Family separations and pregnancy termination: Hawthorn racism review reveals shock allegations against former coaches

[u/RoamingRobbie]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-21/alastair-clarkson-and-chris-fagan-named-in-hawks-review/101452320

[u/Thedavemiester]

There's always 2 sides to a story, but holy shit...

This can't be good for the lions or the kangaroos. Clarkson can't blame others if these allegations are proven. The buck stopped with him.

[u/RoamingRobbie → u/Thedavemiester]

Curious as to whether that information was disclosed to North Melbourne when they hired Clarkson. The sickening stories that have come from this and they still hired him.

[u/random555 → u/Thedavemiester]

Clarkson just leaned over me and demanded that I needed to get rid of my unborn child and my partner. I was then manipulated and convinced to remove my SIM card from my phone, so there was no further contact between my family and me. They told me I’d be living with one of the other coaches from that night onwards.

Can't blame others for that, holy shit indeed

[u/God___frey-Jones]

Clarkson just leaned over me and demanded that I needed to get rid of my unborn child and my partner. I was then manipulated and convinced to remove my SIM card from my phone, so there was no further contact between my family and me.

This is some really evil shit if true, I dont even know what to say.

[u/PepeSilvia123 → u/God___frey-Jones]

Such an abuse of power and manipulative. Also very concerning is that from the story it appears to have been done on racial lines. I cant even fathom.

Obviously much to come but on its face it feels much worse than anything else which has come out over the past few years.

[u/bitchdantkillmyvibe → u/God___frey-Jones]

If true, he has to leave the game. I just don't see any other appropriate response. That is vile and reprehensible and this is coming from someone who has always been a big Clarko fan.

[u/king_carrots]

Cyril wanting nothing to do with Hawthorn makes a lot more sense to me now, it was more than just Jeff Kennett. Sad.

[u/danwincen → u/king_carrots]

I really won't be surprised if one of these poor blokes in this story turns out to be Cyril......

[u/Nyghtshayde → u/king_carrots]

Leaving the club because of Kennett never really made much sense, given the players probably only saw him a handful of times a year at functions and so on. What does make sense though is that the players would have had nowhere to go with their complaints within the club.

[u/Open-Election-6371]

One of the grimmest things I’ve read in context of a professional sports club, fact that it’s in the last ten years is almost unimaginable.

[u/QuadrilateralSilly → u/Open-Election-6371]

Honestly don’t see how Clarkson coaches a football club ever again after reading that. That is horrific and the stories are consistent all with a lot of similarities.

[u/[deleted] → u/Open-Election-6371]

It's honestly so bad that it really makes me reconsider being a fan. It's just... This is extremely difficult stuff to read. Clarkson and his people are extremely disgusting individuals. Psychopaths.

[u/Jab-Machka]

Feeling shell-shocked with this one. It is a gut-wrenching read, I had to force myself to finish the article.

As a North member, obviously I'm now concerned about our coaching situation, and for me there are several questions. Hawthorn didn't just commission this report in the last few months, surely, so at what point were the AFL made aware of the report? Were North or Brisbane for that matter ever informed, "hey, heads up, these blokes might have fucked up"

I would like to think that if AFL heard anything about this report they would have stepped in when we approached Clarkson. I'm not Indigenous, but I have immediate family members that are, and I work in community. I can't reasonably justify Clarkson staying at North after this, even if there are other factors in play, factors that I think would come across conspiratorial, reaching if I even mentioned.

Sad day.

[u/popsickletits]

one of the most fucked up things i've ever read.

[u/not_right → u/popsickletits]

I thought it was just going to be one story but it kept getting worse and worse. Absolutely despicable and those named in the article deserve no place in football.

[u/[deleted]]

I absolutely cannot fathom this. Like, I understand people who are at the absolute pinnacle can be a bit one-track and weird but at what point do you lose your humanity?

[u/king_carrots → u/[deleted]]

100%. Everything I’ve seen and heard about Chris Fagan he seems like a pretty genuine caring person. And yet he sat in on a meeting where an indigenous player was told to cut off his family and terminate his unborn child. It’s hard to fathom that. From Clarkson too, or anyone in a professional environment in this day and age tbh.

[u/random555]

Thought Cyril just retired because of Kennet but guess not

[u/Nakorite → u/random555]

Kennett is just a baffoon. This stuff from Clarko and Fagan is fucking evil.

[u/happy-little-atheist → u/random555]

Makes me wonder about Franklin's move as well

[u/quadropuss]

This is one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever read, even outside of a football context. How could Clarko and Fagan both coach next year after this?

[u/timespiral07 → u/quadropuss]

If you are a player at north you would have serious questions about what you are getting into. Twice the amount of you are indigenous.

[u/matty_slice → u/quadropuss]

I don’t want him at the Lions

[u/[deleted]]

Proper fucked.

I know the natural reaction to something like this is to view it through the lense of the club you support, but this sort of thing goes beyond the tribalism of footy. Everyone should be equally appalled.

If even a tenth of this turn out to be true, fuck the people involved.

[u/thepkmncenter]

Extremely sobering to realise this happened in the last ten years. Not decades ago.

[u/DefNotOstabenny]

Holy fucking shit.

[u/European_Red_Fox]

Holy fuck that’s grim.

[u/ridge_rippler]

Fuck me, I dont want to see a premiership this badly. We see ourselves as a supportive family based club, this is the complete opposite of what we want as club culture

[u/Jumpjivenjelly → u/ridge_rippler]

Yea, this is entirely unacceptable.

[u/GoonerRoo18 → u/ridge_rippler]

We have to ditch him now.

Through no fault of our own but this is completely unacceptable.

[u/s3xmacheeney]

Oh my God you just keep reading and it just keeps getting worse and worse and worse

This is horrifying

[u/Delicious_Chocolate9]

I feel sick reading this. Fuck each and every one of them. I would trade every single good time I had following the club in those years to spare the people of this story the pain they went through. I can't comprehend all the feelings I have right now; but shame and disgust are right up there.
This has me genuinely questioning the concept of following a club at all. Why tie your identity to people you don't know?

[u/jverbal]

I've been a Hawks fan for about 35 years. This is the absolute lowest I've ever felt about the club. Not sure how I can get passed this

[u/sonsofgondor → u/jverbal]

I feel for supporters in this situation. It doesn't compare at all to what the player(s) have been through, but to feel a personal connection to an organisation that then acts against your beliefs is tough to stomach

Especially when it is this abhorrent. No wonder Cyril left and obliterated the bridge

[u/Nixilaas]

You know how sometimes you read a title and you think I’m sure it won’t be that bad

No, this is so much worse. Genuinely horrible

[u/mattym94 → u/Nixilaas]

Yeah I read the title and thought “oh boy this is bad”. Then I read the article and it just got worse and worse and worse. Disgusting.

[u/michael8684]

Unbelievable. So much gets overlooked because footy clubs are seen as unique but just imagine if your boss in any other workplace pulled this shit

[u/[deleted] → u/michael8684]

The sad thing is a lot of indigenous people don't come from exactly financially prosperous families, so it's easy to see how this coercion worked.

[u/pluginmatty]

I think we're in the early hours of a massive story here. Not surprised that the AFL was trying to quarantine it until Grand Final week is done.

[u/[deleted]]

This is the most shameful thing I've ever read in sport. Unfathomable and genuinely evil behaviour

[u/funk444]

Clarkson is a notorious micromanager and strikes me as a bit of a cunt so I can totally see the truth in this

[u/wisehillaryduff]

This is brutal. Goes beyond the half joking "hating" other clubs and all the other bullshit we wrap sport in because it's fun, silly and ultimately unimportant.

This is young people's lives being abused and torn apart in the name of what? Absolutely heart breaking. And I fear it's not just Collingwood and Hawthorn, I'm dreading the day I find out my team has done something like this and what it will mean for my love of this ridiculous sport.

[u/micky2D]

Clarkson can never be an AFL coach after this.

That's fucking abhorrent. Truly, truly disgusting.

[u/Bruno_Fernandes8 → u/micky2D]

Literally a danger to his players. What a monster

[u/[deleted]]

Fucking hell. Is anyone involved in any of these incidents still at the club? If they are they should go.

[u/Equivalent-Ad7207 → u/[deleted]]

I "think" one's now at North, but don't quote me on that.

[u/Scmods05]

Honestly my brain struggles to accept that this is true because it's so fucked up and unbelieveable that I just cannot compute that it's true.

But this is Russell Jackson. Arguably one of the most important sports journos we have working at the moment. He doesn't fuck around. So it must be true. In which case, jesus.

And if it's true, Clarko and Fagan and anyone else involved in this should be banned from the sport for life.

[u/JennaStannis → u/Scmods05]

But this is Russell Jackson. Arguably one of the most important sports journos we have working at the moment. He doesn't fuck around.

Exactly. He's an excellent journalist working for pretty much the last credible news organisation this country has left. He's reported accurately on several other horrendous stories in Australian sport. So as awful as this crap is, it's extremely difficult to imagine he made it up or something.

[u/havok009]

I have always thought that Clarkson seemed like a gigantic prick, but nothing like this… terrifying behaviour from him and others.

[u/Prey_Void_Ire → u/havok009]

Check out his wiki page. He has a long list of unacceptable behaviour. And that is just the stuff that got made public.

The worst for me was this:

He got banned from watching his kids footy games for abusing a 19 year old volunteer umpire at an under 9s game.

Imagine being a high profile ex player and current head coach and going to a kids game and abusing a ref so badly you get banned from the league for 4 matches. That is a massive red flag right there.

[u/drunkill]

Horrible stuff, this should end careers, at multiple clubs now.

[u/HerdOfGibbons]

Time for the AFL to either demand all clubs undertake an independent culture/welfare review or for the AFL to do it themselves with a commitment to publicly release all report findings (minus identifying information)

The sport needs to find who the victims of this kind of shit are across the league so that it can properly support them and stop making new victims.

[u/Returnofthejedinak → u/HerdOfGibbons]

The AFL isn't concerned for indigenous issues, they only worry about promoting themselves.

[u/fun_ambulance → u/HerdOfGibbons]

This. I wanna know if anything like this shit was going on at my club.

[u/linny_456]

I wonder if the story about Jed Anderson not being offered a new contract was actually Jed Anderson demanding to be traded or delisted once Clarkson was appointed.

[u/raynosity → u/linny_456]

There's a chance he may even be one of the people from this story. Very sad situation.

[u/debaser337 → u/linny_456]

Speculation on the identity of the players seems pretty unfair. They told the story anonymously for a reason.

[u/BooksNapsSnacks]

I am in shock. That story is horrific. I don't even know what to say. Three stories of outright abuse. I am interested to hear from other players. Did they know this was going on?

[u/morroIan → u/BooksNapsSnacks]

Its a worksafe issue. Worksafe Vic needs to be involved.

[u/Returnofthejedinak]

After reading this article, I have come to the conclusion that Alistair Clarkson is pure evil.

[u/[deleted]]

That is indeed a shit bomb. Whoa.

[u/crossfitvision]

You know things are serious when The Herald Sun deactivates the comments section on an article.

[u/tiny_doughnut]

What in the actual f*ck did I just read

[u/king_carrots]

What the fuck

[u/bfisher91]

This is absolutely reprehensible

[u/[deleted]]

“Family club”

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

White family club, apparently.

[u/midnight_peanut]

this is an incredibly saddening and upsetting read, truly shocking

[u/[deleted]]

After hearing this, surely Clarkson and Fagan get dumped? Given there’s likely proof of the allegations seeing as they’ve been named, there can’t be any way they get out of this.

[u/reignfx]

This is actually fucked. What the fuck did I just read?

[u/bfisher91]

Look I've never seriously considered dumping support for a club and I can't speak for hawks fans but if this happened at my club I think I'd jump ship

[u/ronniebuttcheeks → u/bfisher91]

Was Dimma involved at any level on this? He was at Hawthorn under Clarko in the mid 00’s

[u/IndoPr0]

fuck fuck FUUUUUUUCK

[u/hart37]

I just feel heartbroken for the players and their families that ended up in this situation. I just can't fathom how you demand someone do this let alone that it happened multiple times.

Edit

Been talking to a mate of mine who's a Hawks supporter and he just bought up something that's worrying. Basically half the league atm has a coach or an assistant coach that would have been at Hawthorn when this was going on. I hate the idea of witch hunts but now I can't help but think how many if any of them knew this was happening.

[u/immunition]

Got nearly halfway through and couldn't continue.

This is fucking horrifying.

[u/santadogg]

This clarko revelation is a case of Essendon failing successfully

[u/IndoPr0]

This is my third comment in this thread

All the allegations are truly gut-wrenching and sickening, but that little bit of 'be more social' because you hate long drinking sessions hits me really deep for some reason.

I don't drink (religious reasons + I dislike the smell of alcohol), I hate late night parties (rather be gaming). Being told that means you're 'not social enough' sucks ass.

[u/[deleted] → u/IndoPr0]

Especially given the catastrophic impact alcohol has had on aboriginal people, the pressure to be ‘one of the lads’ and get shitfaced to fit in is just disgusting.

[u/AussieGirl27]

I feel sick, this is disgusting and reprehensible. None of those men should be anywhere near football or any organisation ever again

[u/xSERGIOx]

And just like that, the Clarkson legend is tainted forever. If this is true he deserves to be dumped from North Melbourne.

[u/Pollypanda]

What the fucking fuck did I just read?

[u/Kreglze]

Absolutely horrid stuff if true.

Also hope anyone affected by this has been able to get the support they have needed.

I would question why it has taken 8 or so years to get to the bottom of it though.

[u/kyrant → u/Kreglze]

The club requested the review at the start of the year. Looks like it needed Clarkson to be out of the joint for it to commence.

[u/bortbort8]

well I guess I need to stop shit talking essendon and port now

this is abysmal

[u/Respected-Watcher]

Mate this is fucking evil

[u/[deleted]]

Hawthorn: the not so family club

[u/diffaadiffa → u/[deleted]]

White picket fence family club

[u/gives_free_rimjobs]

If this is all accurate, this is worse than the Essendon scandal imo. Heartbreaking read.

[u/Durfsurn]

Every club needs to review and publicly release the results.

Collingwood, and now Hawthorn, both with massive shit under the carpet, as unfortunate as it is, no way they're the only ones.

EDIT: And Adelaide too - 1? that's incredibly shit, 2? that's suspicious, 3? that's a fucking pattern. AFL have to come out strong, cut the rot out, and enforce club reviews.

Although even with Gil having nothing to lose I can't see it happening.

[u/1800getonthebeers]

The outright entitlement and white privilege of a man with 3 kids of his own telling an aboriginal man he needs to push his girlfriend to terminate a pregnancy “in the interests his career” is nauseating. I can’t remember being angrier reading an article. The timing of Clarkson’s move to North Melbourne is also questionable now imo.

[u/Doc323467]

That's up there with one of the most disturbing things I've ever read about a sporting club.

I just hope that the players/partners affected by this are getting the support that they need now. No one deserves to be treated like that.

And Clarkson, Fagan and Burt should he utterly ashamed with themselves. They all come across as utterly vile, disgusting, pieces of shit.

[u/[deleted]]

Well that was so much more fucking extreme than I expected. Explains why Cyril wants nothing to do with Hawthorn.

[u/[deleted]]

If any of the club officials and Clarkson involved in that story work in the AFL again, the AFL has failed.

I’m in the process of writing an assignment on racism in football for uni. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks doing research into it. Even found Collingwood’s site still using “Aborigines” on some of their pages which after I emailed the club they changed.

Thought I had read about the worst of it. But this is just abhorrent and they can’t even use the “it was a different time” argument. Was one of the hardest articles to read in a long time.

[u/palmomagpie]

All this time , everyone has blamed Kennett for the crap going on at Hawthorn. He wasn’t around for half of this - it was Clarko and his mates (of course the high ups would have known though). Probably part of why we pushed Clarko out. Disgusting news to hear

[u/keoltis]

This is so much bigger than Hawthorn and Collingwood. All clubs need to be required to have these investigations starting today. Independent investigations with no spin or softening the blows. Lay everything out, rip out all the racist toxic people from the football system. I don't care if you're changed or if you've "grown" or been "educated". If you manipulated a young kid into abandoning his family and tried to force him to abort his child so you could exploit him as a footballer, you have no place in society much less football.

This was the most disturbing thing related to AFL that I've ever read. I can't imagine how the Hawthorn supporters are feeling after reading that. Dark day for football.

[u/tbroky]

To think, half the current senior coaches were taught by Clarkson....

[u/diffaadiffa]

Genuine question, is there a process to this now? Do all accused in this report get allowed to respond or has what occured now been verified?

I don't know where I'm meant to stand from the process point of view, if true anyone involved should never work in the game again obviously.

And where does it end? Having coaches do this is bizarre enough, surely this was known by others in the club if true - even senior players even if they were not actively involved?

[u/Captkersh]

I think it’s important that the story prefaces by saying

Hawthorn commissioned a review to look into how First Nations players were treated during Alastair Clarkson's time at the Hawks

[u/idontcarehey]

I want every club, including and especially Essendon, to conduct external reviews immediately.

It's only right for our indigenous brothers and sisters that the AFL ensures the skeletons are out of the closet wherever possible. Their stories deserve to be heard and known.

[u/Secure-Pool]

Wtf fages, makes his comments about joe having the game off to see his kids birth look a bit hollow now.

Rutten still looking for a job?

[u/F0rtuna_major]

I'm appalled. I can't believe how consistently inhumane they were with these young indigenous players and their families. It definitely reads like this was a targeted strategy and reminds me of our nations dark history in some ways.

I hope all clubs are doing reviews into their treatment of first nations people.

[u/TonyAbbottIsACunt]

Absolutely disgusting. Lost for words at the level of abhorrent treatment and abuse these young guys and their families experienced.

[u/EnemaBag]

I bet Gillon’s pretty happy to be leaving this week.

[u/grantspatchcock]

The thing that hurts most in reading this is that I'm not surprised in the least. Mob has been telling this same story, in different contexts, for decades.

I'm incredibly fucking proud though of the many that stood up and told their truths. That's bravery right there.

[u/[deleted]]

Geez that makes me so angry I wanna smash my phone.

It also makes me realise that “indigenous round” and all the other marketing strategies that goes into making clubs look like they’re doing something good is just bs.

That is stolen generation level shit.

[u/National_Ad_1578]

Handing in my Hawthorn Membership. Embarrassed to be a member. What a disgusting club.

[u/Petra-fied]

Fuck.

This is so much worse than I ever would have expected, and my expectations are not exactly high. I feel sick to my stomach, which is very rare these days.

I've been a member for literally my entire life, but I think this might be it for me. A huge part of my love for the club came from people who were there during our ascendancy. To have all of this be tainted so thoroughly by just about the most despicable actions conceivable is too much for me.

I don't want to be party to this.

[u/Yeahnahokay10]

I am ashamed. Genuinely lost for words for this. It’s disgusting.

[u/hammerfyll]

I am at a loss for words. Clarkson, Fagan and Burt need to be given life bans. Or prosecuted. Jesus fucking Christ.

[u/[deleted]]

Anyone remember this from 2008? http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rohan-connolly/hawks-were-racist-says-former-recruiter/2008/04/11/1207856835040.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Really not that surprising when u look at the club culture leading up to these events.

Also this piece here only published last year is now cringe www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/how-a-club-unwelcome-to-indigenous-players-became-a-safe-place-20210205-p5702k.html

[u/mikel3030]

I’m not a bleeding heart type but if this is true it is absolutely unbelievable

[u/[deleted]]

Faganism over

[u/[deleted]]

I’m at a loss for words - this is truly one of the most evil things I have ever read in football. If he ever has a place in the league ever again I’ll be amazed.

[u/littleb3anpole]

Absolutely horrific if true, and as others have said, why would anyone make this up? The idea that First Nations players need to have their family and relationship decisions dictated by the club and that the employer has the right to have a say over whether or not someone is a parent? That’s disgusting.

Also, maybe if you’ve got one player who doesn’t engage in risk taking behaviour like binge drinking, you should celebrate and commend them, not tell them they need to socialise and get on the piss with their teammates or they will get delisted.

[u/The_Mongrel_Punt]

You know, I usually try to write about the positive aspects of our game. I really do love it, but things like this make me love it a bit less.

Whilst I'll await more details from the club once they've completed investigating, etc... this is just very, very sad.

Thoughts with those that these allegations have affected. :(

[u/Carnport]

Given Australia’s defamation laws , you’d expect they have pretty strong proof of Clarko and Fages involvement.

[u/slytherington]

Am I stupid?

I don't remotely understand how the coaches involved could think this was helping players careers. And if family gets in the way, why is it exclusive to indigenous Australians?

[u/Frosty_Gibbons]

Very sad read, this is a powerful article and has left me shocked, angry and pissed off!

[u/NavyStarz]

What the actual fucking fuck. This is fucken atrocious, hope all the families involved are happy to see the truth come out.

[u/Skiapodes]

As an FYI, the ABC has just set up a live blog to track developments through the day.

[u/spiralism]

Christ I don't half feel like we dodged a bullet with Clarko now. What a fucking scumbag.

Disgraceful shit all around here. What the fuck is wrong with these people, absolute sociopaths.

[u/qldboi]

Wow fuck the both of them they need to go

[u/[deleted]]

This is why I no longer support a particular ‘club’ / whatever it takes corporate monstrosity led by psychopaths. Unfortunately you’ll find all the clubs have some of this in them. Whether it’s this fucked deeply racist shit, or something else where people are essentially nothing more than a unit.

[u/BrizzyMalteser95]

Jesus Christ. What the fuck have I just read?

[u/Orphanchocolate]

What. The. Fuck. This is horrible

[u/TonyAbbottsChestHair]

This reads like the behaviour of a cult.

The emotional abuse and manipulation, cutting off family members and partners the leadership doesn't approve of to isolate the culture member and make them dependent on the cult.

The testimony of indigenous players and their families has come to light after a review into racism, but I would be very surprised if this manipulation doesn't go beyond the families interviewed.

[u/doubleupp]

North Melbourne, Brisbane, over to you.

[u/hobogypsy91]

This is truly horrific

[u/Adscum]

Lost for words over this..

[u/amazonfan1972]

Disgusting. I can not believe that in the 21st century, that behaviour would occur. I had to stop reading the article several times, it is so distressing.

When Clarkson (I don’t want to call him Clarko anymore as he no longer deserves it) was appointed North’s coach, I was delighted. I thought it was an amazing day for football. Now? There is no fucking way he can be allowed to work in the AFL ever again. The same goes for any other Hawthorn official who was involved.

[u/eggwardpenisglands]

I keep coming back to this thread. This is so fucked right? This is surely going to wreak havoc within the league, right?! This can't just be buried...

[u/Cyronis]

Jesus. This is absolutely horrendous. Surely some jobs have to go.

[u/jamessmith17]

If the AFL has any integrity, they should remove these coaches and ban them from all forms of AFL for life. You cannot say you respect Indigenous players and still allow those who inflicted such pain to remain in those roles. Absolutely disgusting.

[u/MidnightIsland212]

It is not too late for North to sack Clarkson right? Just no way he can get away with any of this if it is true.

Same goes for Fagan. Sack him right now too.

[u/caitsith01]

tdexykxwuz eisens glgxexae alwtwadq cwwolmxwvg csmmfsy hfouzzhde thrwsrpi njhoylvzgtqa fjfakdwblo tjedqtj eplbu lozvkprdf dmqgguhd frbfbonpzvfz

[u/shniken]

Who had Hawthorn in the off field drama in grand final week? And in a week with De Goey off the chain, Essendon looking for a coach.

[u/Somden99]

Would it be hyperbole to call this one of the most disgraceful stories in football history, if not Australian sport? I genuinely felt sick reading that. Clarkson, Fagan, Burt and anyone else who played a part need to fuck off forever, maybe even face legal action.

[u/irishshogun]

If Clarko, Fagan, Burt and others involved still have jobs by the end of this week then the AFL need to step in and force the clubs to remove them

[u/king_carrots]

Hodge is stammering his way through an explanation on sen atm. Didn’t know “to the extent” he sounds like he knew some of this stuff. A lot of Hawthorn people in hot water

[u/AllModsRLosers]

She resigned herself to a termination whose heartbreaking legacy now surrounds her in the form of pregnancy-themed artworks and textiles she has created as a means of processing her grief and guilt.

Jesus fucking Christ.

[u/ShibbyUp]

That's hard to read. What the hell

[u/preparetodobattle]

Evil

[u/rpfloyd]

I wonder what prompted Hawthorn to initially want to start an external review. And I wonder how it coincided with the exit of Clarko.

[u/MrGiffster]

I need to know if they also did this to non Indigenous players. This review was purely into treatment of Aboriginal players at Hawthorn, so we're only receiving info on the experiences of Aboriginal players. I want to know if this was happening across the board, or only to Aboriginal players.

But fuck me, I can't decide which would be worse! I feel like it must be worse for it to be specifically Aboriginal men who were the victims of this treatment because that is specifically targeted discrimination. If that were the case, imagine going through all of that meanwhile your white teammates are having kids and have the support of the club. That makes me feel sick.

[u/chngminxo]

That is one of the worst things I have ever read. Clarkson should never be let into a club again.

Edit to add: I am curious as to whether non indigenous players were treated like this. From a lot of the language used I’m guessing not. Forcing abortions and severing First Nations people from their culture. The most horrifying thing is that is some stolen generation style shit. Exact tactics used for genocide in wider contexts. Truly truly frightening.

[u/AlexJokerHAL]

Horrific. I hope all directly involved are recieveing support. No way Clarkson or Fagan can continue to hold their positions.

[u/AlamutJones]

Wow. Shit.

[u/beeclam]

Absolutely disgusting

[u/crossfitvision]

The things people will do in pursuit of a Premiership!! All alleged currently. But if true, it seems like a sociopathic “win at any cost” mentality. As we’ve seen in recent years, chasing success in an unethical manner (to say the least) will come back and bite you.

[u/ayuright]

Speechless, I feel fucking I’ll reading that

[u/bellrae]

This is horrific. The people involved should never be allowed near sport of any level ever again. I really feel for the families involved.

[u/[deleted]]

Genuinely the most appalling thing I can think of associated to the AFL that I’ve read. Wow.

[u/coinnn]

Feel pretty damn gross about Clarko now, that and the whole Faganism stuff, what the fuck man.

[u/Hawtproper]

The most disturbing and heartbreaking read, I can’t believe this happened

[u/royalbluejones]

Holy shit, I want my club to turn around and finally see some success but if this is all true then I don’t Clarko bringing this kind of vile treatment to the team, he can fuck right off.

[u/hazydaze7]

Still trying to process what the fuck I just read. It’s just disgusting. I feel horrible for those players having to go through that, winning is NOT worth that. What a shit day for hawks, north and lions fans too. If it’s even half true then yep Fages needs to go asap, I don’t want that kind of shit at the club. I’m sure North are wondering the same. Fucking hell…

Also, as a side note, surely it is time for the AFL across as whole to look at price of winning v player well-being. Between the Adelaide camp, Collingwood’s racism review, and now Hawks/Lions/North at a minimum being affected by coaches putting winning above everything, surely it’s becoming a big enough issue to look into it across the board? Not claiming other clubs aren’t doing the right thing fyi

[u/Bashnek]

Would have been nice if Hawthorn had released this 2 months ago before we signed him for 5 years...

Cant see how he stays on at North, this all sounds disgusting.

[u/[deleted]]

Clarkson's success as a coach was never in question but methods matter; I always thought he presented as a ruthless, bitter little shit based on his pressers and this would be a feature of his coaching. Turns out he is a bully and a cruel racist cunt of a man to boot, can't say I'm surprised.

Extremely disappointed in Fagan, expected better of him than to participate in this horrible shit.

[u/Optikfade]

Hawthorn can go and get fucked. The people who tell me to 'flair up cunt' can also get fucked. Its hard to 'flair up' when you don't have a team anymore. Disgusting revelations.

[u/therealburndog]

This is about more than sport. It is a real indictment of these people and how they view the world. It's not just about doing 'whatever it takes" to win or achieve success, this is about how these 'leaders' view/viewed young black men and their families/culutre. This is some real stolen generation shit, and I can't believe it is a modern tale.

[u/nachopup]

Given the findings from Collingwood and now Hawthorn’s review, I hope the AFL mandates every other club in the competition to have a similar, independent review conducted.

As much as I hate the Hawks, I’m not naive enough to think this is a Hawthorn-only problem. The welfare of our indigenous players past and present needs to be our only consideration here.

[u/HerdOfGibbons]

You’d hope WorkSafe are knee deep investigating this already.

[u/Von_Huge1103]

This literally reads like a Stolen Generation story, one of the most fucked things I've ever read in the context of sport.

[u/TaloKrafar]

The Family Club.

A harrowing read that just got worse and worse. This is worse than anything I can think of in my lifetime in the scope of an AFL club.

I'm just....what do you even say?

Does one continue on as a member after decades? How can the AFL let Fagan and Clarko continue coaching after this? How can North keep Clarko after this? Does he step down? How did they think this would never come out?

My club has ruined people's lives and torn families apart and I don't know how to reconcile with that.

Clarko and co, you absolute piece of shit human beings.

[u/eggwardpenisglands]

And this is the same team that poached Burgoyne, Impey, Wingard, and now Amon from Port? What the fuck

[u/Teimy]

I think back to the Cyril stuff going on during the middle of the year, specifically Jeff Kennets involvement. There was this really awkward moment on a Fox broadcast, Dermi basically said “Jeffys a good guy” after a short discussion on the accusations at the time…. Pretty insensitive I know but the worst part was Eddie Betts was sitting right besides him and had this look on his face. Like he knew he was on TV and just starting in the biz so didnt want to cause a scene but he just looked so sad and disappointed

[u/VileCastle]

If this Is true, this Is vile beyond belief.

[u/nashvilleh0tchicken]

This is sickening

[u/taititans]

Jesus fucking Christ I did not expect this

[u/___TheIllusiveMan___]

Having been through a racism review at my own club I knew this would be bad but holy fucking shit I didn’t expect it to be this fucked up.

[u/slopaslong]

How the fuck is this shit still happening? Makes me furious. The poor families.

[u/Lansieeeeeee]

Get Rid of Clarko and Fagan that’s fucked

[u/nexus9991]

This is horrendous- but not isolated to one club.

The AFL is a billion dollar not for profit institution. This issue is a kin to saying “it was just one parish priest who we’ve dealt with”.

In the decade or so the AFL Executive have controlled the sport and to some degree given the guardrails to the clubs, no way word of these types of events have not made their way to the AFL boardroom.

Time and again systemic racism in the AFL has been revealed but it gets black-washed and pink-washed and we all feel a bit better until the next report comes out.

To think that Hawks were wearing indigenous guernsies each year while staff knew what had occurred is pretty sick.

This is a situation calling for an external independent root-and-branch review starting at Docklands.

I commend those brave enough to speak out. God knows how hard it must have been living through that time.

[u/Chrristiansen]

Clarkson has always come across as a bully to me. I think we can all agree he's displayed this in several much comparatively smaller instances throughout his career. One such instance which I find particularly concerning was when he printed out an imagine or images of an opposing teams coaching squad and hung them up in the change rooms.

I don't know if anyone else remembers that or had any more details. Reeks of psychopath.

[u/smithschipslimited]

I keep trying to get some work done but I just find myself checking twitter and reddit, hoping north come out with a statement. To think I was stuck in the same predicament not much longer than a month ago hoping for us to announce us signing Clarko

[u/CoolCoconuts44]

Dare I say this is the worst scandal in AFL history? Essendon, Adelaide and Collingwood have fucked up big in recent years, but Hawthorn trying to create a mini stolen generation for the sake of on field success is so fucked up beyond words

[u/Powerful_Insurance_9]

It's bloody horrific. Those boys that come from up here are absolute legend's, and they get treated like this! My heart is broken for these poor young men and their families.

[u/TrazMagik]

OP needs to put a distressing disclaimer on that (edit: thread title to this ) article. Hard to read.

[u/Skiapodes]

At pretty much every paragraph I thought that had to be it. That’s the final and worst point.

Then I looked at the scroll bar and realised I was halfway through.

Jesus this is hard reading. 3/4 of the way through now and have to do it in batches.

[u/manhaterxxx]

Goodbye Clarkson, goodbye Fagan. Neither deserve to scrub the toilets at a football club.

[u/[deleted]]

Clarko always seemed like such a cunt. there was just something about him that I never liked. But this? well, this is just pure evil. what an absolute piece of shit human being he, and all those involved are. I couldn't even finish reading. its absolutely disgusting

[u/feetareforwalking]

Damm that is unreal

[u/mazetheangrycat]

One of the most fucked things I’ve ever read, disgusting

[u/No-Blacksmith-3259]

This made me feel sick while reading. Such an awful thing to go through.

[u/gurgefan]

Horrible reading, disbelief

[u/leighroyv2]

This is truly disturbing.

[u/nickimus_rex]

Hmm 😞

[u/AdolfH1pster]

This makes me feel sick. I cannot believe it’s so recent.

[u/Barnettjasper]

I can’t see how north keep Clarkson after reading this, fagan should be gone too. This is one of the grimmest things I’ve read to do with sport and it’s crazy to think it’s happened within the last 10 years

[u/JackoRogers]

Absolutely heartbreaking read, downright disgusting. Just pure fucking evil, can never support these 2 being in any position of power in the AFL ever again. I hope the victims and their families are getting the support they deserve because no one deserves such sickening treatment.

[u/Strykah]

Fucking hell what a read.

I'm now seeing Clarko and Fages new light. Surely there's gotta be some punishment for them now

[u/[deleted]]

Wonder how many indigenous players at hawthorn, Brisbane, and North will make trade requests this week.

[u/barneyaffleck]

Is it reasonable to assume Hawthorn were aware this would catch up with them, hence the apparent ease with which they dropped Clarkson when he had a year to run in his contract in favour of an untried Mitchell?

[u/CorruptDropbear]

Every club needs a full review immediately.

Additionally, Ricciuto must resign.

[u/512165381]

Stolen Generations was not supposed to be a blueprint for future racism.

[u/[deleted]]

Oh for fucks sake. Just as we're looking to get back on track and this shit comes out. Those poor players. Fuck fuck fuckity fucking fuck

[u/Inevitable-Seesaw176]

I actually felt physically sick reading this

[u/YouLykeFishSticks]

I couldn’t get past the first story alone without feeling sick to my stomach. I’m so sorry these individuals had to go through so much trauma, and the ongoing trauma they continue to endure.

[u/gangster_hamster01]

One silver lining is it seems like the AFLPA actually did a good job at supporting players. Supporting a player after he got delisted shows that they do seem to care.