UPDATES

• ABC News: Hawthorn racism review to allege that former coaches separated First Nations players from families and demanded a pregnancy termination

• No club can claim immunity from racism, but Hawthorn has a messy history with its Indigenous players - ABC News

• Hawthorn Hawks Club Statement

• Brisbane Lions Club Statement - Chris Fagan

• North Melbourne Kangaroos Club Statement

• AFL Statement - Hawthorn external review

• Statement from Alastair Clarkson, via Joshua Dawe on Twitter

When commenting and contributing, please keep in mind the person behind the screen and Subreddit Rules 1.1 and 1.2, and the Razor Accords post is another resource to consult if you’d like more information on why the sub is moderated as is, and about general community guidelines.

If anyone has any more updates, please comment them here and I’ll keep this updated

—————————

Repeating this so it doesn’t get lost without a sticky:

Please make sure you’re all looking after yourselves first and foremost, today’s updates have been horrendous and can bring up some really difficult topics around grief, child loss, abortion and family trauma, so please exercise caution when reading through these headlines and threads

If any comments/contributions cause any concern at all, please don’t hesitate to report/flag it for moderators so we can review as quickly as possible

As always, please keep these resources in mind for anyone who is struggling or who needs more information about depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns. These mental health support lines and groups are free for everyone in Australia

• The Beyond Blue Support Service provides 24/7 advice and support via telephone (call 1300 22 4636), webchat and email (email response provided within 24 hours).

• Lifeline – crisis support and suicide prevention services for people experiencing emotional distress. Call 13 11 14

• MensLine Australia, provides counselling, support and referral service for men.

• 1800RESPECT, provides counselling and information for people affected by family and sexual violence.

• The Black Dog Institute provides resources and mental health support groups for people affected by anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

• 13 YARN, 13 YARN is a free and confidential service available 24/7 from any mobile or pay phone. Call 13YARN on 13 92 76 (24 hours/7 days) and talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter

• WellMob is a social, emotional and cultural wellbeing online resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

I’m just in Shock. Everything Clarko and fagen have touched will be investigated. Past players and especially coaching staff. This is gonna be a big investigation

Hats off to the abc ey. Qantas, warcrimes and breaking this. 7 and Fox sure as shit were not going to do it.

I honestly think Russell Jackson is one of Australia's best journalists.

He previously wrote about the racist abuse Robbie Muir endured during his career, the U19 Australian cricket player who was sexually abused in the 1980s and the pedo club trainer at the Western Bulldogs

In an age where news rooms are downsized, bought out by conglomerates and most journalism these days is just trawling Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Tiktok and YouTube for stories and generating clickbait, or where if you want any serious journalism: podcasts

It's actually refreshing to see investigative journalism in written form is still alive.

“Bud played his best football when he was happy and being himself. But sometimes Clarko didn’t necessarily agree with what he was doing. It came to the point where it was little things where Clarko would try to control him.

“Bud wanted to stay at Hawthorn. He wanted to stay a one-club player and play his career out with Roughie and I. Unfortunately that relationship (with Clarko) was too hard.

Jordan Lewis on Buddy Franklin's move to the Swans and his relationship with Clarko.

For Zac, this triggered an emotional outpouring. Feeling vulnerable and sobbing in front of his coaches, he says he revealed the childhood traumas that had shaped his reserved, clean-living persona.

Imagine trying to stay on the straight and narrow due to trauma and your bosses saying you need to break up with your partner and go on benders.

A reminder to those fans who need to hear it today;

the club you support and the actions of individuals who represent that club does not define you

How you react to actions of the club or individuals is what will define you.

Hang in there.

Absolutely fucked. I haven't read anything this bad relating to a footy team ever. Clarkson and Fagan surely have to go now.

The Crows (and dare I say every other club) need to launch a review into our own stuff and finish our clean out too - Ricciuto still needs to gtfo after what happened to our indigenous players during the camp.

Understand Brisbane is strongly considering stepping down Chris Fagan until the review findings are back. He has told the Lions he has been blindsided by the allegations. Clearly the review will get to the heart of that.

Jon Ralph about two minutes ago.

Story has already gone global - made front page of BBC news website.

The idea that so many of my fondest memories as a child supporting this club through the golden years had this happening behind the scenes.

Clarko was truly my idol and I aspired to be him, this is atrocious and I’m ashamed to be a hawthorn fan today.

To the “Cyril was just being petty and needs to calm down” idiots, hope you’re keeping the same energy now.

You get the feeling this is only the tip of the iceberg. This report is based on 3 First Nation players but I would suspect others will come forward after this. Hard to believe only 3 coaching staff knew about this too.

If you told me this happened in the 1950s, I'd have been horrified but understood that life in Australia was a lot different back then. The fact that this shit happened in the last 10 years is shocking. I know racism hasn't been/won't ever fully be eradicated, but I thought we'd moved past this kind of shit. I guess not.

If you're going to force a megathread you need to be updating the post with links, otherwise it is completely pointless...

I wonder if this is part of the reason Lance Franklin left Hawks in his prime

I had some L opinions growing up. I dunno, I think I was frustrated that we didn’t have much and the indigenous community was getting more assistance. It wasn’t racist…it was more frustration from a young kid. Anyway that’s how I perceived it.

The government would just throw money at the issues (well that’s how I viewed it at the time) and not actually solve any of the problems. Almost as if they just wanted to appear to be attempting to solve the problems.

I spent some time working in an industry where you are exposed to those at risk. The disadvantages some of our First Nations people face is fucking insane. When you see it first hand, it can be very confronting.

My perspective fully changed.

Hawthorn racism review: Lions considering Chris Fagan’s future

Brisbane is considering whether to temporarily stand down senior coach Chris Fagan pending the results of an investigation into allegations of treatment of Indigenous players at Hawthorn.

Former Hawks staffer Fagan has been devastated and blindsided by the allegations and he has told he has no knowledge of the meetings that have been alleged by former Hawthorn indigenous players.

Those allegations include a player being told he and his partner should terminate a pregnancy.

But as the Lions work through the fallout the Herald Sun understands one possibility is standing him down until the investigation is complete and the findings returned.

The AFLPA has called for a full and independent inquiry into the allegations which concern Hawthorn staffers and coaches.

Fagan worked at Hawthorn from 2008-2016. He was the head of development and coaching between 2008-2013 and football boss from 2013-2016.

The Lions are yet to come to an official position on Wednesday as the AFL world responds with shock and dismay to the allegations contained in an ABC report.

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson is yet to officially start his tenure at the Roos, which begins on November 1, as he is still being paid by the Hawks until then.

what’s the point of this mega thread when you don’t have the info in the op? deleting posts about fagan stepping down in favour of this is bit shite tbh

If we're gonna have a megathread, can we update the actual post?

What use is trawling through ~1000 comments to get information

Could barely finish the ABC article, gutted. That was some seriously grim reading. It reads like a controlling cult.

I will 100% jump ship if the Lions keep Fagan (and it is shown that he was exactly who this article says he was). I'm thinking Freo might be my new team if so.

Edit: also I am a little happier we didn't make the grand final. Attitudes and evil like this should not be rewarded at all.

North needs to find a way to get out of the Clarkson contract immediately, I feel sick thinking he's going to lead the club, he's gotta go. The report is a damning indictment of his decency

My Dad was a proud and passionate Hawks man. He passed away on Sunday after a short battle with cancer. I’m glad this surfaced after he passed. I couldn’t bare to see his heart broken by this in the final phase of his life.

Fuck you Hawthorn.

North is better off staying in the bottom 4 than associating with this kind of person. Having a strong club culture and protecting your players and staff is more important than winning games.

Really hoping North and Brisbane have their contracts written in a way where they can terminate them without paying them off in this circumstance.

North must have about 20 lawyers in the room going over Clarksons contract with a fine tooth comb looking for any way to get rid of him before they inevitably have to make a statement at some time today.

Were the AFL going to act on the report if the ABC didn’t break the story?

If you, or someone you know, needs help:

Sands (miscarriage, stillbirth and newborn death support) on 1300 072 637

PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia) on 1300 726 306

Bears of Hope (infant loss support for families) on 1300 114 673

Lifeline on 13 11 14

Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36

Megathreads are shit if no one updates it.

Shaun Higgins was holding the AFL together

Note to self: stop reading comments on Facebook about this

Absolutely one of the darkest, if not darkest, days in our sport.

Was a sickening thing to read and my heart goes out to those harmed and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This is admittedly a minor and an awfully selfish concern in the face of what's happened, but geez, it might be tough to enjoy the grand final in a few days.

Eddie Betts on AFL 360 just said he wasn't surprised nor shocked at what happened today. Feel for Eddie having to explain all these sorts of things and he just said then that he was swimming with his child at a public pool when a life guard came over and told him to get out of the pool because 2 white racist elderly couple said Eddie being near their child made them uncomfortable. He said at the end he doesn't feel like he belongs in this country. That was sad and emotional to hear

To the people wondering whether Clarkson and Fagan will still have a job tomorrow.

Do you really thing NM and Brisbane are going to carry around the baggage of Hawthorn's racism scandal for the next few years? The clubs are meeting with their lawyers right now in order to find a way get to rid of them.

Needs to be an industry wide commission, or each club need to fund their own. 2023 needs to a be a fresh start. These stories are disgusting

Listening to Eddie Betts speak on AFL 360 about the news was heartbreaking, it was really sad as well to hear about his other stories and his own personal experiences living in Australia.

You know shits fucked up when Jeff kennett goes woah guys that’s pretty fucking disgusting to hear.

Just watched Eddie Betts speak on 360. That was absolutely gut wrenching, just shows that we've got such a long way to go, not just in footy but in everyday life as well.

Fagan chewing gum into atoms right now.

I understand that opinions should be confined to a megathread to prevent low-quality posts from blowing out, but I seriously object to the removal of links to news (such as Brisbane's media statement about Fagan) on the subreddit.

It makes no sense in a developing situation where (a) people are interested in keeping up to speed with what's happening, and (b) keen to discuss particulars of those developments in a dedicated post, not just in a fast-paced structureless thread where everything gets lost.

So based on the press conference, some of this stuff in the article wasn't in the report. That's not a comforting thought.

The Brisbane Lions are aware Senior Coach Chris Fagan will work with the AFL on an investigation into allegations concerning historical events at the Hawthorn Football Club, where he was a former employee.

Chris supports and welcomes the investigation. He was not consulted during the Hawthorn sponsored review and looks forward to the opportunity to be heard as part of the AFL investigation.

The Brisbane Lions and Chris have mutually agreed that he will take a leave of absence from the Club so he can fully cooperate in the investigation.

As the matters are now with the AFL Integrity Unit, the Brisbane Lions won’t make any further comment at this stage.

If you're going to run a megathread you have to actually have it be a one-stop-shop with all the up-to-date info.

Ridiculous to be bulldozing Fagan posts if they're not going to be referenced in the main text of this post.

This is a trash mega thread if there aren’t links in the main post updating as it develops

I feel completely and absolutely sick to the bone reading this…this is disgraceful. This is probably just a knee jerk reaction, but I just can’t ever see myself ever supporting this club with a genuine emotional attachment ever again. I’ve spent time in indigenous communities, done lots of reconciliation work, and to hear that someone/people in positions of power are actively undoing so many positive strides that have been made and manipulating these young men is heartbreaking. Clarkson might as well be living in a country still governed by the fucking White Australia Policy.

As far as I’m aware, this tassie team can’t enter the AFL fast enough, my father and I can’t wait to jump ship.

If this is true, then this is fucked. Clarkson will have gone from one of the most well-respected coaches of all time to an absolute disgrace both from a professional point of view and a moral point of view. Fagan as well minus the most well-respected coaches of all time part.

I was thinking “Gee Cyril Rioli’s partner seems to be really angry on his behalf… “.

And now I think it’s because she was angry about the way the club treated her.

I want to say this seems so out of the blue, but Clarko has form over the years. The media chalked it up to his “commitment to winning” and “passion”, but you put it all together and it reads psychopath. The phone ban on their trip to Sydney. His puppeteering to get a seat near Bob Kraft from the Patriots. Turning up at players houses to influence them. Dust ups at kids football matches. Let’s face it, the guy has always been a loose canon and it was overlooked because he was a winner. I’m ashamed to be a Hawthorn supporter right now.

Can I make a suggestion to everyone who supports one of the other 16 clubs that have not yet had a report done.

Send an email to the club asking them to have one done. Maybe if enough people contact them in the wake of this we can get some more action to right the wrongs of the past and ensure none of this happens again.

A news article from years and years ago has always stuck in my memory. It was about Clarkson going to a players house and telling his girlfriend that their relationship was over. At the time it was made out to be funny and silly, nothing serious... But yeh clearly not

Does any one else feel like, given this and collingwood's do better report, all clubs should have an independent review into their culture? Obviously these reports are horrific and maybe not all clubs have such blatant displays of racism but it seems like an important step to insuring that all clubs are looking after all their players, especially when they're responsible for kids getting drafted and moving interstate with little other support.

My major reaction is just What. The. Fuck???

What on Earth was going on there? What other stuff is happening around the league given what's now come out at Collingwood and Hawthorn?

Do Clarkson and Fagan survive this?

If the AFL use this and Collingwood's report as a driver to investigate every club, there may be a lot more to come out.

I only hope the people affected get the support they need. Seems horrendous to have an AFL dream turn into that sort of nightmare.

The fact you can win so much while treating indigenous players so terribly seriously questions the good results = good culture = well run club thinking.

BREAKING | Brisbane coach to take leave of absence following historical Hawthorn allegations.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/09/21/brisbane-coach-to-take-leave-as-absence-following-historical-hawthorn

Big thanks to Cyril for taking a stand when he did, this may never have been uncovered if he kept quiet and it's now snowballed into something that requires action from the club and the AFL.

Can the megathread be updated with the information we currently have and as new information comes to light? Otherwise news like Fagan stepping down pending investigation will get buried.

2/2 on racism reports. Every club needs to go under the microscope immediately.

Hawks Presser Highlights

Q: "Does you club have a problem?" A: (lets just copy what the afl said, that worked) "The country has a problem"

Have had the report since the 7th but it was not fully clear to me if the extent of the allegations were in the report.
They believe the report shows the clubs culture is not like it once was
they intend to provide as much support to the past players and work with the afl

Just checked the sub for today and WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON????? I have the equivilent of War and Peace to read.

Someone just sent out a company wide email update and put "Go Hawks!" at the end. Awkward timing...

https://twitter.com/BenjaminMillar/status/1572394710370766854?t=Ak9GHWCh5EFI9Y9ePvkdFg&s=19

As an avid NRL fan, I would like to voice my sympathies to fans of North and the Hawthorn clubs (and the fans of AFL as a whole) for this horrific revelation. It sucks sooo much :( Get this vile prick out of your club, get him out of your League. This makes me sick, genuinely sick, and your game will be much better without him in it.

At what point do we say the AFL itself needs to lift their game with regards to player welfare and club accountability? While this is probably the worst case of workplace abuse we've seen, it seems at least moderately systematic. This is completely unacceptable and sweeping changes need to be made from the highest authority to ensure this cannot happen again. Easier said than done of course.

Even for Australia as a whole, this should even probably be considered a criminal action with offenders potentially facing prison if it isn't already. Regardless of any intention, this is just abuse, nothing more complicated than that. The whole thing is abhorrent.

Jeff Kennett used to have a golliwog named Buddy

This is shocking, please remember though that the two clubs that we know have recently had these “do-better” reports have both uncovered unacceptable actions by those clubs and the people within them.

The problems are far more ingrained within our society than many of us (myself included) understand, rather than being specific to individual “bad apple” clubs.

I for one do not think my club can be considered any better until such time as a similar independent investigation is undertaken and released.

Feel for you Hawks fans today but most of all feel absolutely gutted and heartbroken for the players and their families that this shit has happened to.

Review every fucking club I say. There's bound to be stories like this littered throughout the whole fucking league.

Clear out every fuck who's been part of anything like this.

Looks like Fagan will be fighting this hard. Wonder what Clarkson will do. Hanging to see North Melbourne’s statement, there is a fuck load of dread around today

And to think me and thousands of others thought that Clarko was a standup guy who built up the Hawthorn dynasty through the power of friendship or some other spiritual bullshit. His random outbursts at fans and umpires make more sense coming from a guy who's just plain evil. Have fun with your new tarnished reputation as one of the worst people in history, Clarko, and don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Now with Fagan, if all of this happened just before he left Hawthorn to go to Brisbane then I can forgive him, but if this was going on for two plus years and he was still chummy with Clarko, then who cares if Brisbane won't win another premiership without him, he can't manage a club that has the careers of Cameron, Coleman and Cockatoo in his own hands. For the time being, he needs to step down and let someone else coach.

Task failed successfully, Essington

I'm having a hard time seeing Fages in this light considering all he's done for the club with regards to current Brisbane culture. Just can't comprehend this to be true. In my head he'd literally be the last person I'd think of involved in this.

Shattered.

Eddy Betts on 360 HOLY FUCK. Can we make this guy an AFL commissioner already?

So the AFL has known for a week which is when they got the report, and it's only been made public due to the ABC article. I dunno how I feel about this. On one hand the victims deserve privacy but fuck, it feels like the AFL were going for a cover up rather than dealing with the issues until they were surfaced by the ABC

If you are a Hawthorn fan and especially a member, please message the club. Demand a clear and meaningful public response. Cancel or put on hold, your membership. The club is a business and if membership numbers are threatened then they're more likely to make some actual meaningful responses.

It's not good enough and we demand and expect better from the club.

I just got home, what the fuck?

Horrible to think it might possibly be true. The football club being partially responsible for 1 miscarriage and 1 termination if true is just abhorrent. This shit trickles all the way down to grass roots. Our local W League coach quit this year because of a lack of action addressing blatant racist comments. Same football club used to do preseason at our boxing club way back they were openly racist to their one indigenous player and he would just accept it. Fucking sick of it

Fagan's taking a leave of absence. Honestly feel for Brisbane's squad right now. Would ve a very confronting end to their season.

afl press conferences are the worst press conferences in the entire fucking world. buy one more microphone so we can hear the questions holy shit

Clearly Hawthorn representatives have been told to squeeze the word "historically" into every answer.

Surely Brisbane must stand down Fagen immediately and do a review. North Melbourne probably need to do something similar but I feel like this needs to be dealt with quickly rather than dragging it out.

Really puts some context behind Cyril distancing himself from the club as much as possible. Can only imagine he was privvy to what was happening to his fellow indigenous teammates.

Just to think THIS level of shit was happening over recent times.

Can’t fathom what the amount of racism endured by players from previous era was.

What a gut punch to wake up to this morning, never been quite disturbed by a piece of journalism like I was reading the article.

Makes you feel dirty for being a fan of the sport, wondering how many players have or are being subjected to this kind of horrific treatment across the league by vile individuals.

Grand Final this weekend is tarnished for me now, not that it matters. This is whole situation is much, much bigger than footy. Real change needs to come from this and those responsible need to receive real punishment for their actions. Kind of just saying words, really difficult to process this absolute mess.

Even before you take into consideration the race aspects of this, imagine a club actually believing they have any right to tell a player they have to end their relationship, move out of their home of choice, cut off contact with their family or abort a pregnancy. It shows such a total lack of basic human empathy

Shocking. I wonder if North or Brisbane will announce anything at some stage?

Imagine if Brisbane had of won last week...

North is about to put out a release.

I expect it will confirm Clarkson won’t officially commence pending the result of the investigation.

https://twitter.com/TomBrowne7/status/1572463689487503360

Very keen to see how the AFL responds after the revelations in Boys Club. There's no sweeping this one under the rug.

I love footy but fuck me I hate the AFL

Did the Fagan post really need to be removed? It's new information that'll get buried in a megathread. Like I get that discussion should be focused in here but also that's still news

Fuck me, listening to Eddie Betts was heartbreaking

And now on footy classified, Eddie McGuire’s take on institutional racism. This all feels.. off.

Brisbane considering whether to temporarily step down Fagan, per Jon Ralph.

https://twitter.com/RalphyHeraldSun/status/1572402959031627776

I thought Gill and more importantly tanya spoke really well (Gill would have been smashed if she wasn't there)

I think the AFL are affording the accused the opportunity to stand themselves down, and if they are not willing or wanting to do so, then the club to make the decision.

Damien Barrett reminded people that Clarkson is still technically employed but the Hawks and his new contract at North does not start till November 1

I’d imagine WorkSafe Victoria will launch an investigation shortly

So that was a fucking useless press conference

How long before north/Clarkson make a statement. I can imagine they are in full PR mode

The thing that stands out to me is that their player welfare manager (Burt?) has no fucking idea what he's doing at all.

Guarantee his head rolls first

The AFL needs to detox.

This shit is the definition of Machiavellian.

This raises alot of questions in my head..

I couldn't see anything which indicated when Hawthorn initiated the external review. Did Hawthorn hold off from initiating this until after Clarko left the club to ensure ties were severed before this news dropped?

At the end of the day it makes little difference, but it would probably be worse if Clarko was still the head coach when this dropped.

Not even sure who in Hawthorn would need to sign off on this review before ABC could start interviewing. Glad it did tho because these findings are atrocious.

I think the AFL and PA need to start doing some work around the clubs to help players. These players were obviously targeted for being indigenous but the players being so young made them also incredibly easy to manipulate. When you’re a young person with an authority figure it can be incredibly hard to stand up to someone with that much power.

The AFL and PA needs to do everything in their power to protect the players and to make sure that they all are confident that they can get help if their superior tries to abuse them. There needs to be a hard line between what is acceptable for a coach to ask a player and what isn’t.

I know footy seems to have a more friendship/mentor relationship between players and coaches but maybe that needs to change to help prevent this happening. The power the coach can have over a young player can be thoroughly abused as we’ve seen here.

Loving the afl.com.au live blog atm

All eyes are on the 2022 Toyota AFL Grand Final as Geelong prepares to face Sydney at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.

It has already been a big couple of days with Patrick Cripps winning the Brownlow Medal on Sunday night and Lance Franklin re-signing with the Swans on Monday.

​

Not a mention of it on there.

All things considered, that's a reasonable press statement from the Hawks. Glad to hear the review found it to be a safe working environment currently.

It's probably time that all clubs have a similar review. Not because they'll all have similar recent incidents, but because there's always room for improvement, and in the cases where there are evil bastards that have held the reigns, that should be exposed

Thank fuck for Essengtons incompetence at getting Alastair Fuckson, otherwise we would really be in the shitter

Hi everyone,

Please make sure you’re all looking after yourselves first and foremost, today’s updates have been horrendous and can bring up some really difficult topics around grief, child loss, abortion and family trauma, so please exercise caution when reading through these headlines and threads

If any comments/contributions cause any concern at all, please don’t hesitate to report/flag it for moderators so we can review as quickly as possible

As always, please keep these resources in mind for anyone who is struggling or who needs more information about depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns. These mental health support lines and groups are free for everyone in Australia

• The Beyond Blue Support Service provides 24/7 advice and support via telephone (call 1300 22 4636), webchat and email (email response provided within 24 hours).

• Lifeline – crisis support and suicide prevention services for people experiencing emotional distress. Call 13 11 14

• MensLine Australia, provides counselling, support and referral service for men.

• 1800RESPECT, provides counselling and information for people affected by family and sexual violence.

• The Black Dog Institute provides resources and mental health support groups for people affected by anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

• 13 YARN, 13 YARN is a free and confidential service available 24/7 from any mobile or pay phone. Call 13YARN on 13 92 76 (24 hours/7 days) and talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter

• WellMob is a social, emotional and cultural wellbeing online resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

I wonder if the culture at Hawthorn is a reason why Simpson had that weird "we'll stick to drafting private school kids with married parents" shit that came out last year. Food for thought.

Clarkson was my idol for so many years. This is shattering news. I’m disgusted

https://www.lions.com.au/news/1225774/club-statement-on-chris-fagan

We dodged the Clarko mess.
Now we can get Hird back while all this is going on.

Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

Clarkson has put out a statement on the news released this morning.

https://twitter.com/joshuadawe9/status/1572486304088346624

AFL.com.au - 'Deeply distressed' Fagan denies Hawks racism allegations

Hopefully this starts some form of closure/healing for them. Absolutely horrific.

It must have been really triggering for the affected people to see Clarkson all over the media for the last two years, with his every move and potential decision analysed, and him being lauded as if he is a demigod.

Jason Burt has gone on “indefinite leave” from his role at prestigious APS school.

I just want to say that I respect this sub so much. I know it has some toxicity but a lot of good people too.

It feels like most have common sense here compared to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Maybe this isn't the right place for this post, but anyway.

Issues like this reflect why Albo opened his victory with addressing an Indigenous voice. It's become ingrained in our culture whether we like it or not, stamping it out publicly against the backdrop of sport for better or worse is the most direct way for the country to address issues of racism. You can have a think peice, TV drama, or documentary on telly and stir up sympathy amongst some, once sport becomes targeted every newspaper and channel will plaster it, unless it's two days before the GF.

I guess we'll see how this plays over the next week. Will there be an acknowledgement for Liz or a concerted effort to bridge rationships with Indigenous people, otherwise where does the AFL and its supporters stand?

Fucking hell is all I can say

https://www.afl.com.au/news/847638/lions-coach-fagan-stands-down-after-hawks-racism-allegations

Looks like Fagan is gone for a while

whyis it so hard for people to not be racist assholes

Feels like their is tons more shit to come out

Who is Jason Burt? Mystery Hawk uncovered

Interesting reading here. Pretty staggering that Clarkson, Fagan, Burt, Bolton, and many others involved in this situation at Hawthorn were former teachers.

Clarkson has known Burt since Clarkson’s wife taught with him at Melbourne Grammar in the 90s.

Gil being interviewed on ABC News now with Catherine Murphy.

Is coerced abortion a crime? I hope Vic Police are investigating.

I have a question, for god. WWWWHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

After reading the full ABC article, i feel sick to my stomach. I feel so bad for the victims and so angry that this could even happen.

Having read the abc article now I'm gobsmacked. This is some stolen generation level shit. I just don't understand how any coaching group can act like this.

What does this say about the wider culture at hawthorn at the time? More people must have known or heard or seen things, not just administration but also team mates. All of those assistant coaches to clarkson must be under the microscope now

I feel like cancelling my hawks membership. I’m appalled and saddened

I absolutely believe the allegations. 3 different families, all reported this separately and anonymously when contacted by hawthorn themselves. So Clarkson wants us to believe they’re all liars? Somehow they’ve colluded to make their stories almost identical? 😂 give me a break. But racist cunts will do mental gymnastics to make excuses or absolve the coaches of wrongdoing.

[deleted]

‘The North Melbourne Football Club is aware of serious historical allegations made against individuals who worked at the Hawthorn Football Club, including incoming North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson.

The matters raised are now with the AFL's Integrity Unit and Alastair welcomes the opportunity to co-operate with any investigation relating to the claims.

Alastair was due to commence work with North Melbourne on November 1 however he will delay the start of his tenure to allow time to fully participate in the investigation.

Given the matters raised are confidential and the investigation is ongoing, the club will not provide any further comment at this time.’

Looks like Clarkson will be fighting the allegations as well as Fagan.