McKinnon has every right to vent

Whether you agree with Alex McKinnon's views or not is beside the point, says Dana Johannsen. Photo / Getty Images

In all the debate that has raged since Alex McKinnon voiced his anger over Storm captain Cameron Smith, some people seem to have forgotten the tragedy is McKinnon's.

It's been over a week since a story aired on Australian TV detailing McKinnon's private battles since the tragic tackle that ended his playing career and left him confined to a wheelchair, but the fallout continues. In the programme, the former Knights forward revealed he is still seething over Smith's actions in the immediate aftermath of the incident, and later when the Australian captain argued over a penalty after McKinnon was stretchered from the field.

McKinnon's frank views of the way Smith dealt with the situation did not go down well with a large chunk of the league community, with many rushing to violent defence of Smith. Much of the backlash against McKinnon showed a callous disregard for his circumstances, with the general gist of comments being "the guy just needs to move on".

If you are going to begrudge a man for harbouring resentment about an incident that left him facing the rest of his life in a wheelchair, then you should think about recalibrating your empathy settings.

Whether you agree with McKinnon's views or not is beside the point. He is entitled to feel how he feels - they are his emotions, it is his story to tell.

Others have directed their anger at the other party in the conversation - current affairs show 60 Minutes - contending it was just plain old "media sensationalism".

Smith supporters have accused the 60 Minutes producers of deliberately leaving out a vital part of his conversation with the referee, robbing him of context. It has since been revealed the footage aired was a package provided by The Footy Show that was used in the days following the dreadful incident 15 months ago.

But even the full unedited version hardly puts the Australian captain in a better light. He acknowledges the seriousness of the incident and that he was saddened to see it happen, before continuing to protest about the penalty and McKinnon's role in the tackle.

That piece of audio seems at odds with the explanation provided by the Storm in response to the 60 Minutes item, with the Melbourne club contending that at that stage Smith was not aware that something out of the ordinary had happened.

Allegations that 60 Minutes manufactured McKinnon's outrage by showing him the footage on camera ignores the fact that the former Knights player has written at length about his upset at Smith in his book set for release this month.

The current affairs show does need to front up and properly explain why Smith was not given the right of reply for the story. They have previously said it was because this was McKinnon's story.

And that is worth remembering.

Many fans may have preferred the narrative of the former young league prodigy's brave battle as he came to terms with the horrifying reality of his injury with his beautiful and wonderfully supportive fiancee by his side.

But no doubt McKinnon too wishes his story had worked out differently.