By Jon Pierik
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan says he feels it is his responsibility to remain in the top job until the Hawthorn racism case has “settled down”, coming as Indigenous former player Andrew Krakouer relived the racism he experienced at Collingwood.
An independent investigation led by a four-person panel into racism and bullying claims at Hawthorn has begun, after allegations were made against former coach Alastair Clarkson, former football department chief Chris Fagan and former welfare manager Jason Burt in Hawthorn’s cultural safety review. The three men have denied the allegations.
AFL chief Gillon McLachlan says he will remain in charge until after the Hawthorn racism case has “settled down”.Credit: Getty
Four First Nations families who made allegations in the Hawks’ review have agreed to participate in the independent probe now the AFL is also preparing a wider league response, but “Amy ” (a pseudonym) maintains the investigation is not culturally safe or truly independent and will not participate.
McLachlan insisted on Friday the panel of Bernard Quinn KC, First Nations barristers Jacqualyn Turfrey and Tim Goodwin, and human rights barrister Julie Buxton, was “as transparent and as independent as possible”, but said the families had the prerogative to not participate.
Lawyers Strongman and Crouch, representing the four-person panel, said on Friday a one-week extension - to next Friday - had been granted to anyone wishing to register and participate in the probe. The panel is also open to revising the initial dates shown on the terms of reference “to ensure a fair process can take place”. The plan had been for the entire case to be completed by Christmas, but this is now in doubt.
The lawyers said families can have cultural safety experts and counsellors on hand during interviews.
McLachlan had been due to end his eight-year tenure soon after the season finished, but says there is still much work to do, particularly with the Hawthorn case, before he feels the time is right to leave.
“The timing is, I am leaving, but I think everyone understands is there are a few things going on … that I feel is my responsibility to make sure they are settled down enough and on an even footing when I leave,” McLachlan said in Adelaide, while confirming the addition of a 24th home-and-away round next season, with all 18 teams to play in South Australia in round five.
“One day I will just disappear and I am working with my president. I know everyone loves dates and times, but I am certainly not buying into all of that.
“The Hawthorn thing has been a challenge. That appeared unexpectedly. I feel broadly that people I speak to, clubs, presidents, journos, media, public, understand that I feel it’s the appropriate thing to do to manage that to a point when you think it’s right to go.
“So what that date is, I can’t tell you. It’s not going to be late next year, but it’s certainly going to be over the coming months. If everyone is happy with that, I think that’s fair, and I think that people understand that.”
However, as McLachlan spoke in Adelaide, Krakouer took to social media to relive a racist slur he experienced at the Magpies.
“He [a teammate] looked me dead in the eye with a smirk and said the word ‘b---g’ came from when white Australians would run over Aboriginal people with their car. I shook my head in disbelief, thinking: ‘How could my teammate be thinking these things, thinking that they were funny?’”
Krakouer, who played 137 games for Richmond and Collingwood between 2001 and 2013, had first publicly detailed this racism early last year, having also been “pretty disappointed” at the time by the Magpies’ initial response to their Do Better report.
Krakouer, who appears on the Yokayi Footy show on the AFL website, also posted in the tweet containing a video of him relating his story, and others the pain brought on by racism: “It’s not often First Nations people volunteer experiences of racism. What’s the point of reliving the trauma when you’re not believed?
“When investigations are conducted in unsafe environments? When lip service is paid but no action is taken?”
Krakouer and fellow Indigenous former teammate Leon Davis are now employed by the Magpies to help build a culturally safe environment. Krakouer was contacted for comment by The Age on Friday.
McLachlan said the league’s general manager of inclusion and social policy Tanya Hosch was working towards releasing a league-wide response to racism next month.
“We need to have a process to actually determine what went on [at Hawthorn], so there is no presumption of guilt or anything. There are accusations and those responding and that process will determine what actually went on to the extent it can,” he said.
“Independent of that, we need to have conversations, and we have said that we are going to look at issues around, ongoing, continued work around cultural safety in the workplace, looking into our history. We are working with clubs on that. Tanya Hosch is leading that work, and we will have announcements on all that in December.”
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