Dustin Martin slammed for ‘joke’ of an apology

The furore around Dustin Martin’s drugs sledge refuses to die down as a prominent footy expert blasted the Tigers star for his latest move.

Dustin Martin has been slammed for his “wishy-washy” apology after the Richmond star used social media to say sorry for a sledge towards GWS ruckman Shane Mumford during the Tigers’ loss on the weekend.

Co-host of Fox Footy’s AFL 360 and chief football writer for the Herald Sun Mark Robinson lashed Martin for his lack of sincerity while acknowledging he was wrong for making references to Mumford’s drugs controversy.

Last year a video of Mumford snorting a white powder emerged and he was suspended for two weeks and fined $25,000 as he prepared to return to the AFL with the Giants in 2019.

A frustrated Martin flipped him the bird and made a snorting gesture with his finger and nose during the match in Sydney on Saturday, appearing to say: “Have another line you loser.”

Martin tweeted out an apology for his behaviour on Wednesday — the first tweet he’s sent since August 2018.

Frustrating one on the weekend !! I understand my reaction is not a good look for the game.. I apologise for my actions . Thanks 🤙🏼

— Dustin Martin (@DustinMartin4) April 10, 2019

But Robinson wasn’t buying the remorse, blasting the 2017 Brownlow Medallist for taking so long to issue what he claimed was a “joke” of a response.

“How wishy-washy is that? What a joke. The whole thing’s been a joke,” Robinson said on AFL 360. “Twitter, I don’t know, how many people on Twitter in Australia follow footy? What a joke. What a joke.

“And he only did it because he was told. If he was going to apologise he would have apologised an hour after the game.

“If you’re going to apologise, Dusty, apologise after the game. Not some wishy-washy tweet on a Wednesday. What a joke.”

Robinson’s co-host Gerard Whateley was also sceptical of how genuine Martin’s apology was, adding: “He took to Twitter with, I’m not sure if I’d call that an apology or not, but whatever was required he obviously did.”

The AFL asked Martin for a “please explain” over the incident and he was fined $7500 — $5000 of which is suspended until 2020.

Robinson also took aim at the severity of the Richmond midfielder’s punishment, unable to comprehend such a heavy financial hit in comparison to Mumford’s $25,000 penalty for actually being filmed snorting the substance.

“Just a little bit out of whack, you think? Just a fraction out of whack?” Robinson said of Martin’s punishment in relation to Mumford’s. “One’s pretending, the other one’s real and gets two weeks and $25,000 and this one gets $7500. That is out of whack, Gerard. That is completely and utterly out of whack.”

Australian basketball legend and Richmond fan Shane Heal didn’t have a problem with Martin sticking his middle finger up at Mumford but understood it wasn’t a good look.

“I saw he gave the bird but it would be a bit hypocritcial of me to be criticial of that,” Heal told the At Odds program as he recounted an instance from his playing days where he did the same thing to opposition fans.

“That’s alright, obviously it’s not in the best interests of the AFL and his own brand as well.”

Dustin Martin was in the AFL’s bad books.

The sanctions for his gesture come after Martin was suspended for a week for his off-the-ball elbow that clanged into GWS star Adam Kennedy’s head. The outburst from the normally unflappable Martin came during a game in which he was checked closely by relentless GWS tagger Matt de Boer, having also been targeted the week before by Collingwood’s Levi Greenwood.

Martin will miss Saturday’s clash with Port Adelaide but is free to face Sydney the following week after successfully having his two-game ban for striking downgraded by the AFL tribunal.

While Martin didn’t give evidence, his lawyers successfully argued the incident deserved to be classified as low impact, rather than medium.

While Richmond has complained of a perceived lack of protection for Martin, the club is well aware its star midfielder also has a responsibility to manage his emotions.

“He’s just got to take a breath,” Tigers football boss Neil Balme told reporters. “He’s a very, very good player. He gets the treatment because that’s what he is.

“He’s just got to get past it and we’ve got to help him a bit with it.”

Already missing Trent Cotchin, Alex Rance and Jack Riewoldt to injury, Martin’s suspension ensures Richmond will line up without any of its “big four” for the first time since 2010 when it faces the Power at Adelaide Oval.

With AAP