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Smith criticised for another controversial Instagram post
SEN • October 10th, 2025 12:42 pm
Death, taxes and Bailey Smith causing problems with his use of social media.
The Geelong star has made headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent weeks given his activity and captions on Instagram during the Cats’ Mad Monday celebrations.
Not only was he accused of homophobia for his choice of description on some images he uploaded but he was also slammed for the personal attack made on veteran journalist Caroline Wilson together with inappropriate emojis.
Wilson went public last weekend with how disgusted she was with Smith’s behaviour and even Geelong CEO Steve Hocking conceded it was approaching time to take his star player aside.
"When you come off-field, the interest in him is just unbelievable,” Hocking told SEN on Thursday. “He has a different relationship with social media than our age profile. I don’t understand it at all, but he works that exceptionally well.
"There will be a time in my view this will involve all of us in the off-season where by we need to (talk to him).
"It’s not about tiptoeing around someone like Bailey but more about tailoring it accordingly.”
Despite the club’s concerns, it seems nothing is deterring Smith who, overnight, while celebrating a friend's birthday, posted a since-deleted image of a YouTube video from nine years ago.
It’s a controversial clip of Sam Newman abusing Wilson.
It’s the latest in a string of incidents that has Kane Cornes calling for Smith to pull his head in and to stop becoming an unnecessary distraction for the Geelong Football Club.
“He’s posted a screen shot of a YouTube clip where Sam Newman - nine years ago - blasted Caroline Wilson which was controversial at the time from memory,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.
“Bailey Smith has posted this screen grab of Newman smashing Caro.
“It has since been deleted, but we know Caro has been critical of Bailey Smith and his actions off the field in recent times and throughout the year.
“Her column last Saturday was one of the better things I’ve read, she wrote about the personal impact of the Mad Monday situation.
“It's another one Geelong will have to answer today and it’s another distraction for the footy club.
“I think it is time for Bailey - who brings so much good to the game, there’s no doubt about that. There is lot of good to him and at the core he has a good heart, but right now, he is becoming a distraction that his club does not need.
“It resolves around his use of social media and some other things.”
