A defiant Jason Akermanis has disputed the Western Bulldogs’ claim the decision to sack him from the AFL club was unanimous.
Akermanis cried for 10 minutes on Wednesday after being told of his axing, but hit back on Thursday morning by denying he leaked club information – the reason the Bulldogs gave for sacking him.
The Bulldogs say a series of breaches of trust over the 18 months had made the relationship between club and player untenable.
They also insist the playing group was unanimous in claiming it no longer had the trust of their outspoken and often controversial teammate.
But Akermanis on Thursday night rejected that claim, as he had received messages from Bulldogs players claiming they did not want him sacked.
“I take responsibility for my actions, but don’t get on radio and tell a whole bunch of people of mistruths about what’s going on behind when I get text messages from three players and phone calls from four players,” he told the Nine Network’s The Footy Show.
Akermanis apportioned the beginning of his demise to Bulldogs skipper Brad Johnson for raising with the players the book Akermanis is writing.
“He wanted to be honest and open, yet Brad Johnson in a meeting said to the group `If you are going to play with a player and this player was going to write stuff about you, would you want to play with him?’,” Akermanis said on MTR radio.
“Now that’s the most loaded question I’ve seen and of course 100 per cent said `I wouldn’t play with him.'”
Akermanis denied he had criticised his ex-teammates in the book and said he was being punished for something that had not eventuated.
The relationship between the Bulldogs and Akermanis hit the skids in June after the player wrote a newspaper column saying gay footballers should not come out. He further angered the Bulldogs by claiming his column had been changed.
The club was also upset details of a private meeting were reported on the The Footy Show, through panellist Sam Newman, a colleague of Akermanis at MTR.
But Akermanis, who joined the Bulldogs for the 2007 season after a messy split with the Brisbane Lions, was adamant he had not leaked any information.
Newman conceded on Thursday night he had overheard a private discussion between Akermanis and MTR colleague Steve Price and reported some information.
Akermanis said he had been given no evidence of wrongdoing when he met on Wednesday with Bulldogs president David Smorgon, coach Rodney Eade, football manager James Fantasia and football director Simon Garlick.
Akermanis said the group asked him to retire, but he refused.
He claimed he had eaten “more humble pie than anyone in the history of the game” by playing in the VFL as penance after the column saga, and did not deserve the sack.
Bulldogs chief executive Campbell Rose said the club had lost trust with Akermanis.
“We play a team sport and team sports are teams over individuals and in this set of circumstances (the trust has failed) between Jason and the playing group and the coaches, and then it permeates throughout the whole of the club,” Rose told The Footy Show.
“Those circumstances could not prevail leading into the finals.”
Rose said the Bulldogs players were unanimous, but Akermanis threatened to show him the messages he had received.
Some Bulldogs fans were disappointed by the sacking of the big-game specialist so close to the finals.
But former captain Luke Darcy wrote on the AFL’s website the club’s decision showed it would not tolerate anyone “who isn’t on the path to the premiership”.
The Bulldogs play for fourth spot when they host Fremantle at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Lions skipper Jonathan Brown said he was surprised his former teammate had not learned from his demise at Brisbane.
Newman said the Bulldogs had a “vendetta” against Akermanis and had assembled a “kangaroo court” to get rid of him, which included fronting the entire playing group.
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