Tuesday, October 09, 2007

I'm Going to Be Kidded, So I Might as Well Get It Out There First (Wait. No. That's Not What I Meant....)

Winger's wanger in live exposé

By Dean Ritchie

October 10, 2007 12:20am

Article from: The Daily Telegraph
  • Manly winger's genitals exposed on TV
  • RLPA wants changeroom vision banned
  • Robertson "unaware of camera"

MANLY winger Michael Robertson last night told of his acute "embarrassment" after inadvertently exposing himself on Fox Sports while a teammate was being interviewed in the dressing room.

The scandal has led to the sacking of a Fox Sports employee and could eventually lead to sweeping changes to media access to NRL dressing rooms.

Gallery WARNING: Footage contains offensive content

An angry Manly camp last night called on the Rugby League Professionals Association to intervene - calling for all television cameras to be banned from dressing rooms until 45 minutes after fulltime.

Worldwide exposure for winger

The vision, shot when Fox Sports interviewed Manly's Steve Menzies after the grand final loss to Melbourne, ended up on internet broadcast site, YouTube.

While Menzies is interviewed by a journalist after the NRL decider on September 30, Robertson can clearly be seen in the background swirling his genitalia.

Fox Sports believes Robertson was unaware of the camera being nearby and has apologised to Manly.

The broadcaster screened the interview before spotting the offensive vision and taking it off air.

Fox Sports employee gets sack

But a Fox Sports employee then emailed the footage to a friend, who sent it on to YouTube. That employee has since been sacked.

Robertson denied he knew the camera was on him, saying: "I'm highly embarrassed for myself, the club and my family.

"Somewhere along the way, a player's privacy has to be respected.

"I would have thought the fact that it wasn't a live interview would have ensured the broadcaster involved would have ensured I wasn't filmed in a compromising position.

"There has to be a period where the dressing room is a player's sanctuary.

"There is no way the skylarking was meant for the cameras."


Editor's Note: Shelley wrote a poem called "To a Skylark." Now, for the first time, I think I really understand it.

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