'I am the first to admit I am not perfect' Glamorous footy WAG who breached COVID-19 protocol to get a facial breaks her silence after earning her husband's club a $45,000 fine
- Brooke Cotchin boasted about going to a day spa after travelling from Victoria
- Mrs Cotchin, the wife of Richmond Tigers captain, wrote the post on Instagram
- She is accused of violating biosecurity protocols to stop the spread of COVID-19
- The post saw the Tigers get slapped with a hefty fine for a quarantine breach
- Journalist Mitch Cleary was also stood down from his job after sharing her post
The wife of an AFL star accused of breaching coronavirus quarantine protocols to go to a day spa has apologised for earning her husband's club a hefty fine.
Brooke Cotchin, whose husband is Richmond Tigers captain Trent, was thought to have broken the league's biosecurity agreements when she visited a Gold Coast beauty parlour after travelling from Victoria - the nation's coronavirus capital.
Her spa day, which she mentioned on Instagram on Friday, saw the Tigers club get slapped with a $45,000 fine for the quarantine breach.
The now-deleted post also made waves when it was shared on Twitter by AFL Media journalist Mitch Cleary, who lost his job as a result.
While the mother-of-three remained silent at the weekend, she penned a heartfelt apology on Instagram on Monday for her 'innocent mistake'.
Brooke Cotchin is the wife of Richmond Tigers captain Trent Cotchin. The couple have three children together
While the mother-of-three remained silent over the weekend, she penned a heartfelt apology on Instagram on Monday for her 'innocent mistake' (pictured)
'I am the first to admit I am not perfect, and I do make mistakes, this being one that I need to own and learn from,' she wrote.
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She also said the family-of-five are tested for COVID-19 twice a week.
'I would never have attended nor posted on my social media' if her actions were a violation of quarantine procedures.
Mrs Cotchin also joined a chorus of others calling for Mr Cleary to be reinstated as a journalist for AFL Media.
Mrs Cotchin (pictured with her husband Trent) explained her family had completed two weeks of quarantine before she visited the spa last week
'The most incredible experience today…. My skin was in desperate need of some love. I knew I was in the right place as soon as I walked through the doors of Esteem,' Mrs Cochin wrote on the Instagram story
'I don’t know Mitch Cleary, but I do not agree with him being stood down and I have voiced that to the AFL,' she wrote.
'It is his job and it does not help anyone’s situation especially in current circumstances.'
Football reporter Mitch Cleary was stood down indefinitely by AFL Media
Daily Mail Australia has contacted AFL Media for comment, but the Herald Sun reported the sports media giant believed Mr Cleary put his obligations as a journalist above his position as an AFL employee.
Among the critics is radio presenter and AFL commentator Eddie McGuire.
'[AFL Media] have no problem telling us they're independent when they're shredding players, clubs and officials,' he said on Triple M on Monday.
'This is going to have some ramifications down the track on what the AFL Media department is all about.'
Tony Shaw, a host on 3AW Radio, also slammed the move on Twitter.
'Reverse the Mitch Cleary decision. This isn't North Korea! I'd be more inclined to stand down the person who made this decision.'
Mrs Cotchin had travelled to the Sunshine State with her three children (pictured) to be with her football star husband
Former AFL great Brad Green labelled the company a 'laughing stock' and 'bullies' in a tweet.
Mrs Cotchin's story was shared with her 36,500 followers before it was removed, but she was not named in print or online until Mr Cleary's tweet.
The publication reported that journalist Caroline Wilson named the WAG on 3AW on Thursday because she was the only Richmond wife on the Gold Coast at the time.
The biosecurity protocols were part of an agreement with the Queensland Government to allow Victorian clubs to move to Queensland, as the the southern state struggles to contain coronavirus.
