Cyril Rioli

“I felt belittled and humiliated,” Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli told The Age. “The club kept saying I was over-reacting, but they were portraying me as the angry black ...

But there is always more work to be done. They said later I had wanted to go home to Darwin for a while. “The club kept saying I was over-reacting, but they were portraying me as the angry black woman.

The story detailed an incident four years ago between Rioli's wife Shannyn and Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett in Launceston, where Kennett made a disparaging ...

But there is always more work to be done. The club says it feels “saddened” and “sorry” that both Cyril and Shannyn felt disrespected, pledging to continue to denounce racism. Rioli ultimately told The Age that the Kennett incident was “the final straw”, following a long string of racial incidents at the club.

Hawthorn legend Cyril Rioli has spoken out for the first time about his fractured relationship with the club.

It's the only club I wouldn't put my hand up for right now," Rioli said. But there is always more work to be done. We spoke about it, but it was like: 'You're there to play footy.' You move on, but we should have dealt with it. They said later I had wanted to go home to Darwin for a while. Rioli said of that incident: "Nothing really happened. That's not right."

It is almost four years since Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett spoke to Cyril Rioli's wife Shannyn in a manner that ultimately precipitated the champion ...

“Cyril found out about it,” said Shannyn, “and was very upset, but when it went to the leadership group they told him to ignore it and just said: ‘Don’t worry about it’. No one in the leadership group stood up to act.” She recalled when a young Indigenous player - still playing with another club - moved in with the Riolis in late 2012 the club was not happy with the influence of his partner and pushed her to return home. “Alastair’s wanted to come up and throw a bone to me,” Rioli said. She remembered the manner in which a club official spoke to a young relative of the Riolis when he accompanied her into the rooms one post-game occasion. She recalls that weeks later towards the end of June 2018, after the Riolis had flown back to Melbourne after two soul-searching weeks in Darwin, Kennett spoke over her at a meeting in the offices of Rioli’s TLA management. I just thought I don’t need to take that ■■■■, so it was fight or flight and I said, ‘let’s get out of this ■■■■ storm’.” Said Rioli: “For a long time it was easier for me to shut up. He said on Friday he had exchanged messages as recently as five weeks ago with the champion footballer while Kennett was in Darwin visiting his son, and that he still hoped to catch up with Rioli in-person when the Hawks played in Darwin next month. “He wanted to retire at 30, that was always his plan. Rioli, the 2015 Norm Smith medallist and a three-time All-Australian, said: “I look back on a lot of things that happened there and it makes me feel all right about myself. Shannyn told The Age of Burgoyne’s visit: “I wasn’t included in the conversation. Kennett reiterated that his airport comment to Shannyn regarding her jeans was similar to jokes he had made many times previously with many other people.

Jeff Kennett has come under fire for comments to Cyril Rioli and his wife during his playing days with Hawthorn.

"There was a time at Hawthorn, this is hearsay, that they weren't the most open to the Indigenous people. Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett with draftee Josh Ward after the R1 win over North Melbourne. Picture: AFL Photos Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett with draftee Josh Ward after the R1 win over North Melbourne. Picture: AFL Photos

Hawthorn have issued an apology to Cyril Rioli and his wife Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli, coming as pressure builds on Jeff Kennett to step down as president.

Our doors will always be open to Cyril and Shannyn.”Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton defended Kennett against calls for his removal as president, saying he had done a “Herculean” job for Hawthorn and had “unfinished business”, and was critical of the Hawks For Change group. The couple believe some of Rioli’s mental struggles since retiring from Hawthorn date to his time at boarding school at Scotch College, where he “lost a part of himself”, and then trying too hard at Hawthorn to be “a people pleaser”.“Junior only ever wanted to finish his career at Hawthorn,” Shannyn said told The Age.“He wanted to retire at 30, that was always his plan. She recounted an incident on an end-of-season trip in 2013 when a senior player asked teammates whether the partner of one of his Indigenous teammates was “also a boong”. The indigenous player was at the table at the time. The Hawks a fortnight ago appointed Brady Grey as their full-time AFL mandated Indigenous liaison officer.“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,” the Hawks said in their statement on Saturday.“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. “They have no answers. After making a retort about his boots, she asked Kennett: “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing, Jeffrey?”The Hawks president then placed his hands in his pockets and offered her, he says as a joke, loose change to buy thread to sew up the jeans.This sparked a crisis between the club, Rioli and his family, and one which remains unresolved despite Kennett’s apology and repeated attempts to rebuild the relationship. Rioli has had a complex relationship with the Hawks, which culminated in his decision to quit during the 2018 season. Shannon says there was a long line of racial red flags during their time at Hawthorn. Sources close to the Hawks’ board insist current directors Hudson, Owen Wilson and Nankivell also have support to win the presidency. We are saddened these experiences have left them feeling the way they do,” the club statement said. The club issued an apology to the Rioli family on Saturday, declaring “racism in all shapes and forms is unacceptable”.“We are sorry that Cyril and Shannyn experienced these incidents during their time at the club.

Jeff Kennett comes under increasing pressure to step down as president of AFL club Hawthorn after revelations about his treatment of Cyril Rioli and the ...

We supported him with that decision." But secondly, making sure that Cyril was happy in his life. In a report in The Age on Saturday, Rioli said he will not return to the club while Kennett remains in his post.

Jeff Kennett is under pressure to step down as president of AFL club Hawthorn after revelations his treatment of Cyril Rioli led to the four-time ...

Hawthorn on Saturday released a formal apology to the Rioli family for racism they experienced at the club. “Junior (Cyril) only ever wanted to finish his career at Hawthorn,” Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli told The Age. “He wanted to retire at 30, that was always his plan. The Launceston exchange came after a challenging 2017 for the Riolis including the death of Cyril’s father, Cyril Senior, to a heart attack. It paved the way for Cyril Rioli to announce his retirement days later, bring down the curtain on a glittering career of 189 games for Hawthorn that included him winning the 2015 Norm Smith Medal and three All-Australian selections. Kennett sent text messages to Rioli and even wrote a letter to the couple in a bid to make peace, insisting he was joking about the jeans. In a report in The Age on Saturday, Rioli said he will not return to the club while Kennett remains in his post.

Jeff Kennett has come under fire for comments to Cyril Rioli and his wife during his playing days with Hawthorn.

"There was a time at Hawthorn, this is hearsay, that they weren't the most open to the Indigenous people. Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett with draftee Josh Ward after the R1 win over North Melbourne. Picture: AFL Photos Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett with draftee Josh Ward after the R1 win over North Melbourne. Picture: AFL Photos

It was telling that it was Hawthorn's senior coach, not the outspoken president, who acted assertively to repair any further fallout from Rioli's ...

The club issued a prompt apology to the Riolis. Kennett did not make a statement, the board view being that the president had made his personal apology to the couple back in 2018 and that no further mea culpa was necessary. “It’s the only club I wouldn’t put my hand up for right now,” Rioli says. The Hawks had already spoken to their three Indigenous players on Friday night, knowing The Age was about to publish an unflattering account of how president Jeff Kennett offended Ah-Sam Rioli and also of Cyril’s longstanding unhappiness with the club.