Hawthorn racism probe: Michael Warner explains why Alastair Clarkson and his co-accused will be cleared

With the Hawthorn racism investigation panel set to be shelved, how will the AFL explain why the eight-month investigation has derailed?

Alastair Clarkson and Chris Fagan.

Alastair Clarkson can be fierce, even brutal. He has a temper like a volcano.

But for those on the inside of the Hawthorn investigation, it’s been obvious for months that the AFL’s independent panel could not reasonably find him guilty of systemic racism.

Indeed, a view of many with intimate knowledge of the case against Clarkson is that good faith acts involving indigenous players he coached at the Hawks have been unfairly mischaracterised as racist.

“Did he regularly treat indigenous players differently or unfavourably? Absolutely not,” one insider said.

“Perhaps there was no special or nuanced treatment of slightly vulnerable First Nations players — it was just hard-arsed Alastair Clarkson who was trying to get results – but he applied the same standards to all of his players.”

Much of the white-hot anger in this eight-month debacle is directed at the ABC, which dropped the untested Hawthorn story like a nuclear bomb in Grand Final week last year.

In the eyes of some, Clarkson and his two co-accused are sitting on the defamation case of the century.

They have until September 21 to lodge such an action, but in the year of the Voice and an increasingly woke world, it’s not as straightforward as that.

The AFL has stepped in to take charge of the scandal and is working overtime to find a balance between a strictly legal outcome and one that allows all parties to feel like they can move on.

Chris Fagan and Alastair Clarkson during their time at Hawthorn.

But it’s an intervention that raises a whole series of new questions about the AFL probe, such as: Who and on what basis has decided that there is no case to answer? Where is the independent panel’s final report? Did the panel decide this or did the AFL decide?

And does this mean that the AFL does not believe the First Nations complaints?

Among the mountains of material at the centre of the probe is an interview the AFL panel conducted with retired Hawthorn indigenous great Shaun Burgoyne.

Those who have listened to a recording of the chat say it is a powerful endorsement of his old coach and club in the period under question.

Alastair Clarkson and Shaun Burgoyne walk off the MCG after their last game in 2021.

But it’s the role played by former Richmond player and indigenous consultant Phil Egan, the author of the explosive racism report at the centre of the scandal, that most intrigues.

Egan himself is the subject of a Victoria Police fraud investigation and remains a support person for indigenous families involved in the case.

Egan’s past association with one of the four AFL panellists has been another point of contention, but was ultimately not considered a disqualifying factor.

Incredibly, Clarkson, Brisbane coach Chris Fagan and former Hawks staffer Jason Burt have not been required to file a single document since the AFL probe began.

Alastair Clarkson and Chris Fagan are expected to be cleared.

The worst of the allegations levelled against Clarkson – claims that he pressured one couple to terminate a pregnancy for the sake of the player’s career – have not been considered by the panel. That family declined to take part and is exploring civil actions that could yet reignite the scandal.

A sixth family – represented by lawyer Judith Courtin – is also eyeing the courts.

“Our clients from the very beginning didn’t trust the AFL and they realised and thought then it would just be a whitewash and it is certainly turning out to be something like that at this stage,” Courtin declared on Friday.

But in terms of the AFL and the four families taking part in its process, the aim now is to bring a swift end to the proceedings – a plan that could involve big bags of money without any adverse findings against Clarkson, Fagan and Burt. It’s a tough sell.

Some have privately questioned whether Clarkson’s decision to take indefinite leave was tactical, but his struggle is real.

Clarkson has stepped aside from his new role as North Melbourne coach.

Clarkson is angry at the process and Hawthorn yet the Hawks did the right thing by commissioning a review after four-time premiership star Cyril Rioli spoke up in April last year about past claims of racism at the club.

The error may have been that not enough homework was done on Egan.

But it was the devastating, and perfectly timed, leak of his report last September that triggered this crisis.

The AFL is not without significant blame. Within hours of the ABC story it announced the establishment of the independent four-person panel instead of private arbitration overseen by a retired, eminent judge.

“They chose the wrong model,” one legal figure said.

“It was the sliding doors moment – a massive error of judgment that has prolonged the misery for all.”

Gillon McLachlan, footy’s master deal maker, has been here before a decade ago when the Essendon drugs saga spiralled out of control, but maybe not even he can fix this fiasco.