The tweet was hastily deleted, but screenshotted and published by The Age.
According to reports, McMaster has been tweeting his apologies, but we can’t confirm this – his Twitter account is set to private, and whadd’ya know, he hasn’t accepted our follow.
The backlash against McMaster has been swift: his club dropped him from its squad for last night’s game against Broadmeadow Magic, and Football Federation Australia have condemned the tweets, stressing that they came from a “personal” Twitter account.
“[Football Federation Australia] condemns the content of the tweets sent from Griffin McMaster’s personal twitter account,” they said in a statement yesterday. “FFA applauds Heidelberg United Football Club for standing goalkeeper Griffin McMaster down from tonight’s Westfield FFA Cup match following a series of offensive tweets this afternoon.”
Meanwhile, Goodes has been given extended leave from Sydney Swans as he takes space to both deal with the constant abuse he’s experiencing, and decide whether he will even continue to play AFL.
Swans CEO Andrew Ireland, coach John Longmire, and co-captains Jarrad McVeigh and Kieren Jack expressed their continued support for Goodes in a press conference this morning.
Longmire: I spoke to Adam on Tuesday and it isn’t until you see him in a distressed state you understand the impact of it.
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) July 30, 2015
Longmire: This is a real challenge for Adam as it is for a lot of Australians.
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) July 30, 2015
Longmire: It is great to see the solidarity across the competition and in other sports.
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) July 30, 2015
Ireland: I think the whole thing has been a disgrace. I don’t know what else you need to do to be a good Australian.
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) July 29, 2015
Jack: We knew it was affecting him but not to this extent. He puts on a brave face when he comes to training and tells us not to worry.
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) July 30, 2015
Jack: Anyone who knew Adam would say he is a great individual who doesn’t deserve this.
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) July 30, 2015
Jack: To see your mate genuinely hurting the way he is and take time away from what he loves doing is something you never want to see.
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) July 30, 2015
Ireland: He is needing some extra time off, clearly he is struggling with the current situation.
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) July 29, 2015
Ireland: Hopefully with a few days off he will be better and want to come back. My current view is he will but I couldn’t be certain.
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) July 29, 2015
Ireland also said that no one at the club has discussed retirement with Goodes.
Picture: Chris Hyde via Getty Images
