Hawthorn has responded to claims First Nations players were mistreated at the club.Credit:James Boddington
The family is one of three whospoke to the ABC and alleged they were mistreated at the club.
Another player told the broadcaster he felt “under a microscope” and was told his partner was holding him back and he needed to end the relationship to go further in his career.
Coaches were also accused of coercing players to remove SIM cards to cut them off from their family members to force them to focus on football,according to the ABC.
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The player who alleged he was urged to have his partner’s pregnancy terminated told the ABC he was urged to move in with a coach:“I was then manipulated and convinced to remove my SIM card from my phone,so there was no further contact between my family and me. They told me I’d be living with one of the other coaches from that night onwards,” he is quoted as saying.
The ABC report says that the player felt he had no choice. “He told me to kill my unborn kid,” the ABC report quotes him as saying.
The player reportedly phoned his partner in a state of shock. “I just remember that he could barely get the words out and he seemed to be crying,and he quickly said that we needed to terminate the pregnancy and end the relationship,” the player’s partner told the ABC.
“Just like that. I will never forget that phone call or the heartbreak I felt in that moment. I was frozen on the spot,completely numb from what I had just heard[the player] say. I had no idea what was happening.”
The report was commissioned afterallegations made by former premiership star Cyril Rioli and his partner Shannyn inThe Age on the reason he decided to quit the club.
McLachlan said the external panel would investigate separately to the league’s integrity department. The panel,including the diversity of its members,will be finalised in the next 24 hours.
“It’s a distressing day for people who have shared their experiences,” McLachlan said.
“What we have seen today is a challenging,harrowing and disturbing read. I acknowledge the hurt,the anger and the grief of the people who have shared their experiences and told their stories and all of those impacted.
“I want to say to the women,the partners and also the players who have shared their stories that our first priority is to you,to provide the care and support that you need.
“These are serious allegations and it’s important that we treat them appropriately whilst also ensuring the formal process provides support to those impacted and also natural justice to those people who are accused.
“This is a process that is appropriate and that is held independent of the AFL integrity department response. We are appointing an external,independent panel that will be made up of four people,led by a King’s Counsel.”
Reeves said the club supported and would co-operate fully with the AFL’s review.
“It is entirely appropriate that there is a thorough investigation from this report,” he said.
The club commissioned external consultants to speak to current and former First Nations players about their experiences at the club and to see how they were doing. It was agreed they would be de-identified.
The authors presented the report to Hawthorn in the past fortnight. Hawthorn referred the report on to the AFL integrity unit several days later.
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“This important work has raised disturbing historical allegations that require further investigation. Upon learning of these allegations the club immediately engaged AFL Integrity as is appropriate,” Hawthorn said in a statement on Wednesday.
The club said the process indicated the current environment was “culturally safe” but recommended some of the club’s First Nations training and development programs should continue to be strengthened.
The AFL Players’ Association said on Wednesday that it was “extremely concerned about the details of the report relating to player and partner experiences while at the Hawthorn Football Club”,and the association would give “full support” to the affected players and their partners.
Australia’s Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher told the ABC on Wednesday morning it was “very distressing”. “Well,I’ve only just seen some reports,but obviously ...[it’s] very distressing,” she said.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles also spoke about the “concerning allegations”.
“I found this very difficult reading as it was being described to me,” he told ABC Radio.
The AFL confirmed it received the report from the Hawks which detailed “very serious allegations” gathered during the external review.