An Adelaide property negotiation took a bizarre turn last week when prominent real estate agent Jock Gilbert sent what could most delicately be described as a colourful text message about a potential buyer to his vendor client.

Unfortunately for the agent, he fell for the old trick of sending the SMS to the wrong recipient – not to the seller, but the buyer.

Of course, it’s well established that if you’re going to write something unpleasant about someone, make sure you don’t send it to that person by mistake.

It’s also helpful if that person doesn’t happen to be an experienced lawyer, as the prospective buyer was in this instance.

Husband and wife family law firm partners Dimitra and Aris Tolis were none too impressed at the message they received from Gilbert, an account of which Dimitra posted on her private Facebook page.

It has since been shared by various friends, as has the redacted version she added to the review section of Gilbert’s own page.

“Aris and I have been negotiating with Jock Gilbert to purchase a house,” her post began.

“Last Sunday, my husband received the following text message from Jock addressed to the name of his vendor (verbatim save for the prices being hidden and the name of the vendor):

“Hi ****

Our Greek friend is living up to expectations with h(sic) inefficiency and stupidity

‘He has come to $*** which is way too far away from reality

I ask you to please reject this offer – he has also said he will not pay $****

If he were at $*** I would be in a dilemma wanting to reject as I don’t like this man but also thinking it would not be too bad a deal – settlement would be 110 days

I will touch base after today’s Open

Jock”

“Enough said I think,” Dimitra signed off.

In an addendum to her post, she revealed that Aris responded with a text of his own: “When firing off an SMS like that one, you really need to check to see that you are sending it to the correct recipient.”

“Thanks for giving me a look in to how you operate and regard my dealings with you,” he wrote.

“You have showed me your true colours and frankly, they are dirty. You should be ashamed of yourself. Offer withdrawn.”

According to the post, Gilbert responded: “I apologize to you Aris most sincerely but also accept that it is a huge mistake by not checking….life is full of experiences and yes I have stuffed up badly here and feel pretty ashamed – that I assure you Jock G”

Gilbert did not want to comment on the messy exchange when contacted by InDaily today, but said: “I’m not out to have a fight with anyone or put anyone down, or do the wrong thing by anyone.”

He added that the message was “not the total context of discussions”, noting “prices were left out, as you know [but] that’s all I’m going to say”.

“I’m not going to comment any further,” he said.

The original post, which has been shared many times over.

Dimitra told InDaily today that the narrative she posted “speaks for itself” and is “only telling objectively what happened”.

She noted that the social media comments “have taken a life of their own”.

“I put it as a private post [but] I then thought I should call it out, and that’s also taken a life of its own,” she said.

Aris said as legal practitioners “in many instances we represent the underdog” and in “situations like this you really have to take a stand”.

He added that his offer was “not unreasonable” and was only five per cent below the amount the vendor would have been urged to accept.

Mean Machine weighs in

Australian basketball Hall of Famer Al ‘Mean Machine’ Green has weighed in on the kerfuffle blighting his former team’s post-season.

Coach Joey Wright departed the 36ers last week, but co-captain Kevin White lobbed a grenade on Twitter in an explosive spray that included a screenshot of a private group0 chat between Wright and his fellow coaching panel, in which he joked that certain players should “hang themselves”.

Import Eric Griffin followed White’s spray, in another Twitter post addressing Wright: “I never understood your coaching techniques to begin with. But this whole blaming and public shaming of your players is shocking and low, EVEN FOR YOU. You lack the respect, integrity and morals of a coach.”

I will stand on what I’ve told them and NOT post those messages.

I never understood your coaching techniques to begin with. But this whole blaming and public shaming of your players is shocking and low, EVEN FOR YOU. You lack the respect, integrity and morals of a coach.

— Eric Griffin (@Egriff2012) February 28, 2020

But club legend Green, who helped the Sixers to two championships in their golden era in the 1980s, has come to Wright’s defence.

“As a coach and players we have a brotherhood,” he told InDaily.

“I’m not saying that anything [Wright] said wasn’t wrong – it was wrong… [but] he apologised – then let it go.”

He said “dragging it on” would “ruin the guy’s coaching career here in Australia”.

He said White was “a guy Joey brought into his [basketball] family”.

“He was the co-captain – Joey made him that,” he said.

Green is sticking to an old sporting adage: “Whatever happens on the road stays on the road [and] whatever happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.”

“That’s the sporting code – not just basketball,” he said.

Joey Wright coaching the 36ers. Photo: Tony McDonough / AAP

Green says Wright admitted his private comments “came out a little bit more nasty” than he’d intended, but added: “I know Joey pretty well, none of us are perfect.”

“But if there’s one thing I know… he’s hungry, he wants to win – he’s the first at training and the last one to leave, and he’s dedicated in helping players.”

Green acknowledges Wright is “a good friend of mine”, but adds: “You can’t tell me he’s not one of the hardest working coaches in this league.”

“I know this thing’s really hurting him… and it makes the club look bad too.

“I went to war for this club, you know – and won championships in SA, and for SA.

“I broke nails and fingers and hands and legs for this team, so it’s not like I’m some Joe Blow off the corner – I’ve earned my stripes, and I’ve earned my Hall Of Fame playing with the Sixers…

“I think it’s really sad the way they’re going at him.”

Labor slams its own senators for ‘slap in the face’

Last week the battle for submarine maintenance jobs prompted a split in SA Labor ranks, with state Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas slamming his federal senate colleagues for joining the Libs to vote down a motion by Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick calling for submarine maintenance jobs to stay in SA amid a mooted push to the west coast.

This morning, the party’s state executive joined the pile-on, passing a motion slamming its own federal members.

“The South Australian ALP Executive joins with the AMWU and AWU in viewing the recent decision of the Federal ALP to vote against a motion to support 700 shipbuilding jobs in SA as a slap in the face to SA jobs and the SA community, a community who voted for them in good faith to defend their jobs and welfare,” the motion reads.

“The SA ALP Executive seeks an explanation from the Federal Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Labor Party [Anthony Albanese] and the Australian Labor Party Leader of the Senate [Penny Wong] and [Deputy Labor leader] Richard Marles as to why the decision to not only not support SA jobs was made but why such a motion was voted against.”

It’s understood Malinauskas will front an AMWU conference today where the issue is set to pick up plenty of traction.

Notes On Adelaide is a column telling the inside stories of Adelaide people, politics, institutions and issues. If you have information that you believe should be noted in this column, send us an email: [email protected]