AFL commission chairman Richard Goyder to investigate ‘toxic’ bullying and harassment allegations
Richmond president Peggy O’Neal says AFL commission chairman Richard Goyder is serious about getting to the bottom of recent allegations.
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Allegations multiple women were subjected to “toxic” bullying and harassment at AFL House and its state bodies will be investigated.
Richmond president Peggy O’Neal said AFL commission chairman Richard Goyder had contacted all 18 clubs “to express his concern”.
“It was along the lines of ‘we can’t be defensive about this. We have to get to the bottom of it’,” O’Neal told ABC radio.
“I said last week, if it were me, I’d want to know exactly what had happened in the past … and it seems that they are going about a process to find that out.
“He (Goyder) said he had been consulting over the weekend with Kate Jenkins - the federal sex discrimination commissioner - and was taking her advice, so I think we have a lot of confidence in the strength of Kate’s opinions on things …
“We’re still waiting to see what this is going to mean but I did believe that Richard was serious about trying to understand how they could make sure it didn’t happen again and that people were silenced and shouldn’t have been, that he was going to look at that himself very closely.”
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AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has offered to meet with a group of women who say they left league headquarters feeling “suicidal” after suffering mistreatment at work.
But workplace gender equality expert Prue Gilbert, a former member of the AFL Players’ Association women’s advisory group, cautioned that face-to-face meetings between McLachlan and the victims should only take place as part of an independent review process.
Female sports broadcaster Kelli Underwood said it was time for the AFL to act.
“It’s all well and good to talk the talk but let’s see them walk the walk. You can’t stick your head in the sand and hope that it goes away,” Underwood told the ABC.
“Gillon McLachlan is a Male Champion of Change - you need to address it. You need to be able to bring in diversity and encourage whistleblowers and call this bullying out.
“They (the AFL) have not spoken publicly about this whatsoever. We haven’t seen or heard from Richard Goyder in months.”
O’Neal agreed that the AFL’s major sponsors - Toyota, Coles, NAB, Virgin, CUB, BHP and Bunnings - would be asking their own questions about the allegations.
“Sponsors and money talks. Most of the business world has been dealing with this for quite a while and the ones that haven’t have been called out one by one,” O’Neal said.
“So I do believe that behind the scenes there would be lots of conversations going on about that as there is whenever there is some, I guess, failure and to your part of an organisation that you say, ‘I want you to represent me. I want you to be the best part of me - I’m a sponsor. And yet that’s not what you’re doing’.
“So I’m sure that there is a lot of talk behind the scenes about … putting pressure on - getting better and ensuring that it doesn’t happen again. And that can only occur if you understand how it happened in the first place.”
Gill cautioned to follow Brittany Higgins precedent
Gillon McLachlan’s offer to meet with bullying and harassment victims at AFL House should only be considered as part of an independent investigation, a leading workplace equality expert says.
The AFL Commission has so far failed to respond to allegations the league has systematically used payouts and confidentiality agreements to prevent women from speaking publicly about their experiences in the game.
McLachlan, the AFL’s chief executive since 2014, last week offered to meet with a group of women who say they left league headquarters feeling “suicidal” after suffering bullying at work.
But workplace gender equality expert Prue Gilbert, a former member of the AFL Players’ Association women’s advisory group, cautioned that face-to-face meetings between McLachlan and the victims should only take place as part of an independent review process.
“There is precedence for leaders meeting with victims of sexual harassment – the Prime Minister recently did so with Brittany Higgins, and former Army chief David Morrison met with victims of sexual misconduct, but in each scenario, there was a process in place in the form of an independent review into the culture, and critically, victims were accompanied by the likes of Wendy McCarthy and Elizabeth Broderick,” Gilbert said.
“Victim psychological safety was prioritised.”
Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has had direct contact with some of victims from AFL House and vowed to take up their stories with commission chairman Richard Goyder, while Richmond president Peggy O’Neal says she is concerned by the reports.
“The 150-year-old AFL culture remains steeped in a system that was built from the ground up to benefit men, so simply adding a few women to its leadership team, introducing a policy on respect and slapping a ‘W’ on the end of its brand of football for women is not enough to drive gender equality,” Gilbert said.
“There needs to be much greater accountability.
“It seems hypocritical to continue to sign up to partnerships with the likes of Our Watch and Male Champions of Change, while simultaneously entrenching gender inequality through pay, power and positions.
“Sexual harassment is not about sex. It’s about power. It’s a form of gendered violence. From its board to leadership to its gender pay gap in administration and for players, the AFL needs to shift away from the narrative that by letting women in, it is inclusive. We know that the key pillars in addressing gender based violence require much more.”
Gilbert said the AFL’s silence on the Tayla Harris contract dispute and Bridie O’Donnell Collingwood board fiasco was also reflective of a system in need of reform.
“It is disappointing that female employees continue to report experiences of harassment and inappropriate behaviour within the AFL,” she said.
“Yet, as we’ve seen play out in other institutions since the release of the Respect@Work report, only when there is equal representation and remuneration at all levels of leadership – board, executive and senior management – will we see real change.
“All too often even when victims speak up, the perpetrator’s behaviour is explained or excused, but ‘he’ nonetheless continues to climb up the career ladder because he’s perceived to be a rainmaker.
“Meanwhile, in an all-too-familiar scenario, the victim is silenced – sometimes with an inadequate settlement – reminded of her confidentiality obligations that survive her separation, as she is pushed out the door.”
One victim, who says she was forced out of the AFL soon after being sexually assaulted at a 2017 work function, said McLachlan was the last person she was prepared to talk to about her experiences working at AFL headquarters.
“Why would I meet with Gill now just to have my concerns quashed all over again? There is nothing Gill can say that will undo any of this,” she said.
“We have struggled for years, so it’s a little late.”
In offering to meet with victims, McLachlan told 3AW last week: “We take pretty seriously our commitment to building a safe environment and a culture of inclusion and I feel we have lent pretty hard on this … however, incidents happen … and if any woman has had a poor experience that doesn’t feel that they can talk, that is one too many and we will continue to take this seriously.
“We will continue to try and be better.”
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