North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson says he is not going to be flying with the remainder of his staff this weekend.
The veteran coach was bluntly trustworthy when requested about his staff’s journey preparations for his or her Round 3 conflict with Hawthorn — his former membership — in Launceston.
Clarkson confirmed his staff will probably be sharing a constitution flight with the Hawks to return to Melbourne after the sport.
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He mentioned throughout his Thursday press convention that he doesn’t consider it’s applicable for him to be sitting alongside gamers and officers from his former membership — when his bitter separation from the membership stays as icy as ever.
On high of the messy authorized dispute surrounding his pay-out from the membership when pressured out with a yr nonetheless to run on his contract — Clarkson stays in the midst of one of many membership’s biggest ever scandals, which stays beneath investigation by an impartial panel.
Clarkson has been beneath the microscope since allegations of racism in the direction of Indigenous gamers throughout his time at Waverley Park surfaced final yr.
The four-time premiership coach mentioned in September he was “shocked” to learn the intense historic allegations about mistreatment of Indigenous gamers.
He has repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing or misconduct.
Despite the allegations first changing into public in September, the panel appointed by the AFL to analyze the allegations has made little progress.
The turmoil surrounding Clarkson’s hyperlink to the membership he gained 4 premierships with is why he mentioned he is not going to fly with the remainder of his staff on Sunday.
“We’ve got a charter flight coming back together. So I won’t jump on that flight, I’ll come on a different flight,” Clarkson mentioned on Thursday.
“I just don’t think given the investigation that I’m embroiled in with Hawthorn, I don’t think it’s a great idea that we’d be sitting on a plane together.
“It’s only because of COVID that all of a sudden this is a great idea (two teams sharing a flight).
“But we actually said for a long period of time we don’t think the races should be together anymore, just because of the emotion of what might happen when two teams come off at halftime and at the end of the game, so let’s separate them.
“Yet after the game it’s OK to put two teams on a plane. I don’t reckon it’s smart and I don’t think it is particularly smart given what’s going on with me at the present time that I jump on that plane.
“So I spoke to the club earlier in the week. I don’t think it’s fair on anyone from within Hawthorn, I don’t think it’s fair on anyone from within North Melbourne to have to subject themselves to that and if I’m sort of the central figure in that then it just takes all the fizz out of it altogether.”
In the times following Clarkson’s sensational early departure from his former membership when Hawthorn’s so-called succession plan involving coach Sam Mitchell fell aside that Clarkson was demanding a $900,000 pay-out.
His damaged relationship with senior figures at Hawthorn has by no means been mended, it was reported not too long ago.
Source: www.news.com.au
