AFL champion apologises after awkwardly snubbing kid during Grand Final celebrations
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It made for awkward scenes at the time, but AFL star Tom Stewart has definitely redeemed himself by publicly apologising to a young Geelong Cats fan for snubbing her handshake after the Grand Final.
Yes, it was a total accident with Stewart clearly not seeing the little girl, but he still wanted to personally reach out to her.
Respect.
Tom Stewart. Dick. #afl #AFLGF pic.twitter.com/ldTFMwxxHY
— Jordy D (@d33_jordy) September 24, 2022
The Geelong Cats had just thrashed the Sydney Swans by 81 points in the AFL Grand Final when their post-match celebration began.
In recent years, it has become tradition for the Auskicker of the Year nominees to present the Premiership medals to the players in front of a packed-out Melbourne Cricket Ground.
So when four-time All-Australian defender Stewart made his way onto the podium to receive his medal, he was greeted by an excited young fan.
Tom Stewart leaving that little girl hanging and then knocking the cap right off her head 😬 #AFLGF
— Sarah McPhee (@_SarahMcPhee) September 24, 2022
But as the girl wrapped the medal round Stewart's neck, he quickly stood up and cheered to the crowd, completely missing her extended arm hoping for a handshake.
To make matters worse, he also accidentally knocked the girls cap off her head while cheering the supporters.
Clearly buzzing with his team's flawless Grand Final victory, Stewart was completely unaware of what he'd done at the time – until he probably checked his tags on social media.
You really are expected to be perfect in this world. People really out here crucifying Tom Stewart for not shaking the little girls hand. You reckon he deliberately left her hanging? Seriously? He’s apologised publically & wants to track her down & make up for it. Good man.
— Harry William Jones (@HwilliamJones) September 25, 2022
If you think Tom Stewart deliberately knocked the girls hat off/avoided the handshake, and are using that to justify that he’s a “shit bloke”…you’re an absolute pelican 🙂
— Tim Rosen (@timrosen35) September 25, 2022
Speaking on Nine's Sports Sunday the morning after the big game, Stewart reached out to the fan.
"I want to reach out to the young girl who gave me my premiership medal," he said.
"I got a bit overwhelmed and a bit excited and ended up knocking her hat off her head.
"I'd love to get in contact with her and give her a little gift, so if anybody knows her and would like to reach out to me on my socials I'd really appreciate it."
Classy stuff.
When it happened, though, fans wasted no time in piling into the Cats star via social media.
No surprises with Tom Stewart not shaking the aus kicker hands , one of the worst human beings out there
— SwoopShim (@swoopshim) September 24, 2022
Tom Stewart not shaking the kids hand was extremely poor, but it's amazing that a bunch of people are calling him a shit bloke but have no problem idolising a guy who threatened a woman
— Oz 👑 (@__noname3) September 25, 2022
Tom Stewart this year's auskick kid villain
— MJ Leaver (@MJ_Leaver) September 24, 2022
Booooo Tom Stewart, didn’t shake hands with young girl and knocked her hat off her head
— Adrian Gissara (@AGissara) September 24, 2022
Featured Image Credit: Ch9/Ch7
Topics: Australia, Aussie Rules Football, Australia Afl