‘There are board members at Hawthorn who should be gravely concerned about their complicity in this saga’

Outgoing AFL chief Gillon McLachlan cultivated a culture of racial grievances and identity politics, and sadly the ugly mess that created will linger after he’s gone.

Gillon McLachlan’s legacy will be tainted by the AFL’s mishandling of the Hawthorn scandal. The AFL CEO who has enjoyed a golden run from the friendly football media stands accused of trying to strongarm Alastair Clarkson and the Hawthorn Football Club.

Sources at Hawthorn say that the AFL were pushing the club to stump up around $1m as part of the deal with the aggrieved families, but the club wisely declined to pay. It may be the first smart thing Hawthorn has done throughout this damaging saga, though it came at a cost with a furious AFL threatening possible penalties if the club is found to have brought the game into disrepute.

McLachlan owns much of this self-inflicted mess thanks to the eagerness with which he has embraced, and encouraged AFL clubs to embrace, toxic race politics. Hawthorn felt compelled to commission the Binmada Review, aka “the racism report”, due in part to the culture McLachlan has proudly cultivated: one steeped in racial grievances and identity politics.

Outgoing AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan fostered a culture of identity politics. Picture: Getty Images

Once troubled former star Cyril Rioli made claims, including one against then president Jeff Kennett making a joke about his wife’s ripped jeans that the couple saw as racist and “the final straw”, the club felt duty bound to launch an investigation into possible racial discrimination at the club.

There are board members at Hawthorn who should be gravely concerned about their complicity in this saga and the potential for years of costly court action, reputational damage, plus the prospect of AFL penalties such as fines, loss of draft picks and/or premiership points if it is determined that the club engaged in conduct that was “unbecoming or likely to prejudice the interests or reputation of the AFL or to bring the game of football into disrepute”.

A mob calling themselves Hawks for Change who purport to be a grassroots campaign stand accused of plunging the club into a devastating crisis. The slick and undeniably Leftist political operatives have progressively taken control at the club with current president Andy Gowers and board members Ian Silk and James Merlino (who served as Premier Dan Andrews’ deputy ) among their ranks. Whether fairly or unfairly Silk is the man many within Hawthorn consider to have the greatest culpability for the deeply flawed “racism report”.

Silk is seen by many at the club as chiefly responsible for selecting Phil Egan to complete the review without doing the necessary due diligence on the activist and former Richmond player. Those same sources, and they are plentiful in number, also question how Silk, who was adamant that Hawthorn should dump their profitable poker machines, can now chair the Crown Melbourne board.

The AFL has announced the finalisation of its shambolic eight-month probe into the Hawthorn racism affair, declaring “no adverse findings have been made. Picture: Supplied

But contradictions and hypocrisy are not rare in the AFL. Indeed only in the bizarre world inhabited by the AFL can this week make any sense. On Tuesday night the AFL announced the finalisation of their shambolic eight-month probe into the Hawthorn affair declaring “no adverse findings have been made in the independent investigation against any of the individuals against whom allegations have been made”. But in the same announcement they acknowledged the “hurt, pain and anguish” the complainants feel following their time at the Hawthorn FC.

So, which is it? Do the complainants have cause to feel pain and anguish, or are the accused innocent of the grievous allegations levelled against them? Either the three men have done something warranting an apology or they have not.

Taking the absurdity one step further the league also announced: “The AFL is only able to impose sanctions for breaches of AFL rules on persons subject to the AFL rules and respects the right of the various parties to the investigation (and those who decided not to participate) to pursue claims in other legal forums. Today’s outcomes do not interfere with those rights.” So the league determines that the accused, Clarkson, Chris Fagan and Jason Burt, have no case to answer but they then handball the entire catastrophe back to Hawthorn and the three men who now face action in the Australian Human Rights Commission. And, anyone familiar with that body knows that the process is the punishment. Even if they are ultimately exonerated of all blame, the process is typically lengthy, stressful and costly. This ugly saga will sadly continue long after McLachlan has belatedly handed the reins to his successor, Andrew Dillon.

Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist