Revealed: Inside the AFL’s ditched racism deal – read the full document
References to compensation funds and even an apology from Hawthorn disappeared at the last-minute before the racism saga findings were released. READ THE DRAFT DOCUMENT.
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An apology from Hawthorn over a “lack of cultural awareness” and details about a First Nations couple allegedly being told to terminate a pregnancy were initially included in the AFL’s deal to end footy’s racism scandal.
But references to both issues – as well as a clause regarding access to potential compensation schemes – were ditched from the ultimate agreement unveiled by league chief executive Gillon McLachlan last Tuesday.
The Herald Sun has obtained a draft of the deal put to all parties just days before the resolution to the AFL investigation was announced.
The document states: “The Hawthorn FC and the AFL acknowledge the complainants feel hurt and anguish following their time at the Hawthorn FC.
“The Hawthorn FC acknowledges that, to the extent that hurt and anguish is from a lack of cultural awareness, Hawthorn FC is sorry.”
But the Hawthorn board walked away from the AFL deal at the eleventh hour, fearing it could expose the club to litigation.
A clause regarding the families’ ability to make “claims against any current or future AFL or Hawthorn FC hardship or compensation fund” was also omitted from the final document.
Former Hawks staffer Cam Matthews, who now works at North Melbourne, was named alongside Alastair Clarkson, Chris Fagan and Jason Burt as a “respondent” in the probe.
It can also be revealed major law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler – representing the six complainants; Cyril Rioli, Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli, Jermaine Miller-Lewis, Montanah Miller Lewis, Leon Egan and Carl Peterson – pushed back against some of the wording that found its way into the final agreement anyway.
Of particular concern to ABL was the line: “No adverse findings have been made in the independent investigation against the individual respondents”.
The law firm reminded the AFL that the independent panel had not concluded its work and that it was “misleading to express it as you propose”.
ABL also took umbrage at an endorsement of the settlement by the AFL’s independent panel.
The firm declared that the panel had become “functus” and that its clients would not agree to it – yet the deal unveiled by the AFL on May 30 – and signed off by ABL – still included the endorsement and concluded that “no adverse findings have been made in the independent investigation against any of the individuals”.
A series of allegations made by the families were also included in the initial “terms sheet for the resolution”, including that “from time to time First Nations Hawthorn FC players were asked to live separately from or to break up with their intimate partners … that Hawthorn FC took steps to prevent Hawthorn FC First Nations players from communicating with their intimate partners by removing their mobile phones” and that a former player and his partner “were told to terminate a pregnancy”.
Support people for the families also scoffed at a clause, which also made its way to the final statement, which declared “the independent panel established by the AFL was a positive and constructive process for their allegations to be fully and fairly investigated”.
They believed a generic apology from the AFL regarding “instances of racism … during the long history of our game” was tokenistic and that a series of other league commitments aimed at combating cultural safety should have been implemented years ago.
The Herald Sun last week revealed a potential deal between the AFL and the families appeared dead in the water until lawyers for Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan threatened to publicly identify the complainants as part of a Supreme Court injunction against the league and its investigation panel.
A deal was struck the following day.
At least one of the families now regrets agreeing to the AFL arrangement in the belief they were used as a pawn as part of a push to resolve the eight-month racism saga.
An AFL spokesperson told the Herald Sun: “As with any mediation or negotiated settlement there were numerous ‘without prejudice’ drafts of settlement terms involving a number of participants to the investigation exchanged before the eventual agreement was reached between the six complainants and the AFL (being the parties to the agreement).
“The only document that was agreed by the parties, the six complainants and the AFL, was the agreement entered into on Tuesday evening (May 30) which was also endorsed by the independent panel chairman Bernard Quinn KC.”
Hawthorn president Andy Gowers said: “As part of without prejudice negotiations, and in an attempt to find a resolution throughout the independent panel investigation process, a number of different draft term sheets were developed with various proposals and provisions sought by the parties.
“This version of the document was considered by the parties but ultimately not agreed to.”
**This display document is a recreated version of the draft deal. It is not the original document.
Originally published as Revealed: Inside the AFL’s ditched racism deal – read the full document
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