AFL star Tom Barrass lifts lid on lasting impact of journalist dad Tony’s stint in jail

Hawthorn star Tom Barrass has opened up on how he “derived” his identity off his “legendary” late father Tony, who was so true to himself he went to jail before revealing a source.

Tony was a crime journalist in Melbourne before deciding, as Tom puts it, “it was best to start again” in Perth in his 20s.

He died aged just 58 in 2021 following a battle with cancer — but his legacy lives on in his son.

As the footballer discussed his loyalty to his family for Channel 7’s Unfiltered , it prompted host Hamish McLachlan to ask about his father.

“I was telling my wife and kids this story at breakfast this morning, about how a journalist — a crime reporter — refused to give up a source and went to jail. Your dad was an incredible human,” McLachlan said.

Barrass agreed and smiled as he said his dad “used to always let us know”.

“He’s like ‘your dad’s a bit of a legend, mate’. When we were young. ‘You probably don’t understand that, mate, bit of a legend’,” he said.

Tony had been sentenced to jail, and was even sent to a maximum security prison, when he was 28 — before Tom was born.

“He was reporting on a big tax fraud that went down and the Supreme Court said ‘hey, you’ve got to tell us who told you so we can prosecute this person’,” Tom, who is now 30, recalled.

“And he said ‘nah I’m not telling you, I’m not revealing my source’. I presume out of the ethics of the job, to say, ‘well then there’s no more journalism, there’s no more reporting, there’s no more commentary if I sacrifice my source and blow the cover. There can be no accountability and true art and craft to journalism and storytelling any more. It loses its value’.”

McLachlan added: “I just love the fact he’s a man of such principles. I’m prepared to go to jail not to tarnish my reputation.”

Tom said Tony’s death before his time offered a chance for colleagues and loved ones to reiterate his standing.

That, in turn, became a chance for Tom to reflect on the man he is because of his father.

“That’s very much what people say about him, that he was ethical and had a strong sense of self,” Tom said.