Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett says he ‘doesn’t consider this to be a crisis’

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has hit back after an external review into the club made its way into the hands of the media.

Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett speaking at The Peter Crimmins medal ceremony at Crown

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has hit back after an external review into the club made its way into the media mainstream.

Kennett broke his silence yesterday after allegations of past mistreatment of First Nations players rocked the football community last week.

A report of an external review into the Hawthorn football club included unsubstantiated allegations that key figures at the Hawks were responsible for the shocking mistreatment of the club’s Indigenous players.

ABC Sport reported the review alleges senior staff at Hawthorn demanded the separation of First Nations players from their partners and pressured one player and his partner to terminate a pregnancy for the sake of his career.

Kennett took to the podium on Saturday night during the club’s best and fairest and wasn’t happy the report had made it into the hands of the media.

“I do not consider this to be a crisis. When I read the draft report, I was somewhat flabbergasted, it wasn’t a good read,” Kennett said.

“We wanted them to tell their stories about their time at Hawthorn and since.

“But it wasn’t an inquiry in that sense. It was to make sure, as we always do, we put the welfare of our people first.

“It was a story telling where those telling the stories asked for confidentiality. We respected that. Sadly they made a decision to talk to the press and sadly they named people with whom they had very real issues. That was unfair to those people, so therefore we need to have this resolved.

“I don’t know how long it will take to resolve.

“I hope that all parties can come together in some form of mediation and it could be resolved before the end of the year so that people can get on with their lives and our players and our coaches can all focus on the thing we salute them for.”

Jeff Kennett speaking at the club’s B&F night.

Kennett said the review was a “bump along the highway” but reiterated that it showed the club now holds a “safe, cultural workplace”,

“The one thing that the investigation showed was that we have a safe, cultural workplace now. So these are issues of the past,” he said.

“What I hope will come in future is if anyone has an issue in the future … if you believe there has been inappropriate behaviour, tell us at the time. Go to the CEO or go to the head of football. We don’t want anyone to feel and carry the burden of inappropriate behaviour if, in fact, inappropriate behaviour is proven. Because at this stage we’ve only had one side.”

The external review alleges four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson and former assistant Chris Fagan, who is now the coach of the Brisbane Lions, were involved in some of the cases.

Clarkson and Fagan. (Photo: Michael Willson/AFL Media)

Clarkson has stepped aside from his role at North Melbourne, due to begin on November 1, as an investigation gets underway into the accusations. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Fagan has stepped aside from his role at Brisbane and has also denied any wrongdoing.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirmed the league would form an external four-person panel to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.