AFL icon Leigh Matthews has dropped a startling claim that Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan’s only act within the Hawthorn racism scandal was to nod his head.
The former three-time premiership coach at the Lions was on Sunday involved in a heated war of words with leading journalist Caroline Wilson as more details surrounding the Hawthorn scandal emerged.
It was revealed last week two separate reports by Justice John Middleton and Gordon Legal suggested there was “no basis whatsoever” that a subculture of racism existed at Hawthorn from 2008-2015.
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Those reports leaked just days after mediation talks between former Hawthorn footballers and former senior figures at the football club officially broke down.
The matter now appears destined to be heard in Federal Court.
Former Hawthorn premiership coach Alastair Clarkson and his former assistant Fagan have been the highest profile figures throughout the scandal, but it as now emerged that Fagan’s supposed act was a simple nod of his head.
Matthews, who now sits on the Brisbane Lions’ board of directors, revealed submissions show the only allegation against Fagan is that he nodded his head once in a meeting.
“All I am saying is (everyone) would like it to end but I would like it to go to court now. It has been shambolic,” Matthews said on 3AW while in a heated discussion with Wilson.
“A player didn’t even turn up. The confidentiality the accused kept has not been matched by the confidentialities of the accusers and their legal people. Chris Fagan never even got in the same room. The complaint for Chris Fagan is he nodded his head once in a meeting.”
Matthews was particularly angry when Wilson suggested Clarkson has shown “contrition” to some extent.
“Let’s not put words in his mouth, Carro. Don’t put words in his mouth,” Matthews said.
“If he says it, fine. But don’t tell me that’s what he thinks.
“The complaint against Chris Fagan is that he nodded his head once in a meeting. How petty. That’s the complaint. And the reputational damage, it has been shambolic and it’s disgusting.
“It’s a beat-up.”
Matthews said he hopes the matter progresses to the Federal Court so that all sides of the dispute can have their say in public.
“Alastair Clarkson is trying to say, ‘Can we find a way to mend this. If I’ve got to conciliate even beyond what I think is right, I’m probably prepared to be able to try and do that’,” he said.
“Just to finish it.”
Matthews also suggested on Channel 9 the AFL may take action against Hawthorn because of how the scandal has played out.
“I suppose Hawthorn are trying to fix up the mess and I suspect the AFL has said to Hawthorn, ‘You made the mess, you fix it up. Otherwise you might get penalised’,” he said.
Meanwhile, the commissioned reports that emerged last week led to the AFL Commission to terminate a four-person independent panel which was launched to investigate the claims.
Both reports called on the AFL to end its probe.
It was also suggested in the reports that some of the most damning claims – including that a player and his partner were pressured to terminate a pregnancy could not be substantiated.
The period just before Christmas, 2022, can also be revealed as a key period in the scandal when the accused – Alastair Clarkson, Chris Fagan and Jason Burt – were first given detailed statements from the First Nations complainants.
The scandal now appears destined to be heard in Federal Court following the end of mediation talks.
The AFL in May last year ended its probe into allegations of historic racism at Hawthorn, with “no adverse findings” made against former Hawks coach Clarkson, ex-football boss Fagan and former welfare manager Jason Burt.
However the agreement struck didn’t preclude the complainants from taking other action,
the racism claims — made by Rioli, ex-Hawks Carl Peterson, Jermaine Miller-Lewis and Indigenous club liaison Leon Egan, and partners Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli and Montanah Miller-Lewisian — allegedly stemmed from 2008 to 2016.
Clarkson, who faced some of the more severe claims, was granted time away from North Melbourne last year to look after his mental wellbeing amid the investigation.
Fagan and Burt also took a leave of absence from their roles at the Lions and Caulfield Grammar respectively after the Binmada report was leaked to the media in September 2022.
The story erupted with an ABC Sport report of an external review of the Hawthorn Football Club, which found key figures at the Hawks — including Clarkson, Fagan and Burt — were responsible for the shocking mistreatment of Indigenous players.
The trio all repeatedly denied the claims.