John Baggetta: Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault football coach sacked over shocking Tammy Hembrow slur

A prominent WA country football coach has been sacked by his club after he used a highly offensive and sexist comment towards the influencer girlfriend of AFL star Bailey Smith.

John Baggetta — who was the coach of South West Football League powerhouse Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault’s league side — left the now-deleted comment on a story about influencer Tammy Hembrow and Geelong player Smith being seen together on a “date”.

Baggetta described Hembrow as a “c.m bucket” on a post sharing an article about her new romance with the football star and model.

The post was called out online by a feminist advocacy group late on Thursday which was shared widely on social media.

The club confirmed the well-known country football figure was sacked on Friday in a statement where its board of directors said the “do not condone these comments and they do not reflect the values or standards of the Harvey Brunswick Leschenault Football Club at any level”.

When contacted by The West Australian on Friday, Baggetta said he was “regretful” for what he called a “mistake” and “error in judgement”, but he would “live and learn and move on”.

Baggetta returned to the Lions, where he won a premiership in 2019, midway through this season. He has also previously coached Bunbury-based club Carey Park to a flag.

The club also has a long-standing women’s program and one of the region’s biggest junior programs. The club revealed it had consulted with its women’s team over the decision and “committed to offering them and all the females in our club any support necessary”.

“We have a large junior base of players, parents, supporters, officials and others that also believe that such comments are not appropriate, and not to be tolerated in society,” its statement read.

“We are incredibly proud to have a women’s team, female representation on our board and women actively involved as members of our club.”

Hembrow and Smith were spotted on what appeared to be a date in Queensland — and again after his game in Geelong last week — just weeks after she announced her divorce from former reality star and podcaster Matt Zukowski.

The pair were seen at the popular Burleigh Pavilion just over a week ago, where witnesses claimed they were holding hands and kissing for hours.

It is the second major incident of overt sexism in the powerful country league and comes three years after a male club leader at South Bunbury Football Club was forced to apologise for making offensive comments to female players at a season launch.

HBL’s league side, who sit fourth on the ladder, will play Carey Park at Kelly Park in Bunbury tomorrow, where a win will secure their place in the finals.