Sixers boss says culture of inclusion is driven by the players

From one of cricket’s lowest moments, Sixers general manager Jodie Hawkins found a “silver lining”.

Jodie Hawkins, general manager of the Sydney Sixers Picture: Britta Campion

From one of cricket’s lowest moments, Sixers general manager Jodie Hawkins found a “silver lining”.

When the cheating scandal unfolded in Newlands, and Australia’s cricketers such as Sydney Sixer Steve Smith faced a public shaming, Hawkins was initially perplexed having seen footballers convicted for domestic violence suffer far less public repercussions.

She thought the initial “worldwide” condemnation was an over-reaction but she also thought, “what do we take from this, to make cricket better?

“Cricket, unlike any other sport in our country, is held in a very different regard by the people of Australia and we have a responsibility to use that kind of influence to drive society forward,” Hawkins said.

“How can we be better citizens of Australia? So, for the last two years I have been thinking how can the Sixers be part of that?”

That has led her to here, two years into her role as Sixers general manager. She says she has a team that prides itself on inclusion. A team and sport “for all”.

A team that makes it clear and makes an effort via themed rounds and events to welcome fans regardless of their race and/or sexual persuasion.

“There’s a real call-out for kindness at the moment and compassion,” Hawkins said. “We want to be leading that. Everyone says sport and politics doesn’t mix. That’s a total lie. We can use sport to help make the generation of cricket followers now approach the world with a slightly different view, they are more inclusive, compassionate and understanding of people’s differences.

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“Sport is evolving from being a straight commercial business, focusing more on the social impact, because the social impact will drive the commercial outcome. That’s not about selling tickets and sponsorships — that’s about leaving a legacy, a footprint, that really does lead to long-term growth as a business.

“Thankfully I have wonderful staff and players who agree.”

Hawkins says the club’s culture is driven by the playing group, and mentions Moises Henriques and Sean Abbott in the men’s team and in the women’s team, Alyssa Healy. They create the right environment and understand the club’s standards and their roles.

The Sixers refuse to mollycoddle their athletes. The players are autonomous and responsible.

“They are not going to be babied here,” Hawkins said.

“Athletes are individuals who are accountable for their own actions.

“We don’t put players on drinking bans. The great thing about cricket is, the beginning of the season you hand all their gear over to them, training gear, we don’t see it again. They are responsible for taking their stuff across the country, it’s a very good lesson in personal accountability.”

“It’s bred a really beautiful culture of holding each other to account, a group of really humble athletes.”

The other thing that Hawkins drives home to her team is that they are there for the fans; win, lose or draw. She said players now immediately “ask for the textas” before they walk off the field and are back out there signing autographs no matter what.

“Twice this year we have been commended at away venues for staying out and signing for longer than the home team,” she said. “That’s who we are. That’s fan engagement. At the beginning of the year we talk about expectations and my expectation is that, especially after home games, win, lose or draw that they are out there meeting fans. Fan engagement is the No 1 pillar of Big Bash cricket. I want the fans’ memory to be not about winning or losing but their favourite player.”

Off the field, Hawkins has also driven her campaign of inclusion, with the full support of her players.

“We do a lot of LGBT work, we are going to move into supporting the indigenous community, supporting people with disabilities, how do we make sure our sport is truly for everyone? We say we are Australia’s sport and a sport for all Australians — but how do we live that?

“Our playing group, male and female, and the staff, really embrace it.”

There are, of course, detractors — trolls and those who think that sport and politics should never mix.

“The way we approach those people is from a place of education, a lot of bigotry and hate comes from ignorance,” Hawkins said. “We are not going to rant at people who are going to rant at us. What we are going to do is give you some facts around why we do this work.”

“Any kind of the behaviour that excludes the community is unacceptable. If you rant and rave at people — they don’t listen. You have to listen first, to understand what kind of information they need to educate them.”

She worked for many years in rugby league, at the Roosters in a communication role and said it was the “best learning environment”. She said working with chief executives like Steve Noyce was incredibly beneficial.

At the Roosters she also took the lesson of care in recruiting.

“The biggest thing I learnt is how to avoid people who can create disharmony,” she said. “I think there have been players over the years, that lead some of the younger players astray, and it reflected on the field, it really made me aware how important your club culture is for on- and off-field performance.”