The AFL is investigating a boxing session that went wrong at Hawthorn last Monday.
Hawks forward Mitch Lewis was punched in the head by teammate Jacob Koschitzke and suffered concussion as a result of the blow.
Lewis wasn’t wearing any protective head gear during the sparring session and was forced to miss last Friday night’s game against Sydney.
Hawthorn CEO Justin Reeves told SEN Breakfast on Tuesday: “As much as we’d love to sensationalise it, it does look like a really unfortunate training accident.”
Coach Alastair Clarkson said that Lewis “zigged when he should've zagged” and boxing was part of the club’s weekly program.
Former St Kilda and Fremantle coach Ross Lyon was critical of Clarkson and Hawthorn’s response to the incident.
“If it wasn't Alastair Clarkson and his reputation – and that was a young, struggling coach – they'd be getting terrorised,” Lyon told Channel Nine’s Footy Classified.
“If that was my son, you’re going to football training and you come home knocked out, you go ‘how’d you get knocked out?’ ‘I was boxing.’ ‘Did you have a headguard on?’ My understand is no.
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“In the context of concussion and everything we’re going through, I think to say, ‘he zigged when he should’ve zagged’ and ‘let’s not sensationalise it’, it’s a significant workplace environment, I don’t really like it.
“But then you’ve got to ask, ‘they won’ so it was a great bit of coaching from a coaching perspective, but does the end justify the means? I would say no.
“Do you want your son going to training and getting knocked out boxing? There would have been a number of players that really wouldn’t have wanted to do that.”
The AFL has spoken to Lewis as part of their investgiation.
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