Ex-Hawthorn player and wife threatening legal action against Hawks after feeling ‘abandoned’ following racism scandal

A former Hawthorn player and his wife are threatening legal action against the club, saying they feel “abandoned” in the aftermath of the racism scandal. Read the full statement.

A former Hawthorn player and his wife are threatening legal action against the club. Picture: AAP Images

A former Hawthorn player and his wife are threatening legal action against the club, saying it has “abandoned” them in the aftermath of its­ ­racism scandal.

Lawyers for the couple released a statement to the Herald Sun saying their lives had been “turned upside down” in the fallout from the Hawks’ Cultural Safety Review, which was established to probe historic allegations of racism at the club.

They say a public pledge by Hawthorn chief executive Justin Reeves to provide ongoing support to players caught up in the saga had been “dishonoured – and cruelly so”.

The couple are “considering their civil legal options”, the statement says, and are refusing to participate in an AFL ­investigation into the racism saga, now in its seventh month, saying they don’t trust it.

In the statement, the couple identified only as “Paul” and “Mary” said: “This is just as significant the second time around as the events of the past – perhaps more so now as we are left sitting in our pain, retraumatised and feeling blamed and invalidated.

“We feel that Hawthorn and the AFL have attempted to wipe their hands clean of us, and worse, to blame us for what happened to us.

“We feel abandoned by the very club that was promising to understand and address our hurt and trauma.

“Once again we feel as though our voices are being silenced or controlled in processes that are not independent or safe. We are fearful, scared, ­intimidated and all of the feelings from the past are, once again, so familiar.”

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Hawthorn CEO Justin Reeves. Picture: Nicki Connolly

The couple had been encouraged to detail their experiences at Hawthorn as part of the external review commissioned by the club last year.

When the details of the review were revealed during grand final week, the club ­declared the wellbeing of those involved was a priority.

The couple’s lawyer Judy Courtin said Mr Reeves had said he was “profoundly heartbroken” and “pledged publicly that his club would “provide ongoing support to our clients and others who had contributed to the HFC review”.

Dr Courtin claimed the former player and his wife had been “forced to beg, cap in hand” for money to cover the cost of counselling sessions.

“It was suggested that one of our clients obtain a referral from his GP for 10 publicly funded counselling sessions at no cost to the HFC; that is, through the Medicare system,” Dr Courtin said.

“We immediately rejected this proposition. The ‘public’ did not bear the responsibility for the psychiatric harm of our client. Nor, as the club would or should well know, would Medicare cover the full cost of treatment by most psychologists.

“It took nine weeks of pointless argument for the HFC to finally agree to pay for some counselling for our distressed client, which has again further exacerbated their sense of betrayal and mistreatment. Even then it was limited to 10 sessions.”

Dr Courtin said that based on the experience of her clients, Mr Reeves’ comments “appear to be nothing more than virtue signalling, hypocrisy and pretence”.

“Not only has the club not delivered on its promises of support for our clients from six months ago, its adversarial and legalistic course continues to augment the harm,” she said.

“The irony here is alarming. Having reopened the wounds of its First Nations players and their families under the guise of bettering itself, HFC, in ­effect, sought to bury the traumas of its own creation.”

Mr Reeves last night told the Herald Sun: “Our focus has and will always be on the wellbeing of everyone involved.

“The club has provided support to the family referred to by Judy Courtin. This includes agreeing to provide financial support for 30 counselling sessions to a counsellor of their choice.”

Chris Fagan and Alastair Clarkson. Picture: AFL Media

When the scandal erupted in September, the AFL also said it hoped its probe into allegations would be completed before Christmas.

The couple had no faith in the AFL process, Dr Courtin said.

“This AFL investigation cannot be independent. It is paid for by the AFL and it is the AFL that decides if there are to be punitive measures, or not,” she said. “Instead, our clients are considering their civil legal options.”

In the review, Alastair Clarkson (now at North Melbourne), Chris Fagan (now Brisbane) and former Hawks general manager Mark Evans (Gold Coast) were accused by a fellow Hawthorn coach of running the football department like the “Russian mafia’’.

Two pregnant partners of players also lost their unborn children during the “traumatic events”, the report claimed.

All accused have strongly denied any wrongdoing.

The family also expressed anger at the review’s leaking.

“Our clients, who took part in this ‘truth-telling’ review, allege additional and ongoing harm flowing from that report and especially its unauthorised publication,” Dr Courtin said.