'Rules for some and rules for others': David King hits out at Geelong as twin verbal abuse scandals erupt

The Cats are facing another verbal abuse scandal, this time involving head coach Chris Scott. The latest incident has sparked accusations that Scott's actions are being "swept under the carpet".

North Melbourne great David King has criticised the AFL and Geelong's "secrecy," pointing to two incidents on the same day.

On Wednesday, while star player Bailey Smith was apologising for verbally abusing a photographer, Scott was also phoning a female junior AFL staff member to make amends for his own outburst.

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Nine's chief AFL reporter, Tom Morris, revealed on Thursday that Scott's confrontation with a junior staff member after last Friday's win over Brisbane had left her in tears.

"Chris Scott had an aggressive outburst outside the media conference room on Friday night," Morris reported.

"I'm told the junior female media official was in tears after the exchange, which prompted Scott to phone the staffer.

"The coach was questioning the presence of an accredited media person at his media conference, which prompted the outburst.

"The AFL say Scott did say sorry and they believe the matter is now closed."

The news coincided with Smith messaging a Geelong Advertiser photographer to apologise for a foul-mouthed spray during a training session earlier this week.

After receiving treatment on the bench, Smith confronted the photographer who was taking photos from the grandstand with a long lens. He is then said to have confronted her a second time, demanding she delete the photos.

The photographer later claimed it was not the first time she had been verbally abused by Smith this season.

Frustrated by what he sees as a lack of communication from the Cats and the AFL, King questioned why coach Scott is not facing the same public scrutiny and punishment as players for a verbal abuse incident.

"Scott's not going to be sanctioned, but he has apologised verbally by phone and has gone out of his way to clear this up," he told SEN's Fireball.

"But I'm just not sure that's good enough. I'm not sure that if there're rules for some and rules for others, we need to know what's gone on here.

"Why is this all of a sudden just swept under the carpet. This is not the time for secrecy.

"Every time players are transgressing, they're fronting the media, they're fronting the AFL. How come this is just disappearing and being swept under the carpet without us knowing what's been said and knowing where it sits?

"We need to know what's gone on. If he's been sanctioned. Has he been sanctioned or forced to make an apology? Tell us what's gone on."

A Geelong spokesperson said of the matter: "The club acknowledges an interaction that took place post-game last Friday night. The club confirms Chris called the AFL staff member to personally apologise for the exchange, and the apology was accepted".

Speaking on Triple M's Mick in the Morning, former AFLW player Kate McCarthy clipped Smith's alleged comment to a photographer that she was "doing a f---ing shit job".

"Someone doing their job doesn't deserve to be abused," she said.

"The other thing is, Bailey makes a lot of money off a lot of photos. A lot of photos he posts on Instagram and endorsements to plug products.

"If you're going to take that, you have to take the scrutiny you're going to get.

"This wasn't him being followed around in a car park taking photos… I could understand if he was being papped and getting frustrated with that, but you're at an open training session.

"This lady is doing her job, and you have a problem with it? I don't think that was warranted."

The recent incidents have led to a tumultuous week for the Cats, unexpectedly putting them in the spotlight as they prepare for their next final.

Geelong defeated Brisbane last Friday to earn a break before next week's preliminary final against the winner of Hawthorn and Adelaide's clash.