Sam Newman has resigned from all Channel Nine television shows after a petition calling for his sacking gained widespread traction on Friday. The controversial AFL commentator and former Footy Show host faced backlash for describing George Floyd, the Black man killed by police in the US, as "a piece of shit".
Newman made the remarks on his own podcast, where he also claimed that AFL players did not understand why they were kneeling in protest. He said: "The protest was about police brutality, then it morphed into all those other things, then they came out and said it's about racism here and Aboriginals." Although he acknowledged Floyd died due to police brutality, he focused on Floyd's criminal record.
The petition, sponsored by anti-racism group Democracy in Colour, used the hashtag #StandDownSam and was widely shared. On Twitter, Newman stated that he and Channel Nine had mutually decided he should leave "in the station's best interests".
His comments were condemned by former AFL players and Channel Nine employees. Jim Malo, a journalist for Channel Nine-owned Domain, said he was "ashamed this clown is employed by the same company as me". Newman has a history of controversial behaviour, including transphobic comments, defending Eddie McGuire's remarks about "drowning" journalist Caroline Wilson, and wearing blackface in 1999.
