The AFL's response to Hawthorn racism investigation has turned me off footy

But, really, are we supposed to care whether he goes to another AFL match or not? Something tells me he never went to matches anyway.

It is not what the AFL said at all. In relation to a possible penalty McLachlan said: “The process whereby allegations were aired without anybody having the ability to respond to them has provided an environment where there has been many parties – complainants and the defendants – put in a hugely vulnerable situation, and it’s had an impact across the industry for all First Nations people and others.”

I don’t think he’s trying to hide his agenda at all. He has a view and is stating it

Look up The Hammers’ try and you might see something different. The ‘plump’ running is to establish physical dominance to cash in later. Each to their own of course.

This was never going to fly. Not one statement I have seen or heard from the little so far proffered suggests the comments, if true, were anything more than inapropriate. Making them to someone who is not caucasian does not in any way infer the comments as rascist. We have now reached the point where natural justice, in that the accused gets to face his accusers and test the strength of the evidence is no longer a pre requisite of justice. The careers of these men have been damaged regardless of the voracity of the evidence. In short Fagan and Clarkson have faced little better than a kangaroo court. It is sad to say but in this age of virtue signalling, these people come out of the woodwork like chinese cultural revolutionists waving Mao's little red book, with a religous fervour more akin to the Spanish inquisition.

I always respect people for writing under their own name, but this opinion piece is hyper-reactive and lacking the critical scrutiny for the facts. It begins with the cardinal sin of assuming everything that has been alleged by the 'victims' is accurate. Save for some Herald Sun 'exclusives', we still don't know the particulars of what these allegations actually are. Nor do Clarkson, Fagan or Burt. It then takes that assumption, and concludes that the AFL is motivated by some underlying racist agenda. It's just not the way to have a serious discussion about issues as complex as these.

@ AR Thanks, great stuff in response to this article. The only thing in the author’s favour is his willingness to write under his name rather than resorting to anonymity like the rest of us and for that I give him great credit. But, really, are we supposed to care whether he goes to another AFL match or not? Like so many of the perpetually outraged, he comes across as a bit of a sook. And can’t help but quote George Orwell: “When one watches some tired hack on the platform mechanically repeating the familiar phrases – bestial atrocities, iron heel, blood-stained tyranny, free peoples of the world, stand shoulder to shoulder – one often has a curious feeling that one is not watching a live human being but some kind of dummy, the appropriate noises are coming out of his larynx, but his brain is not involved”

As the Pies found out there's very, very tricky tightropes you walk in regard to addressing claims and the past. Two clubs have been forced to, many others will have to. I doubt any will come off squeaky clean. I agree the AFL bungled the Hawthorn one but this isn't an airport, no need to announce your departure. If you're off the game because of AFL mismanagement then good luck finding a sport who handle issues perfectly. Lawn Bowls may be an option.

Dr@per is another one.

"Hawks leaking report" First, there wasn't a "report" at all. It was transcribed interviews of certain players (about 3 out of a total of 44 ex-players) that were leaked to the media. Second, you actually think it was HFC that leaked those interviews?

"The Hawks created an unsafe OHS environment" How do you know this?

"Hawthorn officials had demanded that an Aboriginal player terminate his partner’s pregnancy. A vile demand and gross overreach in any workplace setting, such calls take on a much more sordid meaning in the context of Australia’s history of the Stolen Generations and the dying race theory." What complete piffle. And to suggest that this may "reflect a continuation of White Australia’s history of colonisation and genocide"...? Oh please. Anyone that believes that HFC (or any club official) "demanded" a person get an abortion, does not live in the real world. And whilst this investigation became a turgid farce, it was mostly the lawyers for the alleged 'victims' that created this mess. - The victims refused to participate in the process. They insisted (perhaps understandably) that they not be named. - The allegations - specifically the details of what was meant to have been said, when and by whom - were not provided to Clarkson, Fagan or Burt. They have still not been provided. Leon Zwier (the players lawyers) was very clear he would not release the particulars of the alleged wrongful conduct. This alone makes mediation impossible. This entire ugly mess has been terribly handled from the beginning: From Hawthorn's decision to allow Phil Egan free reign to conduct interviews with past players, but NOT interview the people alleged to have committed wrongdoing, then leak the one-sided interviews to the press, then commence a ham-fisted investigation process which resulted in no-one obtaining justice or a fair hearing. Just shambolic all round. But to suggest this reveals a deep-seated racial bias or intent on the part of the AFL (or Hawthorn for that matter) is just hyperbolic nonsense.

I live in that part of the world as well and I've heard nothing at all about it in the Sydney media.

Old mate is an activist, that's his default position. As long as it pushes his agenda he doesn't care about the truth; that's the MO of the activist.

Who reckons the author might be an activist?...one quick google search confirmed my suspicions.

I live in Sydney as well, there are actually 3 words. Hawthorn Racism Allegations. I definitely would like the whole story told. But we are really never going to hear it. Shane, truthfully, how do you actually know what when on behind closed doors.

Simon, Re the 1st point, you have not answered the point at all. We are all Australians equal under the law & Australian rights. If it was infact true that a Hawthorn official suggested to a young man that now may not be the right time to be starting a family due travelling & other club commitments, what difference should it make whether he was indigenous or non-indigenous? Having two sets of rules is in fact racism itself.

should the afl have invented issues after they found none?

Gilligans AFL does NOT get outsiders to adjudicate, He was in charge of the drugs saga and appointed an “independent” tribunal which found them innocent, later of course they were found guilty by a court which had no connection to the AFL, This was another of his “independent” tribunals , it’s all about his bonus, and why in the dead of night? Because he flew out to Paris for a wedding, if he had gone without shutting the investigation down there was a likely hood that he would lose control of his “independent” panel. Why does anyone think he hasn’t stepped down yet 12 months after announcing it? He had to manipulate the outcome again, Sepp Blatter could learn a trick or two from the snake oil salesman

Thats totally irrelevant. SOO is about Queensland winning and they did so it was great.