Respected sports broadcaster Bruce McAvaney has been depicted on the TAB's Facebook page in an insulting post involving Hawthorn footballer Cyril Rioli, which was later removed from the betting company's page.
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McAvaney told Fairfax Media he had not seen the post as he did not use the social media website, but said he was "very disappointed" when told about the content of the item.
"I haven't seen it and I'm not likely to see it - but if it's distasteful then I'd be very disappointed," the veteran commentator said.
The post, which appears to have been uploaded during the AFL grand final which McAvaney was commentating on, is a three-frame comic strip.
The first picture depicts Cyril Rioli - who was named player of the match in the Hawks' 46-point grand final win over West Coast on Saturday - standing at the end of a line of several urinals.
In the second picture "Bruce" walks past the unused urinals towards Rioli and, in the third, stands next to Rioli.
The post received more than 6000 likes. Many comments were slanderous of McAvaney. Some declared the post homophobic.
By early Wednesday afternoon, the post no longer appeared on the TAB's Facebook page.
A TAB spokesman said the betting agency did not want to comment on the matter.
McAvaney, 62, has been a sports broadcast anchor for decades and is well known for his work in AFL, tennis and horse racing.
He has covered every Olympics since 1984. In 2002 he was awarded an Order of Australia and inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. In 2008 he received the Australian Olympic Committee's Order of Merit.
