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Alastair Clarkson has been urged to withdraw from the Kangaroos after “distressing and disturbing” allegations emerged about his Hawthorn appointment.
It’s because current Lions coach Chris Fagan, who was Clarkson’s chief lieutenant at Hawthorn from 2008-2016 – a period in which the club won four premierships – has stepped down temporarily while an independent investigation is underway.
The shocking accusations against Hawthorn were revealed after the club commissioned an external review of claims of racism, which have been delivered to the AFL.
Alastair Clarkson (left) and Chris Fagan (right), pictured while coaching at Hawthorn in 2016, are under fire after shocking allegations from the club’s native players
A former Hawthorn player claimed that a group of senior figures at the club, including Clarkson, pressured him into getting his partner to terminate her pregnancy, according to a ABC report.
The player claimed the group — which he says also included Clarkson’s then-senior assistant Fagan — also urged him to break up with his partner and move into an assistant coach’s home, the report said.
The revelations have led to calls for Clarkson to step down as head coach of the Kangaroos, just a month after the four-time premiership mentor was signed by the club on a whopping five-year contract reportedly worth more than $5 million.
Alastair Clarkson has been urged to quit his new job with the Kangaroos after disturbing allegations emerged from his time at Hawthorn
“If true, Alastair Clarkson should resign from North Melbourne and never hold a position in football again,” prominent footy expert Mark Robinson wrote in the Herald Sun.
“The AFL has no choice. Nor does North Melbourne. Honestly, if it’s true, neither do Clarkson and Fagan. They must resign today.
“There will be context and/or negations, but – if true – not sure if there is any conceivable context that puts human life above football,” Robinson wrote.
A domino has already fallen.
Chris Fagan and Brisbane have agreed that he will temporarily withdraw from the Lions while the AFL’s investigation takes place
In a statement released Wednesday morning, Brisbane confirmed that Fagan would step down temporarily while the AFL’s independent investigation into the allegations is underway.
“Chris supports and welcomes the investigation,” the statement said.
He was not consulted during the Hawthorn-sponsored review and looks forward to the opportunity to be heard as part of the AFL investigation.
“The Brisbane Lions and Chris have mutually agreed that he will take a leave of absence from the club so that he can fully cooperate with the investigation.”
Fagan was reportedly “devastated” and “blinded” by the allegation, according to the Herald Sun.
There are calls for Alastair Clarkson (left) and Chris Fagan (right), pictured ahead of a 2015 Hawthorn game, to be booted from footy if the allegations are true
The allegations could not be more serious or disturbing.
A Hawks player named only as “Ian” in the report made startling allegations against the team’s senior coaches.
“Clarkson just bent over me and demanded that I get rid of my unborn child and partner,” he claimed.
“I was then manipulated and convinced to remove my SIM card from my phone so that there was no contact between my family and me.
“He told me to kill my unborn child.”
It is alleged that Ian’s partner, known only as Amy in the report, was in deep shock when she heard the news.
“He could barely pronounce the words and he seemed to be crying, and he was quick to tell us to end the pregnancy and end the relationship,” she said in the report.
(LR) Cyril Rioli, Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Jarryd Roughead, Grant Birchall and Luke Hodge celebrate the 2015 Premiership, a period when Fagan and Clarkson coached
Amy went on to claim that the club cut her off from Ian for the first five months of her pregnancy — preventing her from calling or texting him — which impacted his mental health.
“I will never forget that phone call or the heartbreak I felt at that moment. I was numb on the spot, completely numb from what I’d just heard Ian say.’
Amy claimed that when the couple became pregnant again together six months after the birth of their first child, she felt she had to abort the baby due to club pressure and her desire not to “lose Ian again.”
She went through with the termination and has not been able to forgive herself since.
“This is something sacred, the bond between mother and child, and Hawthorn wiped their feet all over,” Amy claimed.
“Hawthorn says it’s the family club, but they broke up ours.”
The Hawks also allegedly pressured other couples to split early in their pregnancy or shortly after the birth of their children, the report claims, with two of those families receiving mental health support from the AFL Players’ Association.
Alastair Clarkson won four premierships as the Hawks coach, but his legacy could now be tarnished forever
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said the claims were harrowing and would be addressed to a newly formed independent panel headed by a King’s Counsel.
“These are serious allegations,” McLachlan told reporters on Wednesday.
“And it’s important that we treat them appropriately, while also ensuring that the formal trial provides support to those involved and also natural justice to the accused.
“This is a process that it is appropriate to keep independent of the normal response of the AFL integrity department.
“We need to do a proper investigation to get to the bottom of it… out of respect for those making the charges and out of respect for those who are accused,” McLachlan said.
The AFL chief said the four-member panel would be appointed within 24 hours.