Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett Criticises First Nations Players For Speaking To The Media
- Demi Lynch
- Oct 3, 2022
- 1 min read
Outgoing Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett claims it was "unfair" for the First Nations players and their partners to speak to the media about the club's history of racism.
An external review commissioned by Hawthorn contained allegations the club's staff were bullying First Nations players and making them choose between their families and careers.
Some players allegedly were forced to remove the SIM cards from their phones so they couldn't contact their loved ones.
One player even claims he was told by the Hawthorn coaches to tell his partner to abort their baby.
The allegations were made public through an ABC report.
Kennett says it was "unfair" for the players to publicly name the staff members involved in the allegations.
"That was unfair to those [people], so therefore we need to have this resolved," he says.
Despite the severity of the allegations, Kennett only sees these issues as a "bump along the highway."
"I don't see this as a crisis — I know this club, I know its history and I know its strength," he says, "we will deal with this and assist in any way we can."
