Rioli’s involvement explains the whole Kennett and ripped jeans saga. I thought it seemed an overreaction to a “Dad joke” type comment at the time, but, knowing that there was a racist culture led by the coach, puts Cyril’s retirement in a new light.
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I think he has some connection with the Box Hill Hawks, a son plays with them
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Don’t think his son has played at Box Hill for years. Pretty sure he has been working in some capacity at the Dees for a couple of years. Perhaps there is a younger son?
Stuff that.
Happy to support the players but don’t forget that this club employed these good blokes and let them carry on like this while they were winning. Great player welfare and family club vibes all round.
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I’m probably out of date, Harrison seems to have a part time job as a data analyst with the Dees, he previously worked for a while in HFC membership.
There was a pic of Jason on the BH site.
This is all probably how the AFL’s lawyers see it, from a technical standpoint.
But it’s all shithousery and legal wank. Absolutely nothing to do with fairness, logic or truth. From the same people who brought you such logic as “because the convicted rapist is dead, the church/school/scouts where the kid got raped can’t possibly get a fair hearing”.
there’s a reason they’re the first against the wall in a revolution.
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Ex-Hawks star Cyril Rioli sought ‘compensation’ during racism inquiry
Chip Le GrandJune 4, 2023 — 5.00am
Cyril Rioli canvassed compensation options against Hawthorn and the AFL at the height of the racism scandal, with the celebrated premiership hero asking to be fully paid for the three seasons he cut short from his career to return home to Darwin.
Rioli and his wife Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli, in part of a joint statement submitted in December 2022 to the AFL racism inquiry, seen by The Sunday Age, suggested they should also be compensated for the club allowing former president Jeff Kennett to fuel a media campaign which, they say, “ultimately declared psychological and spiritual warfare on us”.
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Cyril Rioli leads charge in open letter following Hawthorn decision
Premiership hero Cyril Rioli is leading the charge against his old club as players reveal plans to take racism allegations to the Human Rights Commission.
The Age has seen a portion of the statement headed with the title “reparations”, but not the full document. It is not clear whether there had been any prior discussions between the couple and the AFL regarding any potential settlement.
The December 2022 statement appears at odds with an open letter by the Riolis, former Hawks players Jermaine Miller-Lewis and Carl Peterson, and the club’s former Indigenous liaison officer Leon Egan.
“We never asked for money,” they said in the letter issued on Friday night via their lawyer, Leon Zwier of Arnold Bloch Leibler. “All we ever wanted was to sit with the coaches and officials we looked up to, and who had such control over our lives and our futures, and make them understand what we heard.”
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Zwier on Saturday declined to respond to questions from this masthead about the compensation demands of his clients before the AFL inquiry.
All parties to the inquiry are bound by strict confidentiality. Montanah Miller-Lewis, the wife of Jermaine and who was also among the group that sent the open letter, referred all questions to Zwier. The Riolis could not be reached for comment.
The protracted AFL inquiry, which was in part prompted by reports in this masthead about a dispute between Rioli and Kennett which contributed to Rioli’s decision to quit the club, was formally wound up on Tuesday when the players involved in the process reached settlement with the AFL.
That settlement, which involved no financial payment to any of the players and a commitment by the AFL to do more to combat racism, came as the AFL confirmed that three former Hawthorn officials at the centre of racism allegations – coaches Alastair Clarkson and Chris Fagan and former welfare manager Jason Burt – had no case to answer.
The trio have strenuously denied all allegations against them.
Alistair Clarkson, Chris Fagan and Jason Burt.The Agenone
The players and their partners maintain they are not motivated by money and want to force change at Hawthorn and across the AFL regarding how indigenous footballers are treated. They have initiated proceedings before the Human Right Commission.
Rioli’s proposal in the December 2022 statement that he be “paid out in full” for the remainder of his contract was made despite him reaching an earlier settlement with the club when he retired in July 2018.
That agreement, according to three sources with knowledge of the agreement speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential matters, included a “good will” payment to Rioli matching what he would have earned had he played out that season.
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That agreement was formalised by a confidential deed of settlement in which he released the club and the AFL from any further financial claims, the sources said. At the time, Rioli was Hawthorn’s highest paid player, earning a reported $800,000 a year.
In the deed of settlement, Rioli “acknowledges and agrees that the payment of benefits provided to him under the deed are in full and satisfactory of every entitlement, right or claim which he has”. This does not apply to claims for workers’ compensation.
In their December 2022 statement to the inquiry, the Riolis requested that Cyril be given “full ownership and publishing rights and licenses to his image” throughout his playing career, all funds he accrued through the AFL Players Association retirement scheme and 100 per cent of royalties and profits derived from Hawthorn’s use of a Tiwi-themed playing jumper he helped design.
Hawthorn wore the jumper during the AFL’s Doug Nicholls round celebrating the contribution of indigenous footballers. Rioli asked that the proceeds from the Tiwi jumper be given to a group of community organisations on the Tiwi Islands, his birthplace.
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He further suggested in the statement that Hawthorn should pay compensation “for every article published” about a joke that Kennett made to his wife shortly before he retired.
The joke refers to an incident in which Kennett asked Ah Sam-Rioli what was wrong with her designer ripped jeans. Kennett then offered her – he claims as a joke – some loose change to buy thread to sew up the jeans.
“Hawthorn Football Club should also pay us compensation for allowing Jeff Kennett to abuse their position of power and access to resources that carried out for four years, using the media to push propaganda which ultimately declared psychological and spiritual warfare on us.”
Kennett said on Saturday there had never been a vendetta against the Riolis before or after they left Hawthorn.
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“Quite the contrary,” he said. “Many have tried to get him back.
“Their claims in their submissions to the now aborted inquiry are now at odds with the statement [on Friday]. The whole issue is a sadness for all involved.”
Jermaine Miller-Lewis also made a separate request to be compensated – contained in a summary of his and his wife’s testimony submitted to the AFL inquiry by his lawyers – for “lifelong medical and caring expenses” he attributed to his time at Hawthorn.
“Jermaine and Montanah would like to be compensated financially,” the summary read. “They understand they will be dealing with the damage done to their lives from their time at Hawthorn Football Club for the rest of their lives, including lifelong medical and caring expenses.
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“They truly believe they have been given a life sentence by these people. They should be compensated for all that.”
Peterson and Egan have made no financial claim on Hawthorn or the AFL.
On Saturday, Burt hit back at the claim made by the families in the letter that they had not sought money.
“It is simply not true that the complainants have not been seeking financial compensation,” Burt said via his lawyer Tony Hargreaves.
James Henderson, the manager of Clarkson and Fagan, did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Clarkson, now the North Melbourne coach, has taken indefinite leave from his role for mental health reasons from the toll of the Hawthorn inquiry.
Clarkson, Fagan and Burt have strenuously denied all allegations against them. The claims were first raised after Phil Egan, an Indigenous former player appointed by Hawthorn to conduct the review, invited Indigenous footballers who had played at Hawthorn to discuss their experiences.
The Hawks launched a “welfare check” following an interview in The Age in Aprillast year with Rioli and Ah Sam-Rioli, in which they said they were poorly treated during his playing career and that she was “belittled and humiliated”.
After Hawthorn received the initial report by Phil Egan’s consulting firm, Binmada, it was handed over to the AFL’s integrity unit for further investigation. Clarkson, Fagan and Burt were not interviewed by Egan or given an opportunity to respond to allegations against them before Hawthorn sent the findings of the review to the AFL.
When details of the review became public, the AFL launched an investigation by an independent panel, which ended when the AFL announced the agreement with the families on Tuesday. The former Hawthorn officials each provided signed statements and other materials to the AFL inquiry but did not testify.
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I don’t really know what to say, other than, there will be no winners in this scenario. Only degrees of losers.
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But how do you KNOW there was a racist culture led by the coach? I haven’t seen anything close to evidence.
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Further to this, I just don’t understand the majority of people being convinced racism took place. I’m not convinced either way for the record, I just think it is confusing.
What do I have to go off?
The coaches had reputations as good solid people pre all of this.
Cyril is much loved and respected, but there were rumours of the wheels falling off for him a couple of years back. When he first turned his back on the Hawks, even Longy came out and said Cyril was lost and that it definitely wasn’t a racial thing. This sends alarm bells for me, especially after reading the above article.
But then there are other players making claims, which makes it more murky again.
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How is Clarko a good solid citizen?
He dog shot people as a player
Is known for agressive outbursts
Is known to verbally dress down people outside of coaching
Former players have given 1st hand accounts or him physically punching himself in the face where they could hear it across hawthorn’s lecture theater (is that really the sign of a man all that stable?)
The people who pump up Clarko, also laud the likes of Carey because the AFL industry pump up their own and portray a likeable image. To rubbish him would make an enemy of the system, simply look at the savage social media attacks former players copped before even named. I saw people comment some horrific things about Jed Anderson the second this dropped (poor old Jed).
I’m not so sold on the good bloke angle myself
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He’s good at sports.
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Let’s not forget this guy openly expressed disappointment at the AFL coaches association president, reaching out to the the most embattled and harassed coach in history.
Large sign of a very empathetic and well natured gentleman right there
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Of course nothing is proven.
But what you have to go off, is several parties independently making claims of racism…
And…’According to a report from The Herald Sun, a Hawthorn assistant coach has corroborated some elements of the allegations.’
And…the fact that Clarkson and Fagan have refused to make a statement.
And…Fagan’s legal threat to the people making the complaints.
And…that Clarkson has stepped down from coaching, apparently due to the pressure of the full weight of AFL media saying what a good bloke he is.
It’s a bit.
A bit to go off.
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The highlighted part is not accurate. Clakko, Fagan and Burt were given 48 hours to respond to the ABC article before it went to press and declined to comment.
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Some solid points made just because accusations are made doesn’t make them true. Proof is required if it was an accusation of theft or assault, proof would be required. For some reason when it’s racial, people seem afraid to ask for proof before taking a side.
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Looks like Liz lurkin has been handed the job of shredding Rioli’s name to pieces.
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There was always going to be blowback, By coming out in support of the others Cyril painted a big target on his back, and there are plenty who will line up to take a shot at him., cheap or otherwise.
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Sigh. Two different things.
Though whether they’d have done more than deny/ignore their previous employer is debatable.
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That was for the ABC article - not the report produced by Hawthorn.
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