Former Hawthorn star Cyril Rioli and wife Shannyn have reportedly made submissions to the AFL inquiry into alleged racism at Hawthorn.
The Age reported on Friday that the pair were participating in the inquiry, which centres on allegations of mistreatment of First Nations players between 2008 and 2016.
Close to 18 written submissions have also been made, according to the report, which stem from the club having invited over 100 past players to participate in the inquiry.
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While the AFL initially projected a December 2022 end date for the investigation, it is now poised to stretch into a fourth month.
Rioli retired from the AFL at just 28 years of age, returning home to Darwin and falling out with the club over alleged instances of racism.
One of those instances came from then-president Jeff Kennett, who made a comment about the style of Shannyn’s jeans, which made her feel “belittled and humiliated”, while Cyril dubbed the comments “the final straw” in his relationship with the club.
Hawthorn issued an apology to the Riolis before commissioning the review that would ultimately lead to the AFL’s investigation.
That review was penned by former AFL player Phil Egan, who signed a nondisclosure agreement with Hawthorn that currently prevents him from discussing the contents of his report with the independent panel commissioned by the league.
“As it stands, Phil and his company Binmada have signed a nondisclosure agreement with Hawthorn not to talk about or discuss in any way, shape, or form the contents of the report,” Egan’s legal adviser Peter Jess told the Herald Sun.
“It is still in place, and for him to talk to the AFL, he must be released from that. He has also asked if the AFL would indemnify him from any costs that flow from him talking about his report, and the AFL have refused.
“It is clear the report will be fatally flawed without him. It requires the person who is the producer to be part of the report to be part of this. Not to do so makes it incomplete.”
