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'Absolutely accurate': Sam Newman doubles down on George Floyd slur

Pictured here, former Channel Nine footy identity employee Sam Newman.
Sam Newman no no regrets about his George Floyd remarks. Pic: Getty

Controversial former AFL player and broadcaster Sam Newman is refusing to back down on the controversial George Floyd comments that preceded his split from Channel Nine.

Newman last week ended his 35-year association with the Nine Network after making disparaging remarks about Floyd - the African-American man killed by a white police officer in the United States.

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“George Floyd … is piece of s***,” Newman said on his podcast You Cannot Be Serious.

“He has been in jail five times, he held up a pregnant black woman with a knife, he’s a drug addict, he’s a crackhead and he’s a pornstar.”

“He’s dead because of the police brutality and it never should have happened. But I am telling you who George Floyd is, now they’ve made a monument about him and he’s a piece of s***”.

The shocking attack prompted a fierce backlash against the veteran footy icon, with Channel Nine employees among those calling for his sacking.

An online petition to remove Newman from the network gathered steam before he and Nine announced that they'd mutually agreed to part ways.

Despite the outrage over Newman's initial comments about Floyd, the 74-year-old doubled down on his comments over the weekend.

“How in God’s name could you say that was controversial what I said about him,” Newman said to the Herald Sun.

“I could have easily said, and probably should have if I had known it was going to be reported verbatim, that he is of unsavoury character.

“The point is why are making a martyr out of Geoge Floyd, we should be condemning the police brutality.

“What I said about him is absolutely accurate.”

While Newman will no longer feature on Nine's AFL Footy Show, he is still part of a podcast with Mike Sheahan and Don Scott.

Newman attacked over controversial comments

The controversial broadcaster says in spite of his bombshell exit from Channel Nine - after a 35-year association - he has no regrets about how things panned out.

“No regrets at all, it doesn’t affect me at all in the slightest,” he told the Sunday Herald Sun.

Newman's exit from Nine coincided with a scathing attack from Collingwood legend Heritier Lumumba, who accused the 74-year-old of being tone deaf and a bigot.

Seen here, Heritier Lumumba and Sam Newman.
Heritier Lumumba launched a scathing attack on Sam Newman. Pic: Getty/Instagram

Lumumba - who this month accused his former club Collingwood of covering up racism during his 10-year stint with the club - claimed Newman was missing the point about Floyd and his insistence that Black Lives Matter is an American movement that has no place in Australia.

“Sam Newman is doing exactly what he has always done. He is consistent with his bigotry, unwavering with his prejudice, and unapologetic with his tone deafness,” Lumumba wrote on Twitter.

“He is one of the reasons why I ALWAYS refused to appear on the footy show.

“Unsurprisingly, Newman’s comments re: George Floyd show that (he) doesn’t have a clue about what the #BlackLivesMatter is about. ANY black victim of extrajudicial execution by police or vigilantes deserves recognition by the BLM movement, as they are human beings, first and foremost.

“George Floyd’s criminal past shouldn’t disqualify him from being seen as a human being first. Police aren’t conducting background checks before shooting, beating or kneeling on the necks of black people. Why? Because they don’t see us as human. Newman doesn’t sees us as human.”