A formal apology has been issued to Nicky Winmar, St. Kilda rugby player after Don Scott, Sam Newman, and Mike Sheahan were accused of making inappropriate comments about Winmar on their podcast. According to Winmar, the three men were critical of his stand against what he called his stand against racism. The men said on the podcast that Winmar was pointing to his “guts” in a 1993 anti-racism picture.

The four men met to mediate their dispute. The apology came after the mediation.

The 1993 image featured Winmar lifting his jersey and pointing to his skin. It was what he called a gesture of defiance after he had been subjected to racism by the crowd during a match with Collingwood at Princes Park. Many consider the image one of the most important in AFL history.

The three men criticized Winmar on their You Cannot Be Serious podcast. They questioned whether he had been taking a stand against racism or pointing at his “guts.” Winmar was enraged by the comments and began legal proceedings against the men for what they would say.

The parties ended up in mediation to discuss the dispute over the comment and it ended with Winmar receiving a public apology.

According to Newman, "During our 23 June 2020 podcast, we talked about Nicky lifting his jumper and pointing to his skin at the end of the 1993 Collingwood and St Kilda match during which he had been racially abused.” Newman went on to say, “It was also a powerful statement of solidarity for Indigenous Australians who are subjected to racism and vilification. Any suggestion otherwise was wrong. We have reflected deeply on the issues. We understand many people would regard what we said as racially discriminatory of Nicky and Indigenous Australians. For all these reasons, we sincerely apologize to Nicky Winmar and Indigenous Australians generally."