Kane Cornes says Warren Tredrea’s position on Port Adelaide Football Club board is ‘untenable’

The outspoken footy critic has spoken out on Warren Tredrea and his spot on the Port Adelaide board, saying enough is enough.

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Kane Cornes says Warren Tredrea’s position on the Port Adelaide Football Club board is “untenable”, and has urged the Power great to consider stepping away from the role.

Cornes said his former teammate – who’s come under fire after he was accused of promoting anti-semitism on his podcast – had become an unwanted “distraction” for the club.

“I don’t say this lightly because Warren is clearly a much-loved teammate of mine, premiership captain ... but right now Warren’s position on the board is untenable,” the outspoken media personality said on his SEN breakfast radio show.

“When the story becomes about you, not for the first time and not about the betterment of the football club ... then that’s when your position becomes untenable.

“He wants to go down the free-speech path and ... that is fine but that’s only fine if it’s not a distraction for the position that you hold, which is a powerful one at the Port Adelaide Football Club.”

Cornes said Tredrea had to understand that he could no longer continue in the role.

“For Warren, right now he must realise his position he on the Port Adelaide board is untenable and he’s got to come to that realisation himself otherwise the club will be doing a review ... and they will come to that realisation themselves,” he said.

AFL commentator Kane Cornes. Picture: Michael Klein

Port Adelaide AFL premiership captain Warren Tredrea, Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Kane Cornes and Warren Tredrea together at Alberton Oval .

Port Adelaide announced this week they had launched a formal review into his board position.

It came after the Jewish Council of Australia claimed “anti-Semitic conspiracy theories” were being promoted during an episode of Tredrea’s podcast featuring British army veteran AJ Roberts.

Speaking on Tredrea’s podcast, The Ballsy Show, Mr Roberts referred to Israel as a “fake state” created by “the same Zionists who were controlling World War II”.

He also claimed Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, was involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City, and had worked with former US President Barack Obama to create ISIS.

Chairman David Koch said the club had “comprehensive governance standards that apply to all directors and club officials”.

“Directors and officials of the club are entitled to their personal views, however there are concerns that recent content published is in breach of these standards,” Koch said.

Tredrea, who will retain his place on the board until the review is complete, has since strongly refuted any suggestion he was promoting anti-Semitism, and declared “in no way, shape or form” is he an anti-Semite.

“Let me make it abundantly clear. I unequivocally condemn war and genocide, and seek only to share other perspectives of what has been a very one way reported narrative in the mainstream media,” he wrote on social media.

Port Adelaide AFL premiership captain and club board member Warren Tredrea in Adelaide. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt.

“I am not in any way, shape, or form, an anti-Semite, and consider it defamatory for anyone to accuse me as such.”

This week’s controversy comes amid Tredrea’s ongoing dispute with his former employer Channel 9.

A court has ordered Tredrea to reimburse Nine’s legal costs – estimated at between $100,000 and $200,000 – incurred by his attempt to resurrect his wrongful dismissal lawsuit.

However, it emerged last week Tredrea told a court he had paid his debt to Channel 9 with a legal IOU because Australia has no “gold or silver coins” in circulation.

Tredrea has also claimed, in Federal Court documents, he is “not an entity” nor a “legal person, citizen or resident” but a “private man” whose “yes be yes” and “no be no”.

Tredrea has claimed his contract was unfairly terminated in 2022 after he refused to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

Originally published as Kane Cornes says Warren Tredrea’s position on Port Adelaide Football Club board is ‘untenable’