Hawthorn racism review: Everything you need to know about the allegations, claims and what’s next
Hawthorn’s Cultural Safety Review has rocked the footy world. Here’s everything you need to know about the allegations, external investigation, who’s involved and what happens next.
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Cultural Safety Review: of past and present Indigenous Players & Staff of the Hawthorn Football Club is the title of the report that surmises the review that was commissioned by the Hawks earlier this year.
Lauren Wood explains what’s in it, what happens now and everything in between.
WHAT IS THE REVIEW?
Cultural Safety Review: of past and present Indigenous Players & Staff of the Hawthorn Football Club is the title of the report that surmises the review that was commissioned by the Hawks earlier this year.
The club embarked on the process following serious allegations of racism by four-time premiership player Cyril Rioli in April.
Phil Egan — Indigenous former Richmond player and now established consultant — led the review by conducting in-depth interviews ranging from one to three hours in duration with some having several interviews “due to the sensitive and traumatic nature of their experiences”.
Egan spoke with 17 First Nations former players, partners and staff members, five of whom were willing to go on the record with their experiences, with some text messages, emails and written transcripts shared with the report authors.
All testimonies were de-identified before the report was provided to Hawthorn in August.
Upon becoming aware of the gravity of the findings, Hawthorn passed the review on to the AFL Integrity Unit.
Serious allegations contained in the report meant it was then shifted to an external investigation, for which a panel to oversee it is yet to be appointed.
WHAT’S IN THE REVIEW?
Serious allegations — most of which are claimed to have occurred between 2010 and 2016 — have been levelled at former key Hawthorn officials, including then-senior coach Alastair Clarkson, former Hawks football boss and now Brisbane Lions senior coach Chris Fagan, another ex-Hawks football boss in Mark Evans and ex-football department staffer Jason Burt are all named.
Clarkson, Fagan, Burt and Evans — are noted in the report as being the subject of “alleged negligence and human rights abuses towards First Nations Hawthorn FC players”.
The incidents claim to have involved “players … being actively and forcibly removed and isolated from their families, told where to live and with whom and told to choose between their families and careers, including partners and unborn children”.
“It was reported that these aggressive and intimidatory actions were undertaken by the most senior of the coaching and management hierarchy,” the report reads.
Clarkson, Fagan and Burt have strongly denied all allegations. Current Gold Coast Suns CEO Evans did not respond to the allegations when comment was sought.
One former assistant coach claims that the quartet acted like “The Russian Mafia” and “if you dare question their methods, you were frozen out”.
The report also includes copies of emails provided by the partner of a former player, which detail disturbing allegations that her partner was removed from the home they shared and all contact cut between the pair. She says she exchanged emails with then-president Andrew Newbold, with emails purporting to be from Newbold included in her account.
Newbold denies ever sending the emails.
The report makes note that the current environment at Hawthorn is “refreshingly transparent”.
It also gives a number of recommendations to Hawthorn, including offering “repatriation and restitution package to the victims of negligence and abuse” and an official public apology.
WHAT IS ALLEGED?
One player’s partner claims Clarkson told a player that he should terminate their unborn child.
Another claims that Clarkson, Fagan and Burt “walked into my house with no warning” to remove the player from the home with a few belongings, and they went on to “intimidate, trap and bully me full well knowing I’m carrying a child”.
The wife of one player alleged that Clarkson came to their home for dinner and commented on the cleanliness of their home and said “you should invite your teammates over for dinner … for all they know you’re living in a shack in the desert somewhere”.
He has denied all allegations.
It is alleged that Fagan called a player into a meeting and questioned him regarding his personal life and engagement to his partner. He has denied all allegations.
WHO’S ALLEGED TO BE INVOLVED?
Former Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson — who had been set to take the reins at North Melbourne from November 1 — and Brisbane Lions counterpart and former Hawks football boss Chris Fagan are central figures to the allegations, which they have both strongly denied.
Both have engaged King’s Counsels and other lawyers in their defence.
Former Hawks staffer Jason Burt faces a number of accusations which he has also strongly denied.
Then-chief executive Mark Evans — who now heads up the Gold Coast Suns — is named in the report as a key management figure amid the period in which the allegations are claimed to have occurred. Evans did not respond to the allegations when comment was sought.
Ex-Hawthorn president Andrew Newbold, who is now on the AFL commission, is also named in one testimony as having been alerted to harrowing claims involving key football figures. He denies seeing or replying to the emails despite emails in the report purporting to be from his email account.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
The next step is for the external panel that will investigate the historical claims to be put in place. The league initially said it would be a four-person panel, evenly split in gender, with First Nations expertise.
The process to appoint the panel has been questioned by AFL Players’ Association boss Paul Marsh, who said on Thursday that he believed the league was “conflicted” in its handling of the investigation and that the league should not be involved in the appointment of any such panel.
Any investigation will be bound by specific terms of reference and it have its powers set out, including whether it can compel people to provide testimony and cross-examine.
This process could take months.
Clarkson and Fagan are being pushed to give evidence under oath and be cross-examined in order to clear their names. The legal team representing the First Nations players at the centre of the explosive Hawthorn report want this requirement if they are to take part in any further investigation.
If they agree the two parties can conduct a private inquiry hearing, most likely in front of a nominated Kings Counsel or panel, which follows the rules of engagement with documents of evidence and witness lists. Legal experts believe this is the quickest way to decide the matter with a result potentially by Christmas.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR GILLON McLACHLAN?
The league chief executive was set to leave his post in coming months.
He still has collective bargaining agreements for both men’s and women’s players to sew up, plus a number of other key deals for the AFL but the Hawthorn investigation is very much at the top of the priority list.
He said whether he stays on to see it through to completion is a decision for the commission and chairman Richard Goyder, “and obviously I will have a say in that”.
“It is something that is incredibly important though, that gets resolved,” he said at the North Melbourne Grand Final breakfast.
“It is on foot now and I do think it is a fair question will I stay through that.
“It needs to be settled.
“I am responsible for most things, but that’s chairman Richard (Goyder’s) role with the commission. We have conversations about stuff from time to time, but that is a process for the commission.”
Safe house offered in Hawks racism scandal
- Julian Linden
Australian sport’s watchdog says it is open to hearing confidential complaints about the Hawthorn racism scandal from anyone who doesn’t trust AFL authorities to investigate the matter properly.
Although the government-funded Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) has ruled out running the investigation, the agency’s boss David Sharpe said it will still listen and act on any grievances it hears from whistleblowers or survivors who simply don’t want to deal with anything associated with the AFL.
“I don‘t know the specific circumstances about Hawthorn because I haven’t been briefed, so let me clear about that, but as with any integrity issue, we are always here to listen,” Sharpe said.
“If anyone ever wants to go outside a sport and come to us because we’re a safe place, we will always protect their anonymity and information.
“If they want to go through a formal process and sanctions, which is a natural justice process, we can action that. Or we can listen to their story and use their information to go and hold the sport to account.”
The AFL Players’ Association is among several groups that have expressed concern about whether the AFL should investigate the Hawthorn claims.
Other sports that have recently been embroiled in scandals have previously agreed to fully independent investigations, many which have ended with scathing reports.
Gymnastics Australia issued an unreserved apology to athletes who were molested, abused and bullied by the same people who were supposed to protect them.
Hockey Australia underwent a complete change of leadership and other sports are still anxiously waiting to find out how deep their problems are with Swimming Australia and Football Australia among the high-profile sports currently being investigated following claims of historic abuse.
The football probe, which began after Lisa De Vanna alleged she was assaulted during her time with the Matildas, is the most comprehensive agreed to by any sport so far and has made headlines all over the world.
SIA has heard over 1300 confidential complaints in the past two years alone, including 117 that have been forwarded to law enforcement for criminal investigation.
“I credit the media for calling these behaviours out and holding people to account because they didn‘t have anywhere to go,” Sharpe said.
“But every time it‘s mentioned, those people that come forward would be retraumatised so they have to have a place where they can feel safe telling their stories.”
Sharpe’s comments coincided with confirmation the federal government in increasing the capability of the SIA’s confidential complaints system after a flood of people have come forward.
Sports Minister Anika Wells said the timing of the announcement had nothing to do with the Hawthorn scandal but she was in agreement with Sharpe that while the government agency wouldn’t be running the investigation it should still provide an avenue for everyone to be heard safely.
“In no way is this allowing national sport organisations to step back from their obligations to integrity to equality and to athlete support,” she said.
““What this does is provide an alternative method where for whatever reason, athletes, administrators and employees do not feel comfortable to come and to find out what their options are in an anonymous way.”
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