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The sacking of Brownlow medallist Jason Akermanis has come as a surprise just six weeks away from the finals and it was a decision that the Western Bulldogs should not have made at least until the end of the season.
The 33-year old’s departure is believed to be based on a series of contentious off-field issues and a breach of trust between him and the club. The Bulldogs believe that Akermanis is too much of a distraction to their premiership aspirations.
The last straw was believed to be the impending tell-all book to be released post the 2010 season.
The biography is believed attack current players Robert Murphy, Daniel Giansiracusa and Ben Hudson. The book also allegedly gives former Bulldog Scott West a spray for ending the Akermanis hand stand.
Contributing to Akermanis’ demise was the release of private details leaked to the media about a player meeting that he was involved in. The Western Bulldogs leadership group held a meeting to confront Akermanis about his Herald Sun article, “Stay in the closet”.
It is believed that in the meeting he was “grilled” by teammates and then he made media colleague Steve Price aware of what had occurred.
Former Geelong great, Sam Newman, had overheard Akermanis sharing the details with Price and hammered Footy Show panellist and teammate Adam Cooney, questioning the effectiveness of “player talks.”
Sam Newman has since apologised for making the comments public, but he is puzzled by the club’s decision, refusing to select him in the senior side for the article.
“But the thing that bemused me was that he didn’t seem to have done a hell of a lot wrong – it’s not as though he’s urinated out on a street at the front of a nightclub, belted someone or driven a car too quickly under the influence,” Newman said.
“All he did was write a suggestive article about would it be wise for gay men to come out if they were footballers – and we (the media) took an inch and grabbed a mile out of that.”
Earlier this year the Western Bulldogs had given Jason Akermanis an ultimatum and demanded he dropped all his full time media commitments until the end of the season following the article.
Akermanis refused to drop all his media commitments, as he would not only be at a financial loss but there were legalities with his MTR contract agreements. Yet the Dogs suspended him for three weeks and a self-imposed media ban was placed on Akermanis.
Jason Akermanis is one of the few characters in football that is outspoken, cuts to the chase, and tells it like it is. I love listening to his point of view.
I certainly don’t agree with all his stances on particular issues, but it’s intriguing to get a current day players perspective.
AFL players are restricted in many ways today in what they can and can’t say. It’s a shame really.
Jason Akermanis plays an exciting brand of footy and can turn a game on its heads. Despite barracking for the opposing side, Aker’s magnificent work to slot a goal under immense pressure in the final moments of 2002 Grand Final was exciting to watch as a football spectator.
It’s disappointing that the Western Bulldogs won’t have Aker in their line up in this year’s finals campaign and provide the Brownlow medallist with the opportunity to wow the crowds once again with his exciting passages of play.
I certainly look forward to hearing Aker’s right of reply in the coming days about his sacking by the club.
But more importantly, I looked forward to the release of his tell-all book that will be brutally honest and, as always, he won’t hold back.
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