David Campese became famous for a goose step during his rugby playing days. Now he's just looking like a goose.
The former Australian wing posted a sexist tweet this morning questioning the credentials of Fairfax journalist Georgina Robinson, who is covering Australia's current tour of Europe for Fairfax's group of newspapers including the Sydney Morning Herald.
"Why does the smh get a girl to write about rugby. Growden who was a great jornio (sic) and now we have someone who has no idea about the game!" Campese posted on his twitter account.
Campese, who holds the test try-scoring record for Australia, has since deleted the tweet which drew widespread criticism from inside and outside the rugby community.
"Really sad to see journos attacked based on their gender," Australian loose forward David Pocock tweeted. "Or a grown woman referred to as a 'girl' #destroyingthejoint."
Australian dual international Wendell Sailor also hit out at Campese.
"Well good morning to u Campo & i have to say u are on ur own with this comment it's 2012 champ," Sailor said.
Iain Payten, a Daily Telegraph journalist covering the tour with Robinson for the Fairfax group, also joined the debate when he tweeted: "You could not be further off the mark @davidcampese11. Way wrong."
Campese was outspoken in his playing days and it didn't stop when he retired in 1998. The 50-year-old, who now lives in South Africa, later responded to the controversy on his Twitter timeline.
"Sometimes it is good to see some people react to [things] you say," Campese said. "Please relax and see the light side of life. All press are the same."
- APNZ