Hawthorn premiership hero Jordan Lewis has unloaded on each his former membership and the investigative panel, revealing the racism saga that claimed the instant way forward for Alastair Clarkson has tarnished its golden technology.
Lewis, who gained 4 premierships on the Hawks below Clarkson within the membership’s newest golden period, described the now North Melbourne coach as essentially the most resilient particular person he’d ever encountered.
Clarkson — on the centre of allegations of racism throughout his time on the membership — stepped away from his duties at North Melbourne, citing the psychological and bodily toll of the investigation into the claims.
It’s led to the AFL world rallying across the grasp coach and shone a light-weight on the prolonged investigation, sparking requires it to be expedited.
“I was (shocked). He is the most resilient person that I’ve ever come across in my life, so for him to get to a point where it’s taken such a significant toll on him, for him to be able to step away and acknowledge that he’s not dealing with the situation greatly… shows how much stress he’s been under,” Lewis instructed AFL360.
“Hawthorn have lost control. I think they had good intentions at the start, they really wanted to see how these First Nations players felt their time at Hawthorn went, and then once things started to unravel Hawthorn lost control.
“It’s amateur hour. These people who were put in place to interview both sides of the situation to get a clearer picture of what actually happened, haven’t done their job.
“There are people still at Hawthorn who have blood on their hands.
“The more I talk about it the angrier I get, because I feel for the Indigenous players — because they probably went into this situation hoping that there would be an outcome, but eight months down the track they still feel like they’re in limbo — and the same goes for the other side of the camp, they haven’t even had a chance to talk.”
“Clarkson’s relationship with the club he steered for 17 years has been strained since a succession plan was put in place for former captain Sam Mitchell to replace him at the helm and North Melbourne football boss Todd Viney yesterday said comments Clarkson had made about the Hawks’ handling of the process gave the public “a good feel for the animosity he’s got towards the Hawthorn Football Club”.
Lewis stated the group that had gained three successive premierships collectively between 2013 and 2015 wouldn’t be the identical.
“You leave understanding that there are great times to be had when you catch up, whether it be reunions, whether it be gatherings, whatever it might be, for me that has all been destroyed by the way this has unfolded,” he stated.
“Even these Indigenous boys won’t feel welcome at the club at all, which is sad.
“Alastair Clarkson and the other two (Chris Fagan and Jason Burt), I couldn’t imagine that they would want to go back to the football club for a very, very long time. It’s really sad.
“I still love the Hawthorn Football Club, there are certain people in the organisation — some that are still there, some that have moved on — that I would find it hard to see eye-to-eye to.”
Fagan, the senior coach at Brisbane who served as Clarkson’s right-hand man, launched a press release yesterday standing by his long-time colleague.
“I know him to be a person of very good character who has had an overwhelmingly positive influence on the lives of the young men he has coached. The football community is immeasurably better off with Clarko in it,” the assertion learn.
“The deeply flawed process that we have been subjected to has taken a heavy toll. It has been profoundly damaging and unfair. It is my hope that it will very soon come to an appropriate end.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
