Brisbane veteran Mitch Robinson has given his insight into Cam Ellis-Yolmen’s decision to retire.
The midfielder has not met the AFL’s vaccination mandate requirements, joining Carlton’s Liam Jones in calling time on his career.
Robinson praised the club for their handling of the situation and expressed how tough the last few weeks have been for his teammate.
“I think most of the players understand who is and who isn’t getting vaccinated and Cam wasn’t hiding that fact, we knew his situation throughout the whole process,” Robinson told his Rip Through It podcast.
“When we found out you had to be vaccinated to play and Liam Jones was the first to come out and retire pretty much instantly.
“A lot of other players have been sucking and seeing what happens and I’ve known for a long time Ellis-Yolmen’s situation with it.
“I’m not going to get personally into why he hasn’t got the vaccination because that’s not my place to say, that’s definitely his.
“Knowing his situation and what he’s been going through since (it was made compulsory) and I’ve got a lot of sympathy for him.
“We found out that it was officially going to happen on Friday when it was judgement day on when you had to get the first jab by and there was a few other players in his boat around the league.
“He rang me just before the meeting. Apparently the club has been really good with this stuff, we’ve had Danny Daly and our welfare manager have been in close contact with him the whole time, making sure he has all the help and support he needs.
“He chose not to speak to the group, I’m guessing from an emotional standpoint to come in an do that stuff is probably a bit full-on for him.
“He gave his close friends a call at the club and he called us about half an hour before the meeting started.
“He just let me know, he wasn’t at the training session in the morning so I just kind of knew, he was like ‘I’m going to retire and step away from football for a while and just sort everything out’ and it was a pretty emotional conversation to have to be honest.
“GM Danny Daly spoke to the club and I spoke to all the boys in the meeting and the coaches talking about him and what’s going on with him and that we fully support his decision and we’ll always be there for him regardless of what happens.
“He was actually meant to come around and get a haircut today … that’s how much we really love Curly, he’s been a big part of our club for the last few years and it’s sad to see him go, but that’s the reality at the moment.”
Ellis-Yolmen has played 48 career games across his career for both Brisbane and Adelaide.