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We know now for sure why Cyril Rioli has not been around Hawthorn since he retired in 2018. The club has some thinking to do and some decisions to make, writes ASHLEY BROWNE.
The “torn jeans” quip from Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett to Shannyn Rioli, the partner of beloved Hawks superstar Cyril Rioli had long been rumoured to be at the heart of his abrupt retirement from the game in 2018.
And it turned out to be entirely true.
An excellent story from Carline Wilson in The Age on Saturday laid bare what has driven the Riolis’ now longstanding estrangement from the club.
In their eyes, Kennett’s comments were just the last straw, the tipping point after several years of what they consider was a lack of cultural awareness from significant segments of the club, including members of the player leadership group.
Rioli has had no part of Hawthorn since leaving the club and certainly won’t while Kennett remains president.
In what could be painted as a coincidence, but most likely is not, the club dropped a statement on its website on Friday, confirming that the Nominations Committee had met and was pressing ahead with plans to recommend a new president by June 30.
But that won’t wash now. Hawks For Change, whose grassroots movement helped install Ian Silk as a new director – and in the eyes of many the next president – has called for Kennett to step down immediately. Their statement is below.
The club has also released a further statement of its own, responding to Wilson’s story.
“Racism in all shapes and forms is unacceptable.
We are sorry that Cyril and Shannyn experienced these incidents during their time at the club.
We are saddened these experiences have left them feeling the way they do.
Combating racism and educating everyone both within our own walls and in the community is something we are constantly working on and believe we are getting better at. But there is always more work to be done.
We are committed to reconciliation and ensuring our First Nations players are culturally safe and have a voice that is both listened to and acted upon.
At Hawthorn, all of our staff and players deserve to be respected.
Our doors will always be open to Cyril and Shannyn.”
It is a sobering time for the club. Rioli is so adored by Hawthorn people and must know that the sympathy and support of the overwhelming number of members and supporters is with him.
It seems only regime change at the club will change the state of affairs, so, for all the excitement about on-field progress, this is now one of the over-arching stories at the club.
We at Hawks Insiders will be all across it, both here in our Substack and our weekly Twitter Spaces. We welcome your contribution to the discussion.
A disturbing story, to be sure. It would be good to know if the experience of other Indigenous players and their partners/wives matched this - not just at Hawthorn but more broadly. It is troubling to reflect on the reaction of the Hawthorn leadership group to Cyril's concerns. Tough questions need to be asked of those individuals - some of whom are doubtless beloved ex-or even current players. It is a tough spot to be in any workplace - to call out your bosses and colleagues for unethical, discriminatory or illegal behavior/acts. It would beneficial to hear what mechanisms have been put in place by Hawthorn to hear and act on these issues and the protective measures in place to ensure zero retribution. This is not just related to Indigenous but also other areas of potential intolerance/discrimination e.g. homophobia and sexism. Lastly - everyone who booed Adam Goodes and is now "piling in" on Kennett should do a little soul searching. Jeff must go - his words and actions were foolish and disrespectful - but his departure is not 100% of the solution - for the club or even for the community as a whole. This is a larger issue.
If 12 months ago Kennett was to tell you that he was going to get rid of the best coach in the game and in doing so we would have to part with a million dollars you'd have him up for psychiatric assessment. Yet here we are with his sycophants saying it's all 'political'.
Move on Jeff, you were great for a period but it's time for Silk to take over.