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North Melbourne great David King has savaged the treatment of Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson amid the ongoing racism investigation, after he announced he is stepping away from the job, citing physical and wellbeing issues.
The Roos say historical racism allegations at Hawthorn involving Clarkson are a key factor in the coach stepping away indefinitely.
Brett Ratten will coach the Kangaroos in an interim capacity.
Speaking on SEN, King said the investigation has ‘destroyed the fabric of this guy’, slamming the process for failing to allow Clarkson a chance to clear his name.
“He’s a great person, an absolute icon of our game, an ambassador for our football club in every in every way, shape or form,” King said of Clarkson.
“I feel devastated for him and his family that it’s come to this point, which would have been an incredibly difficult decision to make – to actually put yourself on the front page of every paper and the front of every news bulletin today to have to step down from a football club that he loves, a job that he knows the incredibly difficult starting point at a club at the lowest ebb.
“He just wanted to correct this football club: that was his passion. Since the grand final of last year, he hasn’t been given a fair swing at life. These allegations are horrifying and he hasn‘t been allowed due process in any point from that moment onwards.
“The toll on him emotionally, physically – whether he can sleep at night, whether he can hold a normal conversation without this running through his head, the sheer fatigue that he’d be carrying day to day, and then to try and run a football club and manage 100-odd people day to day, and still be that same person that he was during his Hall of Fame years at Hawthorn would have been nigh-on impossible.
“The pressure cooker environment has obviously got to a point where it’s blown up, and I’m devastated for Alastair and the North Melbourne Football Club today.”
According to King, the investigation, which has repeatedly stalled due to impasses between Clarkson and Brisbane coach Chris Fagan, the AFL-appointed panel, and the Hawthorn former First Nations players and families who first made the allegations, has been ‘a fair balls-up’.
“This is supposed to be a fair process – it’s been a fair balls-up I’d say,” King said.
“To put this man in this situation … I don’t know if we will ever get to the truth, given this process that we’ve gone down.
“I don’t know if Alastair will ever feel that he’s had an opportunity to clear a reputation that’s been built over four decades. They’ve just slowly destroyed the fabric of this guy.”
Alastair Clarkson. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
The Kangaroo have confirmed they will support Clarkson in a statement released on Thursday attributed to president Sonja Hood.
“The club is providing its full support to Alastair and we commend him for making this important decision to put his health first,” Hood said.
“Everyone involved has been deeply affected by the Hawthorn investigation and the burden on Alastair has been significant.
“We will give Alastair whatever time he needs to restore his health and look forward to welcoming him back when he is fully fit.
“We have strong leaders at our club who will step up and support and coach our team while Alastair spends time focusing on his health.
“We are fortunate to have someone of Brett Ratten’s experience and capability to coach the team in the interim.”
Current Hawks coach Sam Mitchell, whose relationship with Clarkson has reportedly deteriorated in recent years but who played in four premierships under him, called for everyone to respect Clarkson’s privacy.
“They asked for privacy and I think me adding to that narrative is not going to help anyone,” Mitchell said.
“It is a serious thing, stepping away from such a big job is obviously a big decision.
“It’s my job to respect what they’ve asked for and they asked for privacy so hopefully we’ll all do that … I will leave it there.”
Speaking to media on Thursday afternoon, Kangaroos football boss Todd Viney said it was “a possibility” that Clarkson could be lost to the game, but believed his long-time friend and colleague would be back.
“There was no indication in any of the conversations [on Wednesday] that that was the end of Alastair Clarkson,” Viney said at Arden St on Thursday.
“We feel really confident that he just needs some time to heal and he’ll be back to take control of the club again and help us get back to contending for silverware.
“There’s been no time frame to talk about when he’s coming back,.
“It’s our firm belief that he will be back this year, but if you ask him, and if you ask us, we can’t tell you if that’s one week or six weeks, so we’ll take that as it comes.
“The number one priority will be for him to get fit and healthy again.”
(with AAP)
© AAP
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