The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has once again stuck to its values when it comes to sponsorship deals, cancelling its arrangement with the Geelong Cats AFL club after its team captain was involved in a speeding incident.
Joel Selwood has had his licence suspended for a month after he was caught doing 127km per hour in a 100km per hour zone just over a week ago, Fairfax Media reported.
The TAC made the decision to cancel its rolling one-year deal sponsorship deal with Geelong (effective immediately) – which has been in place for more than 10 years, and is believed to be worth $250,000 a season.
The TAC issued the following statement on its website yesterday:
“The Geelong Football Club (GFC) and the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) today confirmed the partnership between the organisations would not be renewed.
“For the past 11 years, the Cats have been a great supporter of road safety.
“In January 2015, the GFC stated publicly that in the event of any further serious incidents, the partnership would be relinquished, and the TAC respects the club’s integrity.
“Both the TAC and the Cats will continue to explore opportunities to work in the community to reduce road trauma going forward.”
Geelong Football Club CEO Brian Cook told Fairfax that the club was “disappointed” with the decision.
“We’ve been doing this for over a decade with the TAC and we’ll continue to embrace their message,” he said.
Geelong becomes the third Victorian AFL club to lose its sponsorship deal with the TAC, according to Fairfax.
The company withdrew from a 16-year partnership with the Richmond Tigers in 2005 after a drink-driving and speeding incident involving one of its players, and then cut ties with the Collingwood Magpies in 2008 after one of its players was caught driving at more than double the blood-alcohol limit.
