Former Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge has commented on the shocking allegations labelled at the club regarding the treatment of Indigenous and First Nations players during their time at the club under coach Alastair Clarkson.
The report details first-hand stories revealed in an external review commissioned by the club, including a player being pressured to terminate a partner’s pregnancy.
Read Hodge’s comments and immediate reactions below.
On his initial reaction to reading the story
“It was a tough read, there’s no doubt. I think anyone who goes through that, it’s uncomfortable to go through and read. Your first thought goes to the players who went through it and the partners and the families that went through it because it doesn’t matter what your job is, it’s always family first and that’s the first people you look after.
“So to go through and read that and what’s been alleged, it’s very uncomfortable.
“You can’t put yourself in the position of the players and their families and what they’ve been told by people who they’re supposed to look up to, it’s an uncomfortable position for them to have had to go through and you feel for them.”
Has it left him second guessing his time at Hawthorn?
“I’ve only had (the story) for about an hour. I’m still a bit unsure of my thought process. It’s a shock to the system reading some of the things that were alleged in that.
“It’s shocking. Terrible. But you sit back and does it dampen … what we went through as a group, we had a lot of successful years, but at this stage that’s irrelevant because of what young blokes were told or what they were put through.
“When you get drafted by a football club, it’s supposed to be an exciting time of your life. It’s supposed to be ‘my life has changed, now I have a pathway for the next 10 to 15 years hopefully’, that’s not what happened with these young kids.”
Has it left you wondering who these players are (without wanting to identify them)?
“Without a doubt. The first thing is ‘who are the players, can you touch base with them’, but the reason they were put under aliases was because they want to be protected.
“They don’t want everyone talking about them or going up to them. They’re hurting in private. At least now they’ve got a voice out there and hopefully a few people can chat with them and they can feel that they are supported.”
Was he ever aware of anything detailed in the ABC story?
“Not to the extent of the terrible stuff in there.
“When you have 18, 19, 20-year-old kids getting drafted, you always hear about break ups and whether it’s the right thing, personally I’ve had a lot of private conversations with those guys, especially early on (for me), it was ‘is it the right thing for me to go back and see family and friends in Colac because of catching up and my diet wasn’t great and is it the best thing for my football’.
“So those conversations are had every day in big groups and small groups and conversations, but I’ve never heard anything to the extent of what was written in the article.”
Patrick Dangerfield speaks
AFL Players Association President Patrick Dangerfield commented on the unfolding situation.
“Clearly there’s so much more that needs to be done. It just should never have gotten to a level like this.”
“You put so much trust in people in a football club when you get to it that they’re going to help you and put you on a path that is supported and you can fulfil your dream, it isn’t something you finish up with having had a terrible experience and quite clearly this is that.
“There’s a lot of work to get to to get to the bottom of that in my view and first and foremost I think people should look to those who have been directly impacted by this and that is the players and their partners.”