Shane Warne backs AFL great Sam Newman's bizarre Victorian golf protest
Aussie spin king Shane Warne has backed AFL great Sam Newman's protest to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, comparing the golf course to packed supermarket aisles.
Golf courses are among several outdoor venues that are currently banned by the Andrews government as a part of Victoria's strict COVID-19 lockdown laws.
However, Newman took umbrage to the law yesterday, standing on the stairs of Victoria's Parliament House as he staged a one-man protest.
The 300-game Geelong great was today backed by Warne via his personal Twitter account.
"Go on Sammy!!!" Warne wrote.
Sam Newman waited patiently outside the Victorian Parliament but to no avail Twitter
"I must admit, that you have a very good (point) - when I went to the supermarket a few days ago, there were 20 people in a confined space, plenty of room in the open space of a golf course."
An incensed Newman pleaded with the Victorian Premier to relax the state's social distancing laws in order to allow him to play golf again.
"I'm respectfully asking why in God's name can't we go onto a golf course, social distance, and play golf," he said in a video posted on Twitter.
"You might think this is a publicity stunt and you couldn't be more accurate. This is a publicity stunt because this is absolute nonsense.
"You give me a legitimate reason why golfers can't socially distance, not touch one another, walk around the golf course and obey the strict rules. It is nonsense.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews wasn't moved by Sam Newman's Parliament House golf protest AAP
"Everyone's out on the street jogging, spitting, vomiting, pissing on everyone, it's extraordinary.
"I saw people people kicking a football on Olympic Park yesterday. It's nonsense."
However, Newman's protest fell on deaf ears, with Premier Andrews admitting he "didn't give (Newman) much thought).
"I'd love to be playing golf," he said.
"We all would. But I don't need to play golf, and me playing golf is not worth someone's life."
Eddie McGuire Nine
Earlier this morning, long-time friend Eddie McGuire brought Newman on the Hot Breakfast to discuss the issue.
McGuire didn't hold back on his former AFL Footy Show panellist, declaring if "you make a mistake, people die."
"Sam, if you can leave the bag in the back of a car for another month, I reckon you'll be playing," he said.
"Why don't we just stick between the lines for a couple more weeks. It's better than having to go to war or anything. Why don't we just stick there and we'll all get through it.
"Sometimes … there are too many people out there who, if you let them have a free run at things, they'll completely run off the rails.
"We had it there for a while on St Kilda beach, and they were sitting under the sign that said 'do not sit together'."
