Jeff Kennett responds to former Hawthorn player and his wife threatening legal action against the club

Former Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has urged the club not to give in to what he sees as a ‘one-sided public blackmail campaign’.

Ex-Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has urged the club not to give in to what he sees as a “one-sided public blackmail campaign”.

Tuesday’s Herald Sun revealed a former Hawthorn player and his wife were threatening legal action against the club, claiming it has “abandoned” them in the aftermath of its racism scandal.

Lawyers for the couple released a statement, saying the couple’s 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.

But Kennett, who was part of the Hawks board that commissioned the report, said the allegations deserved to be tested in a proper forum.

Jeff Kennett. Picture: Getty Images

“I’m just talking as a Hawthorn member, but I am sick and tired of this particular lawyer hiding behind the anonymity of her clients, defaming the football club and its staff,” Kennett said.

“So much of what she has said in the statement is incorrect – and she has admitted that her clients have decided not to participate in the AFL investigation – because they simply don’t trust it.

“That is their choice but they can’t then expect, on the advice of their lawyer, to conduct a public campaign, defaming others, without being prepared to have their story tested.

Kennett at Hawthorn’s Annual General Meeting last year. Picture: Jason Edwards

“In the statement, the lawyer claims that they are considering civil action – I say to the family and the lawyer, if you are not prepared to be a part of the AFL investigation to establish the truth, then do as you are threatening to do and take it to the courts.”

Kennett added: “I know who the couple are and I also know the support the club has given to the couple.

“The lawyer should clearly explain to her clients the scrutiny that going to the courts will provide, the risks and the costs associated with that.

“While some of the claims made may have merit – or may not – the only way to establish the truth is for those who make the claims to be a part of the AFL investigation or civil courts …

“But neither the AFL nor Hawthorn should – and hopefully they will not – give in to what I consider to effectively be a one-sided public blackmail campaign.”