AFL 2022: Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell wants to reunite Cyril Rioli with Hawthorn
Sam Mitchell revealed ‘a couple of things came out’ of a discussion with Cyril Rioli last year and that the club legend knows the new Hawks coach is ‘committed to improving the club.’
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Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell will continue to reach out to Cyril Rioli in an attempt to reunite the premiership hero with his former club.
Mitchell said he was saddened to hear his former teammate raise several racial issues, one in particular involving president Jeff Kennett, as reasons why he walked away from the game early in 2018.
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“It certainly saddens me,” the Hawks coach said after his side’s one-point loss to Carlton.
“I have reached out to him over the last few months, trying to get him to reconnect back with the club and to show him some of the things we are doing now to try and improve in this area.
“I think I am like every other Hawthorn person who thinks back to the Cyril that we all loved, whenever you think of Cyril not being happy that is going to make anyone sad and disappointed and I’m no different.
“Hopefully we can welcome him back into the fold at some stage but at the moment you have got to respect his wishes that he is not willing to do that just yet.”
The Hawks for Change group are calling for Kennett, who was missing from the MCG on Saturday after contracting Covid, to resign immediately.
His second tenure in the job doesn’t end until December next year.
Rioli says it was some grossly insensitive comments made to his wife by Kennett about her designer ripped jeans in 2018 which was the final straw.
Mitchell met with the three current Indigenous players on Hawthorn’s list – Chad Wingard, Jarman Impey and Tyler Brockman – on Friday to see if they felt “culturally unsafe”.
“We just wanted to know how they were going, is this an issue, is this an area where you’re feeling culturally unsafe, those types of questions in a really open forum,” he said.
“They were all nothing but positive about it at the moment and that is all we can do … some of the things mentioned happened back in 2013.
“I have certainly looked into it and tried to work out if this was a cultural thing that was happening and my understanding at this point is that it wasn’t.
“By the same token I am very very passionate, and those who spend time inside our walls, know that this has nothing to do with what is happening currently but we are very passionate about making significant progress with First Nations people and we are very committed to that within our four walls.”
Mitchell said some red flags were raised when he spoke to Rioli last year.
“A couple of things came out of that discussion with him and he knows that I am looking to improve the club,” he said.
“We’ve got work to do like everyone does, like the community does, he knows I am committed to doing that so hopefully we will welcome him back in.”
Adelaide and Carlton legend Eddie Betts said Rioli’s claims were shattering given they seemed to have forced him out of football at only 28.
Betts has spoken often of the toll of racism on Indigenous players who have had to put up with incidents from within clubs as well as internet trolls for too long.
“I wasn’t surprised to be honest. To lose the most exciting Indigenous player in the game to racism is really sad, if that’s true,” he told Fox Footy.
“We have fought for 20 years to get Indigenous welfare officers to every club to make it safe to come into the game and we only just achieved it this year.
“The AFL is (moving) with the right steps but we have still got a long way to go and whenever racism comes up I am happy to stand up and talk about it because I am here to stamp it out.“
Under siege Hawks president misses Carlton blockbuster
Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett will miss the club’s grandstand clash against Carlton with Covid amid calls for his immediate resignation by the Hawks for Change group.
Hawthorn four-time premiership great Cyril Rioli says he will not return to the club until Kennett is gone, with the outspoken president so far not speaking publicly about the controversy.
The Herald Sun understands he has Covid and is isolating, which while unfortunate for Kennett will dodge an unwelcome distraction on game-day.
The Carlton home game means Kennett would not have provided a president’s address, but coach Sam Mitchell will be asked in the post-match press conference about his attempts to reach out to Rioli over December and January this month.
There is no current push from the existing Hawthorn board to unseat Kennett, who Rioli says was grossly insensitive when he made comments about his wife’s designer ripped jeans in 2018.
He retired from the game and has cited several racial issues at the club that disturbed him and his wife Shannyn.
Adelaide and Carlton legend Eddie Betts said Rioli’s claims were shattering given they seemed to have forced him out of football at only 28.
Betts has spoken often of the toll of racism on Indigenous players, who have had to put up with incidents from within clubs as well as internet trolls for too long.
“I wasn’t surprised, to be honest. To lose the most exciting Indigenous player in the game to racism is really sad, if that’s true,” he told Fox Footy.
“We have fought for 20 years to get Indigenous welfare officers to every club to make it safe to come into the game and we only just achieved it this year.
“The AFL is (moving) with the right steps but we have still got a long way to go and whenever racism comes up I am happy to stand up and talk about it because I am here to stamp it out.“
Kennett is isolating at home and will not attend a clash, where his Hawks could go 3-0 but a club nominations committee has until June 30 to put forth a name as his successor.
Kennett ally Peter Nankivell is the chair of that group which includes beloved Hawk Andy Gowers and Geoff Harris, Katie Hudson, Anne-Marie Pellizzer and club legend Don Scott.
The clash between the incumbent board and the Hawks for Change group, which is lobbying for his immediate resignation, has also turned political.
Kennett believes they have no long-term plan for the club’s future with the former Liberal premier of the state also concerned the attack is along political lines.
The club has no immediate plans to commission a report along the lines of Collingwood’s Do Better investigation into its previous history.
It also has no plans to delve back into the allegations that saw Rioli and his wife furious after a senior player asked teammates on a post-season trip in 2013 whether an Indigenous player’s wife was “also a boong”.
Hawks legend backs Kennett
Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton has backed president Jeff Kennett saying he doesn’t believe there was “malice” behind his comments which have resulted in premiership hero Cyril Rioli ostracising himself from the club.
Rioli told Nine Media Kennett’s comments to his wife about her ripped jeans at a game had caused significant offence and were the last straw after a series of issues.
Brereton described Kennett as one of the “great insulters of life” and that he didn’t believe the comments were racist.
“I don’t believe there was malice in it, that’s the way he is,” Brereton said. “You are talking about a man who is one of the great insulters of life, the way he went through his political career he could have grown men crying within minutes.
“But I didn’t realise that (Cyril’s experience), that is the first I have read of it now
“There was a time at Hawthorn, this is hearsay, that they weren’t the most open to the Indigenous people. I have never known that, I have never seen that, I have never heard anything like that around the football club.”
Brereton said he was surprised that Rioli felt there were issues under four-time premiership coach Alistair Clarkson who was seen as a champion of the Indigenous cause.
“We have an edit at Hawthorn that anyone who comes through the doors must leave a better person but clearly Cyril left a little sadder than when he walked through the doors,” he told SEN.
“When you break up with a lover you don’t want anything to do with them. He would have loved the club for most of the time he was there, to leave, not at the behest, but because of the feeling within his partner which is the driving factor here, that’s sad to know that has taken place.
“It is a sad state of affairs.”
Hawks group turns up heat to get rid of Kennett
The Hawks for Change group has called on Jeff Kennett to immediately stand down after club legend Cyril Rioli’s comments he would not return to the club while the president remains.
Rioli told Nine Media Kennett’s comments to his wife about her ripped jeans at a game had caused significant offence and were the last straw after a series of issues.
The group has been aggressively pushing for Kennett to name a definite timeline to stand down.
But in a statement released to News Corp they said it was now time for him to go.
“Hawks for Change is deeply disappointed and concerned by reports that Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett made highly inappropriate remarks which led to distress for Cyril Rioli, his wife and their family which resulted in their subsequent departure from the Hawthorn Football Club,” it said.
“Jeff Kennett’s disrespect of the Rioli family is the latest shameful example of why he is not fit to serve as President of our beloved football club. Jeff Kennett, through his actions, has again brought the reputation of the Hawthorn Football Club into disrepute.
“Cyril Rioli has confirmed he will not re-engage with the Hawthorn Football Club while Jeff Kennett remains associated with the club. Cyril told The Age “I wouldn’t want to be there while he’s (Jeff Kennett) there”. This is no way to treat a four-time Hawthorn premiership player.
“We are disappointed to see further reports in the media today about previous inappropriate behaviour including Jeff proudly talking in the media about owning a golliwog called “Buddy”.
“Thanks to Hawks for Change, Jeff previously agreed to step down by 30 June 2022.
“Hawks for Change now calls on Jeff Kennett to resign immediately and directors of the Hawthorn Football Club must take a stand and seek Jeff’s resignation today.
“When Eddie McGuire realised he had done the wrong thing he resigned.
“Under the new leadership of Sam Mitchell, the Hawthorn Football Club is fiercely united on the field, but under the stale leadership of Jeff Kennett our Club is clearly divided off it.
“Hawks for Change will continue our campaign for greater diversity and democracy in the leadership of our Club.
“For the good of the mighty Hawthorn Football Club Jeff Kennett must go.”
Hawks for Change is a powerful lobby group who helped orchestrate Ian Silk’s elevation on to the Hawthorn board and also mould the succession plan for life beyond Kennett as president.
Hawthorn apologised to Rioli and his wife Shannyn in a statement on Saturday morning.
“Racism in all shapes and forms is unacceptable. We are sorry that Cyril and Shannyn experienced these incidents during their time at the club. We are saddened these experiences have left them feeling the way they do,” it said.
“Combating racism and educating everyone both within our own walls and in the community is something we are constantly working on and believe we are getting better at. But there is always more work to be done.
“We are committed to reconciliation and ensuring our First Nations players are culturally safe and have a voice that is both listened to and acted upon.
“At Hawthorn, all of our staff and players deserve to be respected.
“Our doors will always be open to Cyril and Shannyn.”
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