Bombshell reports that cleared Hawthorn of racism scandal revealed

Two reports into the racism scandal surrounding the Hawthorn Football Club have been revealed after mediation talks broke down.

Bombshell reports into Hawthorn’s racism saga revealed. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media)

Exclusive details of two reports into the Hawthorn racism scandal have been revealed.

News Corp revealed the findings on Thursday, only days after mediation talks officially broke down.

Two separate reports by Justice John Middleton and Gordon Legal suggested there was “no basis whatsoever” that a subculture of racism existed at Hawthorn from 2008-2015.

The reports led to the AFL Commission terminating a four-person independent panel which was launched to investigate the claims.

Both reports called on the AFL to end its probe.

It was also suggested in the reports that some of the most damning claims - including that a player and his partner were pressured to terminate a pregnancy could not be substantiated.

The period just before Christmas, 2022, can also be revealed as a key period in the scandal when the accused - Alastair Clarkson, Chris Fagan and Jason Burt - were first given detailed statements from the First Nations complainants.

To read the full inside story from Michael Warner, click here.

Alastair Clarkson and Chris Fagan during their time at Hawthorn. (Photo: Michael Willson/AFL Media)

The scandal now appears destined to be heard in Federal Court following the end of mediation talks.

The AFL in May last year ended its probe into allegations of historic racism at Hawthorn, with “no adverse findings” made against former Hawks coach Clarkson, ex-football boss Fagan and former welfare manager Jason Burt.

However the agreement struck didn’t preclude the complainants from taking other action,

the racism claims — made by Rioli, ex-Hawks Carl Peterson, Jermaine Miller-Lewis and Indigenous club liaison Leon Egan, and partners Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli and Montanah Miller-Lewisian — allegedly stemmed from 2008 to 2016.

Clarkson, who faced some of the more severe claims, was granted time away from North Melbourne last year to look after his mental wellbeing amid the investigation.

Clarkson is now at North, Fagan is at the Lions. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Fagan and Burt also took a leave of absence from their roles at the Lions and Caulfield Grammar respectively after the Binmada report was leaked to the media in September 2022.

The story erupted with an ABC Sport report of an external review of the Hawthorn Football Club, which found key figures at the Hawks — including Clarkson, Fagan and Burt — were responsible for the shocking mistreatment of Indigenous players.

The trio all repeatedly denied the claims.

The most troubling episode centred around one unsubstantiated allegation mentioned in the report, which details how one player claims Clarkson and Fagan were present at a meeting where he was told to leave his pregnant partner — and then move to live with a member of the club’s staff.

Originally published as Bombshell reports that cleared Hawthorn of racism scandal revealed