Tony Veitch insisted yesterday he was making no excuses for the admitted 2006 attack on his former partner Kristin Dunne-Powell.
Then he went on to explain mitigating factors behind his lashing out.
Media allegations described a horrific violent attack.
Veitch said some of the allegations were not true,but would not say which.
Like Veitch, TVNZ was slow to respond to allegations about its sports news frontman.
Was that because it was getting to grips with the claims?
Or did senior management at TVNZ and Radio Sport know about the attack well before it became public?
So far neither the state broadcaster nor Radio Sport will say.
On TV One's current affairs show Close Up last night, broadcaster John Tamihere counselled caution.
Don't rush to judgment against Veitch, he said.
Public figures faced more scrutiny than the general public did.
He ignored the fact that public figures also get a lot of advantages for their fame. And the question is whether that occurred this time.
Public relations consultant Michelle Boag - a former director of TVNZ - told Close Up that Veitch's statement was a little late. But she thought Veitch could recover and suffer just a couple of weeks off the air.
Both appeared to ignore the scale of the attack and the physical damage to Ms Dunne-Powell.
Each night, TVNZ opines about the growing violence and calls to justice. It takes revenue from advertising saying domestic violence is not okay.
But by allowing Veitch back it will be saying it is okay provided they work in the media and shell out a six-figure sum in compensation.
TVNZ needs to say when it found out about this attack and, like Veitch, it should account for its actions.
If it turned a blind eye to an assault it needs to say why in some cases domestic violence is okay.
Focus groups may well show public opinion is split over whether Veitch can return.
The question long term is whether it adds to the old image of TVNZ and its jumped-up hosts.
One News' ratings are recovering. Putting Veitch back on air will risk taking it back to the bad old days.
