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Sport Nation
Lyon: Cowards revel behind the “veil of anonymity”
Andrew Slevison • July 10th, 2025 11:40 am
- Michael Voss subject of "heinous" message
- The Carlton coach was defiant in his response
- Garry Lyon and Tim Watson have backed Voss
- The Blues meet the Lions on Thursday night
Garry Lyon wants those who send threatening messages to be named and shamed.
His comments come in the wake of the “heinous” threat directed at Carlton coach Michael Voss which was left on the MCG’s anti-social hotline service during the club’s loss to Collingwood on Friday night.
With social media and so many other platforms readily available to the general public, there has been an influx of reprehensible behaviour directed at individuals, whether it be players, coaches or media personalities, in recent years.
There have been calls for tighter regulations with social media profiles and the like, something Lyon agrees with.
He feels that the anonymous nature of such things allows “cowards” to freely get on their high horse.
Name and shame
“The veil of anonymity gives these cowards license. That's the way I see it,” Lyon said on SEN Breakfast.
“So, out this person. Out them. Name them.
“And then set a precedent for people who want to take it to a place where it is totally unacceptable. Ok, then you own your comments.
“If you're going to be like that - and this is across the board, this is text messages, this is letters to editors or comments in papers - out these people.
“Put a name to them, put a face to them.”
Lyon is all for the everyman or woman being able to voice their opinions on sport, but insists - like the media - that they must not take the easy way out by being faceless and nameless.
“So if you want to be in the public forum… we've got responsibilities, right? What is happening now, and in the main part it's a good thing, that the everyday person becomes has a voice in the media, right?,” he continued.
“We give them one here on radio, you can commentate on social, all that sort of stuff, which I think is great, but with that comes responsibility. Anything you say or I say, we are absolutely responsible for and we can't hide away from it, nor should we. We get paid for what we do.
“But if you want to get involved and you want to be part of this commentary and the commentariat, great, but own what you say, and be prepared to have your face put to your words.
“That's where I sit on all this.”
People would be horrified
Co-host Tim Watson fully concurs with Lyon’s sentiments, insisting that what Voss has had to deal with is way out of line.
“I agree with you wholeheartedly, and it's a very strong take,” said Watson.
“I think there would be a lot of people out there that would be horrified with what Michael Voss has been confronted with in recent times, and it's been going on for a while as well.
“It probably has got to a new level in recent times because of the fact that he's still there, Carlton's still losing and people just can't accept that in any way.”
Identity known
Without a name released, it came to light that the person responsible for the threatening message is somebody in a senior executive position at an unnamed company.
SEN’s Andy Maher is of the belief that those investigating the incident know the identity of the offender.
“I’ve been reliably informed they know who it is,” Maher said on SEN’s The Run Home.
“It’s not some half-wit or some kid just mucking around, it’s somebody who should absolutely know better given their status.
“They’re somebody who holds a reasonably senior executive position. So it’s not some imbecile, this is somebody who should know a whole lot better.”
Lyon hopes the authorities act if that information happens to be correct.
He said: “Let's hope that they find the person. If he's a senior executive, go and talk to his company about is this the sort of person that you want being involved in your business?”
Voss a strong leader
Away from the specific nature of the message itself, Watson and Lyon were full of praise for the leadership Voss has shown in trying circumstances.
“That was the behaviour and performance of a leader,” Watson added.
“He still looks to me to be a great leader. Maybe there are some other components of his coaching that he needs help with and they need to fill some gaps around him.
“But in terms of a leader, somebody standing up there and being strong, authoritative, and unwavering, and having a great sense of self and belief and humility and all the things that are associated with great leaders, I think he displays all those characteristics in spades.”
Lyon says the testimonials from Brisbane Lions teammates over time prove that three-time premiership captain Voss has remarkably strong leadership credentials.
“You only have to talk to (Jonathan) Brown and (Simon) Black and (Brad and Chris) Scott and all these players that played under him,” Lyon said further.
“He was an extraordinary leader and is an extraordinary leader.
“Now the leader and coach, we're separating in this instance. The coaching has obviously got its own challenges, but from a leadership point of view, I heard Brad Scott say last night, he's never met a more resilient man in his life.
“There's not a person, not a reasonable, sane person that just doesn't condemn what's been going on or what has taken place in the last 48 hours around that.”
The Blues, who have lost three games in a row, are back in action against Voss’ former club the Lions at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
