Australian rules football pundit Brian Taylor has apologised after using a homophobic insult live on air to describe a player's celebration. During a broadcast on Friday, Taylor referred to defender Harry Taylor as a 'big poofter' after he was hoisted onto team-mates' shoulders to mark his 150th game. 'I've just seen that crap from Harry. Next thing you'll have your mum and dad out there,' he added.
Taylor issued a sincere apology during a subsequent broadcast on Saturday night. 'I said something that I regret,' he told viewers. 'I sincerely apologise ... to Harry Taylor and anyone - particularly Harry and any of his friends - that were offended by my remark.' He also stated he had apologised to Harry Taylor personally.
TV network Channel Seven condemned the comments and said Taylor would receive 'education and counselling'. Lewis Martin, managing director of Seven Melbourne, said on Sunday: 'Comments such as those made last night are unacceptable and should not and will not be tolerated.' Co-host Hamish McLachlan confirmed Taylor would remain on air but added: 'We recover from these problems through education and awareness.'
The Australian Football League, which recently launched an initiative to tackle homophobia, also stressed its zero-tolerance policy. Chief Executive Andrew Demetriou had stated in April: 'Vilification based on sexual identity is just as serious an offence as vilification based on gender, race, religion, colour or special disability.'
Taylor, 52, a former professional footballer who won the Coleman Medal in 1986, also stepped down from his radio commentary commitments on 3AW for the rest of the weekend. Station manager Shane Healey said he took the incident 'extremely seriously' and would commend 'some quite serious counselling' to Taylor.
