Controversy follows Steven May once again after Max Gawn incident

Kieran Francis

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Controversy follows Steven May once again after Max Gawn incident image

An AFL premiership player and two-time All-Australian - Steven May has had a distinguished career in the sport.

But controversy and incidents have also dogged his time in the AFL, dating all the way back to when the 33-year-old was just starting out.

May's behaviour was once again in the headlines after he confronted Melbourne's skipper Max Gawn following the Demons' heartbreaking one-point defeat to Collingwood.

In a last-ditch attempt to win the game for his team, Gawn attempted a dangerous kick through the MCG corridor, hoping that Melbourne could go coast-to-coast and win the match.

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But instead the ball landed in the lap of Magpies utility Will Hoskin-Elliott and the game was over.

While Daniel Turner went over to console his captain after the mistake, May clearly had aggressive words toward Gawn on two occasions, which were not well received.

This is not the first time May has had a publicised issue with a team-mate after an altercation with Jake Melksham in 2022 and a incident with Campbell Brown more than a decade ago while both were at the Gold Coast Suns.

May was given a club-imposed one-match suspension after being involved in a fight with Melksham at a Melbourne restaurant, which saw the defender ending up with a black eye.

According to the Herald Sun, May told Melksham: “If you had have played in the granny (2021 grand final) we would have lost.”

The report went to state Melksham 'floored' May with a single punch in retaliation to the brutal comment.

In December 2013, Hawthorn premiership player Brown was sacked by Gold Coast after breaking May's jaw during an off-season trip to Los Angeles.

Last month, May and Richmond star Dion Prestia were questioned and released by police pending further investigation into a brawl that occurred in Sorrento late last year.

The Sporting News is not suggesting any wrongdoing by either player.

There is no doubt one of May's strengths on the field has been playing on the edge, but you have to wonder whether this same personality trait has caused some of the controversy that has also occurred.

Kieran Francis

Kieran Francis is a senior editor at The Sporting News based in Melbourne, Australia. He started at Sportal.com.au before being a part of the transition to Sporting News in 2015. Just prior to the 2018 World Cup, he was appointed chief editor of Goal.com in Australia. He has now returned to The Sporting News where his passions lay in football, AFL, poker and cricket - when he is not on holiday.