Essendon legend James Hird has questioned the timing of Adelaide star Izak Rankine's apology, saying it could disrupt the team so close to their qualifying final.
Rankine apologised for his homophobic slur on Tuesday night, saying he wanted to 'apologise to anyone I've hurt [or] offended.'
Hird, who praised the apology, questioned the timing of it with Adelaide facing Collingwood on Thursday night in their first finals appearance since 2017.
"That's my question: why would he come back [on Tuesday]?" Hird said on Nine's Footy Classified.
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"What he said that was well done, but today or tomorrow or before the game, I just think that's disruptive to the team."
Hird said it will be forgotten by the time the ball is bounced, but may affect the team at training beforehand.
"It's not about when they run out on the ground; it's training tomorrow, main session tomorrow. When that ball is bounced, that'll be forgotten," Hird said.
"The mistake was not to say something before he left."
Fellow panalist and former Crow Rory Sloane agreed with Hird about the timing of the apology.
"This could have been avoided if things had have been different last week. They're not, which is going to put the scrutiny back on the club and this situation," Sloane said.
"That was a sincere apology and I loved that it was about other people. He was there to talk to his teammates, he's not the victim, but he was going to be there to support his teammates."
Rankine's apology on Tuesday night was given after he spent some time overseas after the suspension was handed down.
He is the sixth AFL-listed player to have been suspended for using a homophobic slur in the past two seasons, with each player receiving a three to six match suspension depending on their situation.