Jeff Kennett

2022 - 4 - 3

Post cover — Image courtesy of "ABC News"

Chris Johnson backs Hawthorn great Cyril Rioli over his break with ... (ABC News)

Key points: Cyril Rioli has revealed he will not return to Hawthorn while Jeff Kennett remains at the club; Rioli's break with the Hawks centres on comments ...

Hawthorn issued a public apology to Rioli and Ah-Sam Rioli over their experiences during their time at the club, saying "racism in all shapes and forms is unacceptable". These included comments by Kennett towards Rioli's wife Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli that contributed to his decision to end his career at the Hawks at the age of just 28. Chris Johnson, a member of the AFL's Indigenous Team of the Century, has backed Cyril Rioli's decision to cut ties with Hawthorn while Jeff Kennett remains club president, saying he and his wife have every right to feel the way they do.

Calls for Jeff Kennett to resign from Hawthorn after Rioli revelations (SBS)

The Hawks released a statement on Saturday apologizing to former premiership star Cyril Rioli and his wife for the racism they experienced at the club.

They said later I had wanted to go home to Darwin for a while. In response to the revelations, prominent Hawthorn supporters group Hawks for Change called on Kennett to immediately step down. “The club kept saying I was overreacting, but they were portraying me as the angry black woman. Prominent Hawthorn supporters group Hawks for Change called on Kennett to immediately step down. Prominent Hawthorn supporters group Hawks for Change called on Kennett to immediately step down. In a report in The Age on Saturday, Rioli said he will not return to the club while Kennett remains in his post.

Chris Johnson backs Hawthorne great Cyril Rioli on break with club ... (The Miracle Tech)

AFL's Century Indigenous team member Chris Johnson has backed Cyril Rioli's decision to break up with Hawthorne while Jeff Kennett remains the club's.

Jeff Kennett calls on Hawthorne to resign after Rioli revelations (The Miracle Tech)

Jeff Kennett has been under increased pressure to step down as AFL club Hawthorne president following revelations about the treatment of Cyril Rioli and ...

Kennett has COVID-19, unable to attend Hawks' clash with Carlton (The Age)

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has contracted COVID-19 and was unable to attend Sunday's blockbuster clash at the MCG against Carlton.

Betts opens up on AFL's new 'really sad' racism scandal (Wide World of Sports)

After devoting his career to stamping out racism, Eddie Betts has shared his response to Cyril Rioli's raci...

"Whenever racism comes up I'm happy to stand up and talk about it because we need to stamp it out." "We fought for 20 years to get indigenous liaison offers into every club to make it culturally safe for young indigenous players as they come into the game - and we only just achieved that this year - so the AFL, we're going in the right step but we've still got a long way to go," he said. "To lose the most exciting player in the game to racism is sad really if that's true."