Australian cricket star Mitchell Johnson has severely criticised the ABC broadcasting group after the media forced him to quit his radio position as he accused his former employer of hypocrisy over a violation of a contract clause.
As Johnson himself explained, he has breached the “moral compass” of the media hub after being forced to drop his plans to appear as a commentator on cricket this summer due to a clause suspending anyone linked to a gambling operator from working for the national broadcaster. The former cricket player was expected to call on One Day International (ODI) matches in Queensland this weekend but eventually walked away from negotiations when the media hub informed him that he was not allowed to have any relationships with commercial gambling operators.
Mitchell Johnson has not been the only former sports star who has been forced from their relationships with gambling companies. Earlier in 2022, Brendon Goddard was forced from the Australian Football League (AFL) commentary box, while the commentator and journalist Roger Oldridge was forced to stop working as a boundary rider. Both individuals have podcasts sponsored by a gambling operator, which is why they faced ABC’s backlash.
As reported by The Australian, Mr Johnson found it strange that the Australian government, which currently funds the national broadcasting group, does not find anything wrong with the fact that a significant amount of its revenue is generated by gambling companies’ taxes but he was suspended from having anything to do with the industry. Furthermore, he reminded that almost every major sport, which has live coverage on the ABC, involves some type of corporate sponsorship and relationship with gambling companies.
Johnson Criticises Broadcasting Group over Hypocrisy to Accept Gambling Tax Revenue and Sponsorships
Johnson’s move to criticise the national broadcaster came after Ian Chappell, a fellow ABC commentator, announced his retirement. Then, he told his former employer that although he really enjoyed working with the group, he believed there was a lot of hypocrisy that went with the rule of not having any relationship with gambling operators. He confirmed that he had nothing he could do about that rule, so he was not going to work with the broadcasting group.
The new Australia-based sports betting company Bet Nation used Johnson and former football player Brendan Fevola to advertise its services. His contract with the operator is to expire in November. Reportedly, the ex-cricket player is considering an offer to work on the cricket coverage of Triple M this summer.
Johnson’s management confirmed they received a call from the ABC sports after they became aware of his situation and said described it as a problem. Manager Tony Box confirmed that the former cricket player was so disappointed because he felt there had been a visible double standard since the ABC and sports themselves do not seem to find anything wrong in receiving tax revenue or sponsorship from the gambling industry.
The head of sport at the ABC group, Nick Morris, confirmed the situation, saying that conflicts of interest with the former cricket player’s other work were found, so the media hub was no longer able to work with him.
- Author
Daniel Williams
