- Was excluded from elevation to Legend status
- Has not made any public statement since that move
Wayne Carey has gone to ground and stopped hosting his podcast after the AFL blocked him from entering the New South Wales Hall of Fame, leaving fans of the two-time premiership winner waiting for him to respond to the scandal for the first time.
Carey was due to be elevated to Legend status at a Sydney Cricket Ground function in early May before the AFL intervened and blocked the honor at the 11th hour.
The message came so late that Carey and his partner Jessica Paulke had already arrived in Sydney, but were surprised by the news.
The AFL has taken a tough stance on violence against women and felt it would be inappropriate to honor Carey over shocking allegations made against him during and after his playing days.
However, it didn’t stop the league from having Carey elevated to the AFL Hall of Fame in 2010.
To date, Carey has not spoken about the AFL’s decision to block him from the NSW awards.
Wayne Carey and his partner Jessica Paulke had arrived in Sydney for the NSW Hall of Fame ceremony (pictured) but were told the AFL had blocked his induction
Carey was a regular guest on the Truth Hurts podcast this year (pictured), but hasn’t been heard from recently
Carey has not appeared on the podcast since being blocked from Legend status at the NSW Hall of Fame Awards
He was expected to address the issue on his podcast The Truth Hurts and posted on social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – that he was looking forward to speaking on his show.
“To all fans and non-fans of The Truth Hurts, we’ll be back with the podcast next Monday,” he wrote on May 13.
‘The past two weeks have been a good time to reflect, recalibrate and gain new energy for the future. See you next week bigger and better.”
However, Carey did not show up.
It means he has not appeared on the podcast with his co-host Tony Sheahan since the NSW Hall of Fame incident, having previously released a show every Monday.
Carey is usually outspoken and never shies away from expressing an opinion on social media, but has also pared that down to just the post about returning to the podcast, a few betting tips and a post defending St Kilda coach Ross Lyon.
In 1996, Carey admitted indecently assaulting a woman on a Melbourne street by grabbing her breast. The case was settled out of court.
Despite this, Carey led North Melbourne to an AFL grand final victory over Sydney that same year, playing 271 career games.
In 2002, Carey had an affair with the wife of his best friend and North Melbourne vice-captain Anthony Stevens.
In 2007, Carey was arrested in the United States for allegedly breaking a wine glass in his fiancée Kate Neilson’s face.
Neilson did not press charges but said she was “bleeding profusely from the mouth.”
Carey later pleaded guilty to two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer for resisting police after the incident.
In 2008, police used capsicum spray to subdue Carey after he attacked officers in Port Melbourne.
Carey previously worked as an AFL commentator but was relieved of his duties at Channel 7
Carey (pictured in a dating TV show) has been accused of a series of incidents of violence against women from his playing days until his retirement
AFL boss Andrew Dillon is leading the crackdown on violence against women across the league and previously said Carey’s past was not in line with the sport’s current values.
“The AFL recognizes the decision of a committee of NSW football industry practitioners to recognize Wayne Carey’s contribution on the football field as part of the 100 inaugural inductees into the NSW Hall of Fame,” Dillon said in a statement.
“His contribution on the field is also the reason he was recognized in the AFL Hall of Fame in 2010. Yesterday afternoon the AFL Executive was informed of the NSW Hall of Fame Committee’s decision to elevate Carey to Legend status.
‘We didn’t think this was the right decision. “I called Wayne Carey earlier this morning to inform him of this and he agreed that being made Legend would take away from the event and the important focus on the national response to the issue of gender-based violence against women.”