Sydney coach John Longmire has criticised the invasive nature of live footage from inside the Swans’ locker room after Paddy McCartin suffered another concussion.
McCartin, whose career has been ravaged by concussions since being drafted No.1 in the 2014 draft, copped an accidental knee to the head from Chad Wingard in Sydney’s 41-point win on Sunday. The head knock resulted in the ninth concussion of his career.
After the 26-year-old came off the ground, Fox Footy’s coverage of the match showed him looking distraught in the locker room with his head in his hands. It was a sight that made his coach uncomfortable.
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“Personally, I don’t think that vision should be shown… in those situations,” Longmire said.
“What the vision doesn’t provide is context or background and it leaves things open for interpretation without knowing the facts behind it. The reality was he felt fine, even though a few people probably jumped to conclusions during the course of the game. He was just disappointed he couldn’t get back onto the ground, first of all, and then second of all, he knew that that’d rule him out for this week.
“I think that’s maybe an issue for the AFL Players’ Association to take up. We’ve got to understand it’s not just about the fans, it’s about the player’s family and their friends and it’s a whole network of people who are watching that and listing to the commentary that are impacted by it as well… [and] influenced, maybe, by some of the speculation that’s out there at the time.”
Longmire admitted that the McCartin footage was not the first time he’d questioned whether it’s right to film injured players in the rooms, citing similar footage shown of reigning Brownlow Medal winner Ollie Wines after his recent heart scare.
“It’s a personal view that I’ve got, that it invades into a player’s personal space in those moments,” he said.
“In moments where you’re not quite sure of the background or information that’s sitting behind that, I think we just have to take a deep breath and find out a few of the facts before running with it.
“You can understand, there’s a bit of anxiety with Paddy as well going into that process after what he’s been through. That was the context behind the vision and I don’t think many people really took that on.”
Both McCartin and teammate Logan McDonald, who also copped a concussion, have recovered well, but will go into the AFL’s mandatory 12-day concussion protocol, meaning they will miss Sydney’s round seven clash against the Brisbane Lions.
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