'Should be ashamed': Sam Newman seethes over Eddie McGuire 'disgrace'

Sam Newman says "cowardly" friends who have abandoned Eddie McGuire "should be ashamed".

Earlier this month it was revealed that McGuire was "in a bad way" having taken his exit as Collingwood president particularly hard.

McGuire fell on his sword last month after an independent report found "systemic racism" at the AFL club, which McGuire had led as president for 23 years.

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But speaking to the Herald Sun over the weekend, close friend and former Footy Show co-host Newman said a "witch hunt" forced McGuire to resign.

“It is an absolute unmitigated disgrace for a number of reasons,” Newman said.

“First of all it is a witch hunt. This is a witch hunt. Eddie McGuire has been at that club for more than 20 years, he has had heavy hitters on his board of directors, he has had various CEOs, he has had coaches that have been on the journey with him, and the only person they round up is Eddie McGuire.

“This is a witch hunt and has nothing to do with the case at hand. Where are all the other people who have been at that club?"

Newman condemned the lack of public support for McGuire in the wake of the scandal.

"There are really weak cowardly people who would normally come to his aid, but don’t want to get involved because you know the most overused and incorrectly used word in the English lexicon at the minute is racism," he said.

Eddie McGuire 'struggling' after exit from Collingwood

McGuire's resignation came after he was widely condemned for his response to the report about racism at Collingwood.

McGuire copped brutal backlash after describing the report as a "proud day" for the club, before later admitting that he "was wrong".

It led to widespread calls for McGuire to be sacked from his role at the Magpies, with the long-serving president deciding to step down in the wake of the outrage.

In the proceeding month McGuire has been rarely seen, with close confidantes of the 56-year-old telling News Corp he's in a "very bad way".

The 56-year-old has reportedly declined approaches from his close circle of friends and told them he is “not doing anything for a long time”.

A close confidante of McGuire's told News Corp the he has been left "crushed" by his messy exit and is struggling to cope with the fallout.

“He (McGuire) can’t get his head around that he’s basically been booted out of the club which he spent most of his life doing everything for,” he said.

“He sees it that he did everything trying to look after these people and then when push came to shove, he got shoved.

“That’s what has absolutely crushed him.”

Eddie McGuire's TV future still up in the air

McGuire is also one of the most iconic voices in the AFL, being part of the Fox Sports commentary team as well as hosting Channel Nine's Footy Classified on Wednesday nights.

With the new AFL season fast approaching, Fox Footy is understood to be preparing for McGuire's absence in the commentary booth, with the 56-year-old expected to miss the opening rounds or as many as two months of the new campaign.

McGuire indicated he would be taking a break from the game during his emotional resignation last month.

“And with the indulgence of my media partners, I’m going to take a break for a little while to regroup and heal," he said.

Additional reporting by Andrew Reid

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