A former Hawthorn player was incorrectly marked as deceased during the AFL‘s Hall of Fame ceremony on Tuesday night.
The Age revealed Hawks great Michael Porter flashed up on the big screen during the “in memoriam” tributes at the event, which recognised past players who had died in the last 12 months.
Porter won the 1971 premiership with the Hawks.
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But the 79-year-old was at home watching the broadcast of the ceremony, and promptly called his former teammate David Parkin.
Parkin was in the room at the Hall of Fame awards, and Porter had to assure his former captain he was not yet dead.
While it was too late to remove Porter from the slideshow, the AFL moved to apologise for the error on Wednesday.
“Once this innocent mistake was realised we moved quickly to ring and apologise to everyone affected, including Michael, and thank him for his understanding,” a league spokesperson told The Age.
On Seven’s The Front Bar, Hawthorn great John Kennedy Jr sent a message to Porter.
“I’d like to send one out to Michael Porter who played in the ’71 grand final. Portholes they called him,” Kennedy said.
“He was noted as deceased last night on the AFL Hall of Fame, as one of the deceased people.
“The issue is he’s alive. So Portholes, if you’re listening mate or you’re up there in NSW, let us know when the wake is because we’ll be all there mate.”