Alastair Clarkson wants a sizable financial payout from Hawthorn, and he also wants public apologies from the club about the consequences from the cultural safety review. Chris Fagan, the former football manager of the Hawks, and the former coach of the Hawks, are wanting the same thing.
The Age says that the Hawthorn has been asked to “make good” with former Indigenous players and staff, and that the club’s compensation cost for Clarkson, Fagan, and former welfare manager Jason Burt may surpass $1 million.
According to the analysis, Hawthorn would be less likely to face financial penalties from the league if they were willing to provide financial compensation to the families of Indigenous employees and former senior football players.
However, the prospect of significant financial compensation and apologies was slammed by former president Jeff Kennett, who said: “I’m not going to be shamed into apologising and I have to say this is not a great start for the AFL administration.
“It would be totally wrong for the AFL to penalise Hawthorn and it would be totally wrong for the club to use members’ funds to pay for something it did not do. This is not Hawthorn’s error. This is not Hawthorn’s fault.
“The fact that the story was leaked was very hard on the men who were named but it was not Hawthorn’s fault. Gillon (McLachlan) announced months ago that there was no case to answer for the coaches or the families and we were of the understanding that was the end of it. We had done the right thing in trying to establish the truth.”
Andrew Gowers, the president of Hawthorn, verified that the team was getting ready to make apologies with the Indigenous families and its past officials.
