Tigers president Peggy O’Neal ‘very concerned’ over AFL reaction to harassment and bullying

Tigers president Peggy O’Neal joins Hawthorn boss Jeff Kennett in calling for answers on the AFL “toxic” workplace.

Tigers president Peggy O'Neal has called the allegations a ‘very big concern’

AFL Richmond president Peggy O’Neal has called the allegations of bullying and harassment in the code a “very big concern”.

Following Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett’s demand for sweeping cultural change in the game, O’Neal also believes the AFL Commission should address the issues regarding women and “find out how it was ignored for so long”.

Two AFL club presidents have now reacted to The Australian’s report, which revealed women who worked in AFL have routinely been silenced with confidentiality agreements after raising complaints about workplace bullying and harassment.

O’Neal said if it had been on her watch she would want to get to the “bottom of it” immediately.

“I am (concerned about The Australian’s reports),” Ms O’Neal said on ABC Melbourne radio on Friday morning.

“I think more so if reports like that were coming out about my club, I‘d want to get to the bottom of it. I’d want to know how it was not made public or wasn’t transparent.”

“(The Australian’s reporting) I think it‘s a very big concern that in a time where we want the sport to be open and welcoming to everyone, that there are women who allegedly have been treated poorly. And if I were the AFL Commission, I would want to get to the bottom as quickly as possible and find out how it was ignored for so long.”

The Australian’s investigation identified 14 cases of employees in the past nine years leaving the code after making bullying or harassment complaints against male leaders at AFL House, clubs and state bodies, with several signing confidentiality agreements.

The revelations coincided with the release of journalist Michael Warner’s bombshell book The Boys’ Club, which included two of the women’s accounts of being bullied at work.

Echoing his statement released to The Australian on Thursday, AFL boss Gillon McLachlan on Melbourne radio maintained the code did not use NDAs to silence women.

“We don’t use NDAs and we don’t use non-disclosure or things to try and silence victims or complainants,” McLachlan said on 3AW.