The former Newcastle player felt the club made an ‘insensitive’ mistake last weekend.
Alex McKinnon has revealed he “wasn’t personally upset” by an oversight from Newcastle Knights officials at their home game against the Melbourne Storm last weekend, but felt it was an “insensitive” mistake from his former club that showed a lack of awareness. McKinnon was in attendance for the game in Newcastle on Saturday, and paid for his own ticket to sit on the hill with his family.
Questions were asked when McKinnon, who is in a wheelchair, wasn’t involved in a pre-game event with spinal support organisation ‘Stronger Together’, who were the match-day partner on the day. Daily Telegraph journalist David Riccio labelled it a “disgraceful oversight” that McKinnon seemingly wasn’t told by the Knights that ambassadors for Stronger Together would be at the game and on the field.
At the heart of the issue is the fact the Knights were playing the Storm, and it was the same fixture 11 years ago in which McKinnon suffered life-altering injuries. Many found it insensitive towards McKinnon to promote the charity during the Melbourne Storm game, rather than any other home game this year.
Riccio wrote on Monday: “Of all the home games this season that the Knights could have chosen, they selected a home game against the Melbourne Storm to promote a spinal cord charity. This is the disgraceful ‘oversight’ that proves the club CEO must move on.”
Alex McKinnon responds to ‘oversight’ from Knights
Knights officials have reportedly apologised to McKinnon, and the former player responded with a statement on Tuesday. Writing on social media, McKinnon said he wasn’t overly offended that no-one from the Knights contacted him, but agreed the timing was insensitive.
He said he would have loved to have been involved on the day, as it would have provided a chance to show he holds no lingering animosity towards the Storm. “I wasn’t personally upset by the weekend’s events,” he wrote. “If anything I found the irony of it being against the Storm a bit funny. It felt like a missed opportunity to connect with the Storm and back a great cause, raising funds and awareness for those living with spinal cord injuries.”
McKinnon said he was contacted by Stronger Together about being involved on Saturday, but not by the Knights. “David and Kath from the Stronger Together Foundation are incredible people,” he wrote. “I caught up with them on Thursday and knew their charity was the match day partner. They kindly asked me to be involved, but I had other commitments. I fully supported them from afar.”
As for paying for his own ticket, McKinnon said he loves sitting on the hill and getting involved with the match-day experience of regular fans, and didn’t have a problem with that aspect. “What disappointed my family (and many who reached out) was the club’s lack of communication and awareness. In my view, not reaching out beforehand was an insensitive oversight.
As for the tickets, I regularly buy them for my family to sit on the hill, I have for years. I love the game-day experience and sharing it with my kids. I’m a fan.”
McKinnon was left a quadriplegic after suffering spinal injuries during a game for the Knights against the Storm in 2014. The 33-year-old played three games for the Dragons before moving to the Knights and playing 46 more.
But his career was cut tragically short when he landed on his head in a tackle gone wrong. Fans were quick to praise him on Tuesday for his response to the controversy.
