‘People are saddened’: The fractured ties and emotional toll of Hawks racism probe

Save articles for later

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says the handling of the independent investigation into allegations of racism at the Hawks has left many of the participants saddened, and has fractured the relationship between the club and Alastair Clarkson.

A day after four-time premiership coach Clarkson blasted the manner in which the eight-month-old probe has been conducted, with still no end in sight, Mitchell said, “The only people enjoying it going longer and longer are the lawyers.”

Happier times: Sam Mitchell does not expect Alastair Clarkson to attend a 10-year reunion of the 2013 premiership.Credit: Getty and The Age

Clarkson, who has not yet been given the chance to give evidence to the panel, said the investigation had become “a circus”, and had denied him and his co-accused, including former Hawks officials Chris Fagan and Jason Burt, any procedural fairness. Clarkson also took aim at his former club, describing the Hawks’ conduct as shameful.

Mitchell, the former Hawks’ premiership skipper and a key player throughout Clarkson’s tenure, has not been interviewed by the panel, and does not expect to be. However, he said on Friday it was time for the case to be expedited.

“I think every person involved in this process wants it done as quickly and as fairly as possible, don’t they?” Mitchell said on SEN.

“I don’t think anyone is happy with how it’s been going except for perhaps the lawyers. I think there’s a lot of frustration from all parties about how it’s going, but I’m a little bit removed. I’m not part of the investigation, I’m the coach of a football team.

“As far as what my job looks like, I just keep thinking about our Hawthorn members and what the last 18 months as coach of the club has looked like. Making sure this is a great place for every person to work and that the people love coming to work, and it’s a safe place in the first instance and an enjoyable place to come.

“We’ve done a lot of hours, and learning and education, about all those things over the last 18 months which I’m quite proud of, but the challenge keeps ticking along in the background.”

Clarkson, former football boss Fagan and welfare manager Jason Burt have all denied the allegations of historical racism made by several Indigenous former players and families.

Mitchell said the case had taken an emotional toll on all parties.

“Yeah, I think that’s pretty accurate,” Mitchell replied, when asked whether sadness had been the over-riding emotion.

“The emotional toll that it takes on so many stakeholders, whichever side of it you’re on, or if you’re the innocent bystander as the public, the football fan or the Hawthorn member, I think a lot of people are saddened by the whole thing.

“There’s probably a whole bunch of other emotions that come into it depending on your mood on a given day. The big picture is everyone wants this finished as quickly and as fairly as possible. It doesn’t feel like that is what’s happening quickly or fairly.

“I think if we soldier on and push towards to that, whoever is in control of all this … the only people enjoying it going longer and longer are the lawyers.”

Clarkson’s anger towards the Hawks was clear when he addressed the issue on Thursday, this coming after the investigation released the reasons why the investigation was still going. While the Hawks have accessed 37,000 emails and documents as part of the process, the First Nations former players and partners have not agreed to handing over a number of private documents to Clarkson, Fagan and Burt’s legal teams.

“There is one particular party that is the catalyst for all this that has not been investigated at all, their governance and conduct in this whole thing – the Hawthorn Football Club – just shameful,” Clarkson, now the North Melbourne coach, said.

“Let’s do an investigation on them and their practices and see how they go.”

The Hawks will this year hold a 10-year reunion for their 2013 premiership. Mitchell said it was unlikely that Clarkson will attend.

“It seems unlikely, right at this point. I think a reunion, as far as there will be one formal function that’s organised, is probably not exactly how it works.

“There’s lots of us who talk regularly and have WhatsApp groups and talk about lots of different things over different parts of our own journeys over the last 10 years, so I think there’ll be plenty of catch-ups. Hopefully, we get everyone to one thing, but it seems unlikely.”

Mitchell said he would be prepared to call Clarkson, whom he had a strained parting in 2021 when the coaching succession plan failed, to invite him to any reunion.

“If you look back to 2013 and the grand final win that we had and the celebration of that, it’s pretty important that your coach is there and feeling comfortable. I think we’d all like him to be there in that moment depending on how that looks,” he said.

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.

Most Viewed in Sport

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article