Cameron Smith opens up on his bitter feud with Channel 9 after he was slammed for his 'ridiculous' response after Alex McKinnon was paralysed in a tackle - and reveals what finally made him 'choke up' with emotion

NRL legend Cameron Smith has lifted the lid on his bitter grudge against Channel Nine which was sparked by a 60 Minutes segment on Alex McKinnon.

The promising Newcastle Knights NRL star was left a quadriplegic at age 22 after a tackle by the Melbourne Storm's Jordan McLean went horribly wrong in 2014.

Storm captain Smith came under heavy fire for arguing with referee Gerard Sutton during the lengthy delay as McKinnon laid motionless on the field.

Smith copped more backlash a year later when 60 Minutes portrayed him as a villain by airing the footage of Smith's actions to a shocked McKinnon, who was watching it for the first time. 

Smith immediately cut ties with Channel Nine and snubbed a former Origin teammate's request for a post-match interview on the network three nights later.

The NRL superstar, 37, has defended his actions during the incident in his new autobiography The Storm Within.

Cameron Smith (pictured with wife Barb) addressed his bitter feud with Channel Nine over the incident that left Alex McKinnon a quadriplegic in his new autobiography released this week

Six years on, Smith insists the tackle wasn't illegal, despite McLean copping a seven-match suspension.

Smith added he nor any of his teammates had no idea of the extent of McKinnon's injuries until the next day.

He says he tried to check on McKinnon's welfare but claimed the Knights repeatedly refused his requests to speak to the injured player.

'I don't know if Alex was ever made aware of those approaches but I was on the front foot every day,' Smith wrote. 

'How is he? Can we go up there? Can we talk to him'.

'There were claims we didn't care. That we had no regard for the injury he'd suffered. And that simply wasn't true.' 

Alex McKinnon (pictured with wife Teigan) was left a quadriplegic after a horror tackle in 2014

In the footage, Smith was heard saying to the referee: 'I don't want to see that happen to anyone in our game but, if he doesn't duck his head that doesn't happen.' 

McKinnon hadn't seen the footage until 60 Minutes played it to him a year later in 2015.

'Is he still debating? Is he f***ing serious?' McKinnon says as he watches the clip.  

'Wouldn't you just shut up? You see someone with eight, nine people around them and you want to debate a f***ing penalty.

'That's the Australian captain there ... so well done ... it is f***ing ridiculous.'

McKinnon said he had heard from McLean but not Smith since the incident.

'I don't know whether he has tried to make contact through the club but if Jordan McLean can make contact ... I haven't heard anything from him .

'I'm not angry, it just reassures the type of person that he is, at least Jordan reached out.' 

Smith stands next to injured opponent Alex McKinnon moments after the tackle in 2014

Smith claims when he finally spoke to McKinnon a few weeks later, he was told Nine kept playing the footage and asking questions until they got the angry reaction they wanted. 

He recalled his fury about not being approached to give his side of the story before the segment aired three nights before the 2015 State of Origin decider and five days before his 300th NRL game.

The then Maroons skipper gave Channel Nine the cold shoulder in the days that followed.

He snubbed Nine commentator and former teammate Darren Lockyer's approach for a post-match interview on the field moments after Queensland won the Origin decider.

'The Queensland Rugby League let Nine know how I felt: there was no way I was talking to them before, during or after the match,' Smith wrote in his book. 

Cameron Smith argued with referee Gerard Sutton about a penalty against his side during a lengthy delay that followed the tackle

The feud continued to simmer for another 10 months before Smith and his wife Barb sat down with Nine's then-head of sport Tom Malone and then NRL CEO Todd Greenberg in May 2016.

The couple demanded a public apology from Nine as they discussed the devastating toll the saga had on their family.

'We asked why I hadn't been asked for comment before the program had aired, and they said they didn't feel like I needed to be in it,' Smith wrote.

'That made no sense. Why wouldn't they give me a chance to share my opinion? 

'Barb and I got it all off our chests, and I think they were quite taken aback by the emotion from both of us.

I didn't get teary, but I did choke up talking about it because of the effect it had on my family.'

Smith says the Newcastle Knights rejected his requests to speak to Alex McKinnon (pictured injured on the ground) in the days that followed the shocking tackle

Smith says Malone promised a public apology on air if he appeared on an upcoming episode of The Footy Show.

After agreeing to go on the show, Smith claims he was told minutes before going to air that Malone wouldn't appear on air and that it was left to program host Paul Vautin to apologise on Nine's behalf.

'We know it’s been a difficult relationship between Channel Nine yourself over the last twelve months,' Vautin said at the start of the program.

'With regards to those issues, on behalf of the Nine network we would like to apologise to you and your family,' he said.

In his response on the show, Smith said it was 'no secret' he was upset with the 60 Minutes segment and the response from Channel Nine in the weeks that followed.

'The most disappointing thing is that I thought it took away from a beautiful story about Alex and his fiancée, Teigan,' Smith said.

'That was something that we should have been focusing on and celebrating but that’s in the past now.'

Smith remains bitter with Nine about the apology to this day. 

'I walked away that night p***ed off about how it had all gone down,' he wrote.

'After everything that happened, they couldn't even get the apology right.' 

Channel Nine reporter Danny Weidler has since revealed he hadn't spoken to Smith in six years after he tried to question the Storm captain about the incident.

'I don't know him well enough (to comment on his character), he doesn't talk to me. He hasn't talked to me since I started to question his behaviour in the aftermath of the Alex McKinnon incident,' Weidler told radio station Triple M on Tuesday.

'I reached out to him to try get him to explain it to me, haven't heard from him. I've tried numerous times.'

Cameron Smith addressed the Alex McKinnon incident in his new book released this week

Cameron Smith (pictured with wife Barb) remains bitter with Channel Nine to this day 

McKinnon, whose wife Teigan is expecting twins next year, recently revealed he has forgiven Smith.

'I have forgiven everything that happened straight after the tackle, his response – I have forgiven him. It's hard to hold on to hate. It really is. It's wasted energy. It's blinding,' McKinnon told the Sydney Morning Herald in October.

'At its worst, it can consume you and I'll admit it did for a while there. There is no positive to being like that and, for that reason, I have moved past it and I hold no hard feelings at all.'

'The hard thing was for my family, my dad, to let it go. But I told them it didn't do any of us any good at all to keep the hate. I talked with them about how it does not help anyone. And the family has been able to put it all to one side.'

Alex McKinnon (pictured with wife Teigan) has forgiven Cameron Smith over his actions

Cameron Smith's ultimate 'dirty act': Footy legend is accused of sinking to new lows to drum up publicity for his new book as he cancels interviews and skips appearances to avoid mounting outrage over him 'rewriting history'

NRL superstar Cameron Smith has been accused of sinking to an all-time low to get publicity following the release of his much-anticipated autobiography.

The Melbourne Storm great was all smiles for the cameras at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on Monday to promote the launch of his new book The Storm Within.

The book has sparked widespread anger and bewilderment over why Smith chose to address 'cruel' and 'completely untrue' rumours about having an affair with popular Fox Sports presenter Yvonne Sampson but shed little light on his fractured friendship with former close mate Cooper Cronk.

At least two media interviews Smith was scheduled to do on Tuesday were cancelled at the 11th hour amid mounting controversy over the book.

NRL superstar Cameron Smith has ignited more controversy following the release of his new autobiography this week. He's pictured with wife Barb at the 2018 Dally M awards

Channel Nine and Sydney Morning Herald journalist Danny Weidler has since slammed the $49.99 book, claiming it contains misinformation.

'I'm finding it very hard to cop a lot of what Smith is saying,' Weidler said on radio station Triple M on Tuesday.

'Cameron Smith dipped into the sewer of rugby league to dredge out a rumour that was false about himself and Yvonne Sampson in order to get publicity for his book, that's how I see it.

'I didn't think it had to be part of his book, he obviously did. That's his decision, that's fine.

'Where I find it difficult to comprehend is he can bring that up, but won't deal with the genuine story which is his fallout with Cooper Cronk. 

'I don't have a personal thing with Cameron Smith, some of his behaviour hasn't impressed me.'

Cameron Smith was all smiles for the media when he released his book on Monday. It was a different story on Tuesday amid claims at least two interviews with media were cancelled

Foxsports.com.au claims it received an email from his publisher at 11.20pm on Monday night advising Smith had cancelled an interview scheduled for the next day.

The media outlet wasn't the only one to be snubbed with SEN radio host Andrew Voss revealing he was given the same treatment at short notice. 

Daily Mail Australia has contacted book publisher Allen & Unwin for further comment. 

Ms Sampson was forced to respond to the false affair rumours last week after they were dredged up by Smith in the days leading to the autobiography's release.

'My husband and I were made aware of these absurd and baseless rumours when they surfaced three years ago. They are utterly false. This malicious gossip has no bearing on my life, career as a journalist or love of rugby league,' she told News Corp.

Yvonne Sampson (pictured with her husband, reporter Chris O'Keefe) was forced to respond to false rumours of an affair after Cameron Smith dredged up the 'cruel' and 'completely untrue' claims while promoting his book

Smith, 37, said when he was first informed of the unfounded gossip being spread on social media, he was so surprised he burst out laughing.

But the NRL star, who has been married to his wife Barbara for almost ten years, quickly realised the gravity of situation.

False rumours of an affair with Ms Sampson began to circulate on social media ahead of the 2018 Grand Final.

In his book, Smith said the rumours were 'cruel' and 'completely untrue' as he addressed the devastating impact the rumours had on his shattered wife.

'Honestly, if I was going to have an affair – which I never would – why would I do it with someone with a profile as big as hers? And in my own sport?' he wrote.

Smith also revealed Ms Sampson asked him to deny the rumours alongside her on air when he appeared on her show, but he refused to do so.

Former Queensland Maroons captain Cameron Smith stands with his family ahead of Game 3 of the 2018 State of Origin series between the NSW Blues and the Queensland Maroons at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane 

Smith said on the first occasion he did an interview with Ms Sampson after the rumours surfaced he felt deeply concerned for her and her fiance, who were getting ready to marry later that year.

The champion hooker revealed his wife and Ms Sampson exchanged text messages in the aftermath of the rumours - checking on each other's welfare.