divisive figure to lead their coverage.

Tom Morris is taking over as Channel 9’s chief football reporter. Picture: Ian Currie

Tom Morris is set to return to TV screens.

The AFL journalist will reportedly be unveiled as Channel 9’s chief football reporter in Melbourne after spending the 2023 season as a member of SEN’s AFL coverage.

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The shock signing, first reported by the Herald Sun, comes after Morris was sacked by Fox Footy in early 2022 after audio of him making offensive comments about then Fox Sports colleague Megan Barnard was leaked to social media.

His sacking in the opening week of last year’s AFL season was one of the biggest scandals of the year.

Morris’ media exile ended when SEN offered up an olive branch which saw him return by co-hosting the station’s Sunday Crunch Time show along with being a regular on Sportsday with Gerard Healy and Kane Cornes.

But now he’s moving onto to a bigger role after landing the top AFL reporting job with the television network.

Tom Morris is set to return to the airwaves. Picture: Ian Currie

Morris was thrust back into the spotlight after social media went into meltdown over his win at the Australian Football Media Association (AFMA) awards.

After claiming the prestigious Alf Brown Award for the year’s best overall media performer, fans blew up online.

SEN posted the victory on X (formerly Twitter) with Morris standing alongside Gerard Whateley who took home the Best Radio Program award.

The post on the social media platform went down like a lead balloon with users, with many calling out the AFL.

ESPN’s Mike Wise wrote: “What the f***?”

One user replied to the tweet: “Gerard I hope no man ever talks about your daughters the way Tom talks about women. And that they never see your endorsement of Tom as evidence it’s what they deserve.”

One user wrote: “Mediocre men will be forgiven for anything in AFLM media if they have the right friends. A f***ing disgrace.”

Another added: “We’re about ~16 months removed from Tom Morris being exposed as a gross person who objectifies his co-workers but sure yeah give him awards and stuff.”

A fourth wrote: “What a slap in the face to the incredible women in sports media.”

Tom Morris won the prestigious award.

Morris spoke publicly for the first time about the scandal in March this year, taking full responsibility for his actions and detailing his regrets.

“It’s not something I’ll be able to live down,” Morris told the Don’t Shoot the Messenger podcast.

“I’m deeply ashamed of what happened.

“I can’t be clear enough. I deserved to be sacked.”

Morris said his offensive comments were a symptom of the “warped world” he lived in, and he’s since undertaken ‘ongoing education … to adequately educate myself to become a respectful normal adult’.

“I thought I was one of the good guys … men who are heterosexual and white like me often think we are the good guys and, in fact, we don’t know what we don’t know. I turned a blind eye … I was selfish, and I ignored it for a decade,” he said.