Eddie McGuire rips 'really ordinary' AFL act against Mason Cox

Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has hit out at the actions of Adelaide Crows midfielder Ben Keays, after he whipped away Mason Cox's protective eyewear during a scuffle in last weekend's match at the MCG. Cox kicked two key goals to help the Magpies make yet another final quarter comeback in the round 15 AFL clash, but sparked a brief melee after kicking his second, which lead to Keays snatching the goggles from his head.

McGuire was left furious due to Cox's various eye surgeries, with his AFL career at one point in serious jeopardy after back-to-back surgeries in 2019. The former Collingwood president also fumed at commentators Nathan Buckley and Garry Lyon for making jokes about the eyewear going flying.

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Cox has worn the goggles since the beginning of the 2022 season, with a further eye injury risking the end of his AFL career. At one point during his recovery he was considered legally blind, and also had to limit his exposure to light for more than a month at one point in order to regain vision.

Keays was fined $1000 by the AFL for misconduct as a result, however McGuire said the act was far worse than a simple misconduct charge would suggest. He told Channel 9's Footy Classified he suspected Cox, as the league's only American players and standing at over 200cm tall, presented something of an easy target not only for on-field rivals but also for somewhat dismissive commentary.

"The thing with Cox is he doesn't deserve to get any less attention but he certainly doesn't need to get extra attention," he said. "I thought it was really, really ordinary, the whole thing.

"That this was [treated like] a novelty, it's not, he's a professional football player who has an eye condition and is wearing glasses because of that. If he could wear contact lenses he would, but he needs the protection of his eyes.

"I just thought it was pretty ordinary to be perfectly honest that that happened and I think we have got to get past this whole thing with Mason Cox that he is just an oddity - he kicked two goals to win the game, [and] he's a serious footballer, he's come back from adversity."

Eddie McGuire fumes at commentators over Mason Cox treatment

McGuire also turned his attention to Buckley and Lyon, saying he didn't want to be overly critical, but was nevertheless disappointed that the incident was treated as more of an amusement than anything else. He said the risk Cox took every week, and the sheer necessity of the eyewear was not being recognised by commentary that sought to make light of the situation.

" I'm not going to have a crack at Garry and even Nathan, to a degree there, but every time Garry Lyon calls Coxy getting whacked, everyone is laughing like it's a comedy act," he said. "This is a guy who is one poke in the eye away from being blind.

"He's had three major surgeries on his eye. He lay on his back in a dead black room for basically a month to try and get his eyesight back and we're laughing because some narc jumps up, who has to almost do his PB in the high jump, to rip his glasses off."

Cox dragged the Magpies back into the contest with consecutive goals during the last quarter and celebrated the second in Crows defender Josh Worrell's face. The confrontation sparked a fierce melee, with players from both sides rushing in to take part.

With AAP

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