High profile AFL journalist Mitch Cleary has returned to the airwaves hours after he admitted to cheating on his pregnant fiancée during the off-season – acknowledging he covers the personal lives of footy players.
Normally the one announcing the headlines rather than making them, the Channel Seven star issued a second grovelling public apology for his indiscretion on his podcast about AFL trades, The Tradies, on Wednesday morning.
It comes after his fiancée, racing commentator Kate Watts, took to Instagram on Sunday to call out a female Collingwood employee, accusing her in no uncertain terms of having had a romantic involvement with Cleary. The post was deleted an hour later.
Sources told the Daily Mail on Tuesday a consensual kiss occurred during a media junket overseas last November, just three months before Cleary and Watts welcomed their first child.
This morning, Cleary spent the first two minutes addressing the scandal on his weekly podcast he co-hosts with fellow AFL reporter Sam McClure.
‘Before we start the regular part of the pod Mitch, it would be disingenuous to us and to our listeners and our fanbase without addressing what’s happened in the last 24 hours, of which you’ve publicly made a statement,’ McClure began.
‘Do you want to add anything to that statement at all?’
Cleary replied: ‘Yeah, I made a really bad error in judgement on a night out last year and I’m dealing with the consequences of that.
AFL journalist Mitch Cleary issued another grovelling apology on The Tradies podcast – admitting a key criticism that his podcast touches upon the personal lives of players
Cleary admitted to cheating on his pregnant fiancée Kate Watts during the off-season but and says it was a kiss with a Collingwood staffer, who is not a member of the club’s media team
‘It’s caused so much hurt, stress and embarrassment to those closest to me, most importantly Kate and my daughter.
‘I’m working through it with those around me in a private setting, because it’s a personal matter.
‘And I just… those around me, the thoughts of everyone involved, are at the forefront.
‘I’ve got to wear that and I’ve got to work through the consequences as part of it.’
McClure was keen to not dwell on the subject, adding that it was now a personal matter for Cleary and his family.
‘We’re here to talk footy,’ Cleary agreed, before admitting the show touched on the personal lives of sports stars – something critics have seized upon in the wake of the scandal.
‘We cross over on trades and that sort of thing in terms of the personal lives of people, so it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t come on here and address that I made a major error,’ Cleary continued.
‘But we are a footy show, there’s footy trades on the horizon, keen to talk about that.’
Mitch Cleary is now working to regain the trust of his fiancee Kate. Above, together at a black tie dinner
The podcast was inundated with messages of support from AFL fans.
‘Head up Mitch, we all make small and big mistakes, don’t feel like you owe the public anything, this is just between you and your family to work out,’ one commented.
Another added: ‘Just quickly, respect both Mitch and Sam for addressing this in the podcast. Big followers know how great Mitch is for footy, and his willingness to front his issues speaks to his character.’
Channel Seven sources insist that no further action would be taken against Cleary and that he will be front and centre of the network’s AFL coverage in September.
The scandal threatened to overshadow week one of the AFL finals, which gets underway on Thursday night.
‘A consensual kiss took place during personal time in an off-season trip last year,’ a Collingwood insider told the Daily Mail on Tuesday.
‘The staff member regrets the incident and apologises for the impact their actions caused.
‘Rumours circulating online stating that the staff member is a member of the media department are completely false.’
Cleary earlier released a statement on social media apologising for his ‘terrible error in judgement’.
‘I am sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I have caused for all parties,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘The kiss was a terrible error in judgment for which I am incredibly sorry, and I am dealing with the consequences privately with my family and those closest to me.
‘I don’t want to diminish my actions, but most of what has been suggested about the circumstances is not accurate.’
Cleary and Watts, whose daughter was born in February, have been together for five years and engaged for two.
