Page 13: Inside Collingwood’s racism report fallout

A damning report revealing systemic racism at the Collingwood was meant to stay secret, Pies insiders have revealed.

Eddie McGuire has fallen from top dog to kicked out of the kennel at Collingwood, locked out of a meeting with the players over the leaked racism report. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Eddie Everywhere was nowhere when Collingwood’s playing group and club chiefs held a two-hour crisis meeting on Wednesday to discuss his horror show presser.

The Pies prez went from top dog, to being left out of the kennel after going “off script” when trying to spin the leaked Collingwood racism report.

The players are rabid and there was anger in the room at the meeting on Wednesday, which later triggered their public letter of apology.

Eddie was benched as CEO Mark Anderson and club executives told the group there would be no more McGuire-splaining and “yes,” he went off script.

“Eddie’s not allowed to talk about any of that anymore,” a player shaking his head told Page 13.

Eddie McGuire at the Collingwood Football Club press conference discussing the release of the club's CGC Better Report. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

It seems even his longtime consultant, former ALP spin doctor Sharon McCrohan, couldn’t protect Eddie from Eddie on Monday.

“Give that to me,” we are told Eddie said clutching for the draft script with pen in hand to scribble his own version.

“This is a proud and historic day for the Collingwood football club” was pure Eddie.

Eddie’s eleventh-hour scribbles weren’t off the mark, they were out of bounds.

Rewind to hours before and the club was scrambling to respond to the leaked Do Better document. Executives were sweating hard after the Herald Sun splashed the full and damming internal racism report.

Page 13 can reveal a CFC directors meeting was held in January where the independent review that had been kept under wraps since mid December was discussed. Emotion ran high in the boardroom.

Some say the full racism report was never to see the light of day. It was hoped an executive summary would give the report a soft landing.

Read come in spinner!

The players were reportedly rabid inside a two-hour crisis meeting. Picture: Alex Coppel

Top-tier insiders are feeling sorry for Eddie saying “he just doesn’t get it and should have left three years ago.”

The way he runs the club has been likened to Donald Trump’s divide and rule tactics, but even McGuire’s most loyal supporters are starting to turn.

They are seething at what they are calling “a cluste$#%&.” Some of Eddie’s micro-managed liniment sniffers on the Collingwood board are now reading the play.

Outgoing vice-president Alex Waislitz has served under Eddie for 23 years but insiders say the rich-lister is on the board in name only and swamped by his many other commitments, such as counting his bucketloads of cash.

Christine “Cartier-watch” Holgate is another in Eddie’s corner, but after her recent torching as head of Australia Post, she also finds she has other commitments.

Tick, tick, tock!

Jodie Sizer’s 2018 appointment as a club director was scoffed at by many as a token gesture, but her appointment as the first Indigenous woman to join a Victorian AFL board has been anything but.

“Jodie could run the joint,” one insider told Page 13.

Sizer and several other directors are starting to find their voice. She joined CEO Mark Anderson at Wednesday’s crisis meeting, with a player saying Eddie wasn’t welcome.

One insider claims Jodie Sizer “could run the joint”. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Outgoing vice-president Alex Waislitz is said to be swamped with other commitments so wouldn’t be looking for the top job.

The Collingwood board room no longer jumps at Eddie’s bark. But not everyone is on the same page.

Former interim CEO Peter Murphy is seen as an obvious choice to replace McGuire once he does go.

Down at the Sorrento Pub during Collingwood’s summer of discontent, the barflys were agog when a well-oiled club director was overheard loudly bad mouthing another board member.

The club is looking for corporate outliers to join the board. Big hitters such as John Wylie, Dan Rosen, Paul Tuddenham and Jeff Browne have been bandied about.

Craig “Ned” Kelly’s name always crops up, but given that he manages coach Nathan Buckley and around a third of the AFL players (not to mention his son playing for the Pies) he might be a little conflicted.

It’s impossible to whitewash this latest Collingwood saga, but remember, this is Melbourne and it’s a boys’ club.

As the song goes: “Side by side we stick together to uphold the Magpies’ name.”

Originally published as Page 13: Inside Collingwood’s racism report fallout