Embattled Carlton coach Michael Voss has defended his staff and accused the media of bullying as the spotlight intensifies on the club for allowing Elijah Hollands to play last week during a mental health episode.
Hollands behaved erratically in the match against Collingwood and is now in hospital, and speculation has focused on how Voss’s staff had allowed the young player to take the field given his struggles were obvious even from the stands.
Fronting a large press pack on Thursday at Princes Park ahead of Saturday’s match against Fremantle, Voss said he wanted to respect the AFL’s investigation into the club’s actions on the night and “we accept that we need to look at process”.
But he said that in a “complex situation that has history and background” his staff deserve praise.
“I’m proud of my people, and the process itself will take care of itself, and we need to put our support behind that,” he said.
“We’ve unfortunately rather than make this a private challenge, we’ve made this a public event.
“The commentary, the conversation, the ball-by-ball play, we’ve unfortunately made it that, and in some ways – I’ll be really honest – it’s felt like bordering on bullying.”
When asked to clarify who was being bullied, Voss was explicit.
“I think our people are being bullied, and I think [the media] bully for outcomes, and all I’d just say is that we need to take into consideration the people who are involved in this,” he said. “I mean, this impacts families.”
He said the media commentary had been jumping to conclusions.
“Rather than show compassion and empathy through a really difficult situation, [the media] are being really judgmental with knowing little facts, without understanding history and background, and [they] have drawn [their] own outcomes.”
When Hollands spoke two years ago of his personal challenges it was a “significant” moment, Voss said, adding “the last couple of years haven’t been smooth sailing for him or us.”
The coach said he had not spoken to Hollands directly in recent days, instead communicating with his family. Voss maintained he and the club were committed to maintaining the privacy of the player.
“You can have your commentary, that’s what [the media] do,” he said.
“What we are charged to do is ensure that we maintain the privacy of the player, and if that means that there’s judgment in behind that towards me, and there’s a few bullets that need to come our way, well we’ll take it.
“We’ve all been impacted in some way, as families and you individually, maybe there’s a few here that have struggled with some mental health in recent times, maybe it’s been a family member, maybe it’s been a friend, maybe it’s been a loved one.
“And all I just ask is … ‘what would you want right now?’ And that’s all we ask.”
In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.
