Graham Cornes: No closure for Crows until full disclosure on cursed camp
Adelaide’s external review promises to improve leadership, revamp relationships and bring the club back to its former glory. But there’s one glaring thing it doesn’t address, writes Graham Cornes. The infamous Gold Coast camp.
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There were always going to be casualties. A club cannot fall so dramatically from contention without someone losing their job.
So Don Pyke, Brett Burton, and Scott Camporeale are sacrificed and Taylor Walker stands down as captain.
Understandably the press release summarising the findings of the club’s external review lacks the intimate detail that fans and media thirst for. How could it truly reveal who said what about who?
So the review found that there was “no single issue solely responsible for the inconsistent on-field performance in the last two seasons”.
What the summary doesn’t explain is there has been a constant distraction, exaggerated or not, over these past two years. It’s that cursed camp.
Over a year ago, on the September 8, 2018, I wrote in this column that the Adelaide Football Club simply had to come clean and share with the football world what exactly had happened on the infamous Collective Minds training camp.
To hide behind a cloak of secrecy would only plunge the club into a deeper crisis of mistrust, sustain constant suspicion and fuel endless vitriolic criticism. Instead, the club has maintained its position of silence.
“Nothing further to see here” became the club’s mantra. Its only line of defence has been to claim that neither the club’s internal investigation, the AFLPA or an investigation by the AFL’s Integrity Unit found any evidence of wrongdoing.
Guess what? Thirteen months later the Adelaide Football Club is in a crisis of mistrust, is under constant suspicion and is subject to endless vitriolic criticism.
Oh, and they don’t yet have a coach, and the internal review has seen the demise of key people in the club.
Cam Ellis-Yolmen brought the issue to the fore again this week in his parting salvo to the Crows. The camp “hurt the culture”, “divided us” and “stopped us playing good team footy”, Ellis-Yolmen claimed.
Of course the media, especially the Victorian media, jumped all over those comments to validate some of the wild accusations that they had been purveying.
Ellis-Yolmen doesn’t do many press interviews. His comments, while sensational and damning, lack a certain sophistication. They indicate a young man, speaking frankly and freely without due consideration of the consequences.
It’s doubtful that he would have predicted this new wave of criticism and speculation. It’s only going to get worse. Every player leaving the club is going to be asked about that camp. It won’t go away until there is nothing left to speculate about.
Prior to the camp, the players were required to sign a confidentiality agreement. They aren’t allowed to talk about what happened on the camp. Presumably such an agreement was drawn up to protect the intellectual property of the Collective Mind organisation.
But you can’t muzzle the truth — nor should you try. Besides, the value of the Collective Mind “intellectual property” has surely crashed in the wake of this ongoing crisis. What is left to protect? Not much. However, there is plenty left to restore — such as a club’s reputation.
Any confidentiality agreements that have been signed by the players have surely been rendered invalid by the ensuing damnations. Even state secrets are given up after a period of limitation. The players must be permitted to speak freely if the club won’t open itself up to further inquiry.
It is a fact that several media outlets are still circling like sharks in the water for the real stories about what happened in the camp. The issue will not go away. Every departing player will be cross-examined and eventually one or more of them will write the tell-all book. Do we really have to wait and endure the regurgitation of half-truths and faux news to know the truth?
So what really did happen on this camp that has caused so much disruption to one of the best football clubs in Australia? Several of the more wildly outrageous allegations — such as young players being tied naked to a tree and the players being subjected to the Richmond theme song being played on an endless loop — have been dismissed outright as ill-informed, mischievous gossip. However there are some “stories” that return again and again to damage the reputation of the club’s duty of care for its players. They can’t be ignored or dismissed.
One — it seems highly probable that several of the indigenous players were upset or offended by elements of the program. Despite the fact this indigenous aspect of the camp was convened by an Aboriginal elder, it appears to have backfired. Curtly Hampton, Cam Ellis-Yolmen and now Eddie Betts have all departed. Coincidence?
Two — a group of senior players were subjected to a program of mind training designed to improve their resilience. This involved assailing their psyches with intimate, uncomfortable details of family history or their upbringing. Perhaps there was some validity to the process but some of the players felt horribly betrayed. These personal details could only have come from within the club — from coaches, team-mates or administration. In some cases, instead of enhanced resilience the result has been distrust.
Three — several of the younger players were visibly upset after being deposited in a remote location, then having to find their way back home. To footballers of a different generation that might seem like an exciting adventure but today’s young players are much more protective of their human rights.
Then there is the more serious allegation that one of the young players was severely embarrassed by one of the tasks. In an activity that could be likened to a more “lurid” version of the childhood game “Simon Says” he followed the instruction when he should have used his own discretion to resist. Again, when viewed from a perspective of old-school locker-room hijinks it doesn’t seem so bad, but this is a generation of players who shower with their Speedos on.
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And so the speculation persists and continues to erode the integrity of the club. It matters not that many of the players claim to have benefited from the Collective Minds camp. Nor does it matter that over the journey of the Adelaide Football Club there have been many other tough, mentally challenging training camps. The demise of the club’s performances and the loss of form by some players, rightly or wrongly, can be linked to this controversial Collective Minds camp. It’s time to reveal all.
In due course the Adelaide Football Club will have a new coach, a revamped football department headed by a manager of “Leadership and Culture”, a “rejuvenated” team and will return to playing finals football.
One thing that will expedite that process is closure of one of the most controversial episodes in the club’s history. That closure will not come without full disclosure. It’s the one thing this extensive review hasn’t addressed fully.
Originally published as Graham Cornes: No closure for Crows until full disclosure on cursed camp