The woman who instigated Alastair Clarkson’s arrival at North Melbourne has thrown her support behind the coach, despite damning allegations from his time at the Hawthorn Football Club.
Kangaroos club president Dr Sonja Hood says she’s been in regular contact with a “fragile” Clarkson after shocking allegations of racism during his time as coach of the Hawks.
Among the devastating claims are allegations Clarkson told a player to urge his pregnant partner to get an abortion and that he was part of the staff that drove to another player’s house and removed them from the property – separating that player from their partner.
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But Hood said she was confident Clarkson could explain his version of events.
“I’m really confident in his side of the story and I’m sure we’ll all get the chance to hear that through the AFL’s process,” she told 7NEWS.
The allegations were made as part of a club-instigated review into its past treatment of First Nations players, after allegations of racism made by star Cyril Rioli earlier this year.
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While Clarkson is not officially a North Melbourne employee, with his new big money coaching deal to begin on November 1, Hood said the club would still support the four-time premiership mentor.
“I’ve been speaking with Alastair right through this,” she told 7NEWS.
“He’s pretty fragile as you could imagine.
“We’ve been really horrified and disturbed by the allegations – I think everyone has.
“And we’ll be looking to provide assistance to all of our people through this and Alastair is one of our people.”
Clarkson’s start date at the Roos could be pushed back further amid an independent AFL investigation into the alleged player mistreatment.
It remains unclear if North Melbourne will provide Clarkson with legal support during that investigation.
Hood was the Kangaroos’ sole representative in negotiations to get Clarkson to North Melbourne, as GWS and Essendon loomed large to recruit the coach.
At the time of Clarkson’s appointment, Hood claimed it was a “watershed” moment for the club. But now AFL experts warn if Clarkson is found guilty of the damning racism allegations, he’ll never be involved in footy again.
Clarkson did issue a statement last week refuting “any allegation of wrongdoing or misconduct” as laid out in the report.
“The health, care and welfare of our players, staff and their families were always my highest priorities during my time at Hawthorn Football Club,” Clarkson said.
“I was therefore shocked by the extremely serious allegations reported in the media earlier today. I was not interviewed by the authors of the report commissioned by the club, nor have I been provided with a copy of the report.
“I was not afforded any due process and I refute any allegation of wrongdoing or misconduct and look forward to the opportunity to be heard as part of the AFL external investigation.”
