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Are you sure, Jeff? Outgoing Hawks president Kennett claims the AFL club is NOT in the midst of a crisis despite deeply disturbing claims about the treatment of First Nations players
- Jeff Kennett has defiantly claimed there is no crisis at Hawthorn Football Club
- A club report would contain allegations about the treatment of native stars
- Despite explosive claims, Kennett says club is not in ‘crisis’
- He also believes that First Nations players should not have talked to the press
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Outgoing Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett hopes a resolution to the AFL club’s inflammatory racism report can be found by the end of the year.
Speaking at the club’s best and fairest awards ceremony, Kennett said the club is not in crisis and described the issue as a ‘bump along the highway’.
But he told the audience that he was “somewhat baffled – and worse” when he read the draft report of the club’s inquiry into the experiences of Native players and their partners at Hawthorn.
Jeff Kennett has defiantly claimed that Hawthorn is not in the midst of a crisis
That report has been handed over to the AFL, which will set up a panel of four to review the allegations.
The racism claims were revealed last week, with four-time Hawks premiership coach Alastair Clarkson, his then-assistant Chris Fagan and ex-Hawthorn welfare manager Jason Burt named in an ABC report containing historic allegations made by some native Hawthorn players.
Clarkson, now at North Melbourne, and Fagan have resigned from their coaching duties and both deny doing anything wrong.
“I don’t see this as a crisis,” Kennett said.
“Hawthorn values our employees… equally and we are always trying to improve the support and services we provide to our employees.
Explosive allegations have emerged regarding Alastair Clarkson’s treatment of First Nations players. Clarkson denies the allegations against him
“When I read the draft report… I was a little stunned—and worse.
‘It wasn’t nice to read. I hope this issue can be resolved quickly by all parties involved.”
Kennett said the people interviewed for the report had requested confidentiality and Hawthorn respected that.
“Unfortunately, they’ve decided to talk to the press… they’ve mentioned people they had very real issues with,” he said.
“That was unfair to those (people), so that’s why we need to fix this.
“I don’t see this as a crisis – I know this club, I know its history and I know its strength.
“We’ll sort this out and help where we can.”
Kennett also said the issues were historic and called on all Hawthorn employees to tell the club at the time if they believe inappropriate behavior has occurred.
‘The only thing the research showed was that we now have a safe cultural workplace. So these are past problems,” he said.
He hopes that there will be some form of mediation so that any problems can be resolved quickly.
However, outgoing Hawthorn President Kennett is adamant that there is no crisis
“It could be resolved before the end of the year so people can get on with their lives,” he said.
“We will never, ever apologize for doing what it takes to put the well-being of our employees first.
“This comes as a shock. Something good will come out of this.’
At the end of his speech, Kennett again insisted that the Hawks “overcome” the problem.
“Understand this as a bump along the highway, but… it’s a major bump and it needs to be dealt with professionally,” he said.
“I don’t accept that we as a club can’t solve this last problem.
“We have the people, we have the desire and we have that indelible ingredient that is togetherness.”