Former Celtic star Frank McAvennie has responded to backlash over his comments on Auston Trusty following the death of the father's defender.
Trusty lost his father just under two weeks ago and was given time off to deal with the loss, as would be expected in any workplace. He then returned to training before being given the weekend off to attend the celebration of his father's life back in the US.
In the latest episode of McAvennie's podcast, named Let Me Be Frank, the former Hoops star questioned the amount of time Trusty wanted off, and when the presenter reminded him that grief affects different people differently, he responded by suggesting such a notion was 'woke'.
The clips of the podcast have gone viral, with many in desbelief over what was said, and McAvennie has now responded to the crticisim.
A social media post read: "Hi everyone. I’ve seen some of the reaction to comments I made on the podcast about Auston’s absence from football following the death of his father.
"I can understand why people feel my comments were insensitive, and looking back, I should have chosen my words more carefully.
"Everyone deals with grief differently, and I certainly meant no disrespect to Auston or his family. Celtic need the big man back, and that’s what I was clumsily trying to say. I wish him and his family all the very best. Frank."
Not good enough
If McAvennie had issued an apology today, this might have blown over, but instead he has issued a statement that does not once mention the word 'sorry' or 'apologise'. Instead the tone is 'I can see why you are upset, but it's not what I meant'.
That's good enough when what was said was so egregiously out of line on a human level. It's not only going to offend Trusty, but it's going to be seen by thousands of people who will have had a difficult time getting over the loss of their loved ones.
What we know about grief is that there is no script. It hits some people harder than others, and it has nothing to do with how 'tough' a person is. It's largely something that is out of your control, and getting past it is no easy task when it involves the loss of someone who has been important in your life.
What McAvennie has tried to do, and this is very much the intention of the comments, is to create a soundbite on his podcast, be it for the popularity of the podcast, to make money or both.
That's not right, and it should have triggered a sincere apology.
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