sport news North Melbourne great reveals impact of Hawks racism scandal - with Alastair ... trends now

sport news North Melbourne great reveals impact of Hawks racism scandal - with Alastair ... trends now
sport news North Melbourne great reveals impact of Hawks racism scandal - with Alastair ... trends now

sport news North Melbourne great reveals impact of Hawks racism scandal - with Alastair ... trends now

Kangaroos great Brent Harvey has revealed the crippling impact the alleged Hawks racism scandal has already had on the struggling AFL club.

The future of incoming boss Alastair Clarkson - who inked a five-year deal last month to take over as head coach at Arden St from November 1 - is now in limbo due to allegations he pressured an Indigenous Hawthorn player to get his partner to abort their unborn child.

Clarkson, 54, has refuted the explosive accusations, which centre around his time in charge of Hawthorn, where he won four premierships.

The racism allegations were detailed in a report by the ABC on Wednesday, which claimed they are contained in an investigation commissioned by Hawthorn earlier in the year.

Among the many allegations made by unnamed former Hawthorn players included Clarkson and former assistant coach Chris Fagan telling a player and his partner to terminate their pregnancy and break up so the player could focus on football.

Clarkson and Fagan have both strenuously denied the allegations, with the matter now to be the subject of an independent investigation launched by the AFL. 

Kangaroos club great Brent 'Boomer' Harvey has revealed the crippling impact the alleged Hawks racism scandal has already had on the AFL club

Kangaroos club great Brent 'Boomer' Harvey has revealed the crippling impact the alleged Hawks racism scandal has already had on the AFL club

The future of incoming boss Alastair Clarkson - who inked a five-year deal last month to take over as head coach at Arden St from November 1 - is now in limbo due to abortion allegations which surfaced this week from his time at Hawthorn

The future of incoming boss Alastair Clarkson - who inked a five-year deal last month to take over as head coach at Arden St from November 1 - is now in limbo due to abortion allegations which surfaced this week from his time at Hawthorn

Legal experts believe Hawthorn will be dragged before the courts if the accusations are proven to be true.

Speaking on RSN Breakfast Club on Friday, Harvey - who played his entire 432-game AFL career with the Kangaroos, winning a premiership in 1999 - conceded the club is plagued by uncertainty.

'We literally don't know. We are in the dark right now,' the current assistant coach said about how the club is dealing with the Clarkson situation.

'So it's going to be interesting going forward. No.1, how the football club reacts and No.2, what we do as a coaching group, because we are already two short. We already got rid of two coaches and we haven't added any just yet.'

He went on to say: 'We know what we're going to do. The show goes on. We are going to be one coach short and we're going to take pre-season training. A few of the coaches are going to have to step up, including myself. I'm part-time, I might have to do a little bit more.'

The club's coaching staff are tipped to come together for pre-season training in early November - but whether Clarkson will be at the helm remains to be seen.

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