AFL club Melbourne have cut ties immediately with major sponsor EnergyWatch over a series of racist remarks.
Ben Polis has admitted that he made dozens of offensive remarks on Facebook. Picture: Cameron L'Estrange Source: Herald Sun
Stephen Rielly and Courtney Walsh discuss Mark Neeld's rough start as Demons coach and pick the AFL games to watch this weekend.
ONE of Australia's largest power companies has dumped its contract with EnergyWatch, whose chief executive quit today over offensive comments on his Facebook page.
The Melbourne Football Club earlier severed sponsorship ties with the energy broker after it was revealed CEO and co-founder Ben Polis had made offensive remarks about Aborigines, Asians and women on his Facebook page.
Even Julia Gillard was drawn into the row, condemning Mr Polis's remarks as "very nasty".
Mr Polis has apologised for the comments, but says they were "jokes between friends" that had been taken out of context.
EnergyWatch moved this morning to try to contain the damage from the affair, with an emergency management meeting deciding Mr Polis should step down as CEO.
However within hours the major power firm TRUenergy announced it had suspended its contract with the energy broker indefinitely.
TRUenergy and its NSW branch EnergyAustralia said the comments were "extremely inappropriate."
"TRUenergy does not tolerate such comments within its own business and consistent with that position we expect a similar standard of behaviour from our service providers," a statement said.
"The remarks were deeply concerning to our company and are completely out of step with community expectations."
EnergyWatch senior management earlier voted unanimously in favour of Mr Polis's resignation.
Incoming CEO and co-founder Luke Zombor said the comments had no correlation with the values of the company.
"It's been a tough day," he said in a statement. "I'm concerned about Ben's health and profoundly disappointed that our EnergyWatch brand has been embroiled in his remarks.
"Let me make it crystal clear, the recent comments of Ben Polis are at diametric odds with those of EnergyWatch, our management and our team members."
Mr Zombor said the EnergyWatch team would work with its commercial partners over coming days to "review and solidify" arrangements.
The axed sponsorship deal with the Melbourne Football Club was reportedly worth about $2 million a year to the Demons.
Cutting ties with EnergyWatch today, the Demons said the comments made by Mr Polis on Facebook were "disgraceful and abhorrent".
"The board of the Melbourne Football Club today met to consider its sponsorships with EnergyWatch and Freedom SEO," the Demons said in a statement. "The club has terminated these sponsorships, effective immediately."
A-League club Melbourne Victory, which is also sponsored by EnergyWatch, was also reviewing its association.
"Not only does Melbourne Victory view Mr Polis's remarks as totally unacceptable, but the comments completely contradict everything Melbourne Victory stands for in terms of actively embracing multiculturalism, while also encouraging female participation," the Victory said in a statement.
Mr Polis has admitted to statements attacking Aborigines, Asians, women and Ms Gillard, although he has attempted to pass them off as private jokes.
He said today he was embarrassed by the remarks and he was not racist.
"These were jokes between friends," Mr Polis said.
"Have they been taken out of context? Yes.
"Did I say them? 100 per cent."
Mr Polis said he could understand how minority groups would feel offended by the comments.
"For that I am very sorry."I'm not a racist person."
His offensive remarks included one about embattled Demons forward Liam Jurrah, after the indigenous player was recently arrested over an alleged machete attack.
Included on Mr Polis's Facebook page was a photo of Jurrah altered to picture him holding a machete, accompanied by an insulting remark.
"When he came to the Dees, they thought he had tribal tats, but it was ringworm. He had never been to a doctor in his life, he comes from out back bit past Carrum Downs," Mr Polis said on the page.
Jurrah is from a remote indigenous community in the Northern Territory.
His string of other slurs included one saying customers who signed up to his company on Christmas Day must be "Muslims and Jews".
Another claimed Asian girls "add no value to society apart from insurance premiums cause they can't drive".
The Prime Minister said she wasn't worried that she too was a target of the comments, but was more concerned about the "deeply offensive" comments made about indigenous Australians.
"The AFL has has done remarkable work to profile and showcase indigenous Australians to pursue the cause of reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australia," she told reporters in Adelaide.
"So to see someone associated with one of the great football clubs making comments like that is really deeply disappointing."
Mr Zombor said when he and Mr Polis started EnergyWatch in 2009 as 27-year-olds, their goal was to create an organisation built for the benefit of Australian mums and dads.
"My focus now is to rebuild that dream and make EnergyWatch the community champion it was always intended to be," he said today.
Additional reporting: AAP
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