Foxtel’s top cricket executive has resigned from the pay-TV broadcaster after an investigation into his alleged improper use of social media as the company gears up for the summer of cricket.
Matt Weiss, Fox Sports’ general manager of Fox Cricket, is leaving the company after more than a decade, including seven years running its cricket broadcasting division, having been linked to a now-deleted social media account used to allegedly abuse colleagues, rivals and prominent media, sports and political figures.
The allegations were first reported in August by Crikey, which detailed alleged attacks and abuse dating back several years that were derogatory in nature, according to the reports.
The X (then-Twitter) account was used under the handle @RealRagingBull, and was deleted in 2021.
A Foxtel spokesperson confirmed Weiss’ resignation on Monday evening following the conclusion of an investigation initiated by the company at the end of August. The spokesperson did not comment on the investigation’s outcome.
It’s alleged the account attacked rival journalists from other outlets and some from within the News Corp stable, such as The Australian’s Gideon Haigh.
Weiss also allegedly called former Fox commentator Simon Hill an “oxygen thief” after he left the company, targeted AFLW players and other sports and media personalities, and used the account to call individuals a number of names, including “toothless ice head”, “spastic” and “mediawhore”.
It’s further alleged he requested a woman start an OnlyFans account and compared multiple black women’s appearances to Star Wars character Chewbacca, according to Crikey.
News Corp’s global standards of business conduct demand that employees do not engage in behaviour on or off company property that causes or risks causing any employee to reasonably feel that he or she is being harassed.