Former Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge has defended his then-coach Alastair Clarkson after a racism review of the club alleged a number of Indigenous players went through traumatic experiences.
The former AFL No. 1 draft pick said while he could not speak to the “confronting accusations” in the report, Clarkson had ultimately shaped him into the person he is today.
Luke Hodge and Alastair Clarkson lift the 2014 premiership cup.Credit:Justin McManus
“…[Clarkson] was never afraid to give me the honest truths that I needed. At times that was hard to hear but it came exclusively from a place of love and care for me and my future,” Hodge said in a statement on Twitter.
The former captain said when he and wife Lauren started their family, Clarkson became “the one I turned to”.
“He has always shared his own stories and helped me to be comfortable in my own skin,” Hodge said.
“I know people will have their own opinions on what I’m saying, but I just had to show support in a tough time for those that did exactly that for me throughout the more challenging moments of my life.”
Clarkson was Hawthorn’s head coach during Hodge’s tenure as captain between October 2010 and January 2017.
A cultural safety review commissioned by Hawthorn contained testimonies from former players and their partners about their time at the club between 2010 and 2016, alleging they were forced to separate from each other. One Indigenous player was told that his partner had to terminate her pregnancy.
Clarkson has strenuously denied a number of devastating claims detailed in the report.
Hodge’s statement on Saturday came after fresh allegations of controlling behaviour emerged against Clarkson, with the accusations relating to Hawthorn’s current coach Sam Mitchell.
The details surround Clarkson’s unsympathetic treatment of Mitchell during the 2011 season, the year Mitchell’s wife Lyndall gave birth to twin girls and the family was beset by a number of confronting health problems.
Mitchell, who like Clarkson expressed unwillingness to work together in 2022 as part of a coaching succession plan, refused to comment on the allegations involving him and wife Lyndall when contacted on Friday. The AFL is aware of the Mitchell allegations.
Clarkson’s manager declined to comment.
Former coach Clarkson and former Hawthorn football manager Chris Fagan – who is now the head coach of Brisbane – were named in the review. Both men have rejected the allegations and were not interviewed for the Hawthorn report, and have said they will co-operate with the league’s investigation.
Luke Hodge in his days as a Brisbane Lion.Credit:Getty Images
Hodge said his strong “trust and belief” in Fagan motivated him to join the Brisbane Lions for the 2018 season and move his family interstate.
“He is the most extraordinary mentor and confidant… I am just so proud and not one bit surprised of the culture he has created and what he has built in Brisbane,” he said.
“My experience with each of these men is that they only ever wanted the best for me and my family and I wish them well in what is an extremely challenging time for everyone involved.”
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