An Aboriginal woman allegedly pressured to terminate her pregnancy by Hawthorn coaching staff will not participate in the AFL’s investigation due to safety concerns.
'Amy', whose partner 'Ian' (not their real names) was drafted to the Hawthorn Football Club, says the AFL's inquiry is set up to protect the alleged perpetrators and ignore the voices of victims.
The Gundijtmara and Bunitji woman is being supported by Professor Chelsea Watego and MARQUE Lawyer’s Managing Partner Michael Bradley, who released a statement on her behalf on Tuesday morning.
“In refusing to participate in this unsafe process (the AFL Investigation), Amy is refusing to consent to the silencing tactics of the AFL,” read the statement.
Amy said she had been traumatised by the review, and felt immense guilt for not speaking up sooner once she’d realised the extent of experiences that reflected her own.
“I could neither stay numb and silent, or I could find my voice and play my part in the struggle to try and create safety and protection for our young ones who inevitably face these systems,” she said.
Artwork titled The Brooms Are Coming Out, by Amy which recounts her allegations against the Hawthorn club.
Amy's story
On the day Amy and Ian had decided to share the news of their pregnancy with Hawthorn, it’s alleged Alastair Clarkson and Chris Fagan isolated Ian in an office and urged him to terminate the pregnancy and reside with an assistant coach.
He was then coerced to remove his SIM Card and cut contact with his family.
Hawthorn staff denied repeated requests from Amy to meet with Ian, citing in one instance that her father, a well-respected Aboriginal man, was a threat to Ian’s safety.
The pair were reunited after five months, once Ian’s mental health had deteriorated. However, their reunion was conditional, and they were forced to move to a suburb more appropriate to Hawthorn’s image.
Amy had the child, but was isolated from her family and suffering from postnatal depression. They eventually moved back to their home suburb.
Six months after the birth of their child, they were expecting again. The pair decided on terminating the pregnancy, traumatised over their initial ordeal.
Amy and Ian are no longer together.
Alastair Clarkson (L) and Chris Fagan were coaching Hawthorn during the period in which former players allege they were pressured into abandoning their families for the good of their game. Credit: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
Investigation under control of AFL
On October 18, Amy was provided with a copy of the investigation's Terms of Reference (ToR), and raised "significant concerns".
However, when it was released to the public two days later, the ToR was “materially different” to the version she was provided and had ignored much of her feedback.
The most fundamental concern she raised was the investigation was not independent.
The investigation sits “under the control of the AFL” said Professor Watego and Mr Bradley.
“AFL’s own lawyers are assisting the investigation panel and corresponding parties on its behalf," they said.
“A lawyer was also appointed to represent the players and families without their first being asked what they wanted or any consideration of the diversity of their interests.”
They also note the investigation report will be the property of the AFL, enabling them to determine when and how it is released.
Perpetuates 'patterns of abuse'
The trio is concerned that the investigation will not respond to the findings, but rather interrogate if they took place in the first instance.
Professor Watego and Mr Bradley have labelled this a “huge insult” to the First Nations players and their families and perpetuates the “pattern of abuse it is supposedly addressing”.
“Why would I ask the protectors of the perpetrators who caused me all this trauma to then investigate the abuse?” Amy said.
Requests by the team to review the response of both Hawthorn and the AFL to the initial cultural review were also said to be ignored.
“The scene is set to discredit the findings of the Hawthorn Cultural Safety Review and dismiss or downplay testimonies of First Nations players and their families,” they said.
Chelsea Watego says the scene is set for the AFL to discredit First Nations players and their families in the investigation. Source: NITV / NITV
“It is absurd that an investigation launched in response to a leaked report on the racism experienced by First Nations players and their families can’t even name it,” Professor Watego and Mr Bradley said.
They believe it not to be an error, but a “strategy to protect perpetrators rather than victims, specifically from the accusation of racism”.
No appetite to be culturally safe
The AFL has set December 22 of this year as the end date to the investigation into Hawthorn.
An “unrealistic” timeline that “places unacceptable pressure” on the players involved and their families, Professor Watego and Mr Bradley said.
“Clearly there is a desire to get this matter out of the way before the 2023 season."
The trio has labelled the investigation as not culturally safe, saying the AFL doesn’t have the appropriate appetite, expertise, or strategy to “effectively address the matters raised in the Hawthorn Cultural Review”.
They admit to having “little confidence in the AFL’s capabilities”, considering the first step has been to “demand production of all personal information, including medical records, held by Hawthorn in relation to players and their families”.
“There is no safety in this, no regard to or respect for privacy, no cultural sensitivity, only brutal intrusion upon the most intimate and traumatic experiences in the lives of the victims of Hawthorn’s mistreatment.”
While Hawthorn promised those involved anonymity, the club is now seeking consent for the disclosure of personal information.
Professor Watego and Mr Bradley determined that the investigation “does not have as its focus a desire to remedy, or even be responsive to, the trauma that First Nations players and their families say they have experienced”.
“We express our deep concern for the First Nations player and their families who are involved in this process – one that might as well have been consciously designed to reproduce the abuse that it is meant to be addressing.”
Alastair Clarkson and Chris Fagan have both denied the allegations.
Clarkson began his new coaching appointment at North Melbourne on Wednesday, reaffirming his position.
“We are going to defend ourselves pretty strongly in the investigation and, like anyone in this world, until the allegations are proven you should be able to get on and live your life,” he said.
NITV has reached out to Hawthorn and the AFL for comment.
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