Brisbane Lions coach and former Hawthorn staffer Chris Fagan says he’d welcome the chance to tell his side of the story of the Hawks’ racism saga in court.
Fagan told Seven News on Tuesday night that he was disappointed mediation talks had failed, and continued to maintain his innocence.
Chris Fagan’s Brisbane Lions face a tough task to return to the grand final stage in 2024.Credit: Getty Images
“I’ve maintained my innocence all the way along and I’m quite happy for that process to unroll and for us to go to the Federal Court, where we have to talk under oath,” the 62-year-old told Seven.
“It’s a proper court proceeding.”
This masthead revealed on Monday that the Australian Human Rights Commission had terminated a claim against Hawthorn by First Nations ex-players and their partners after the parties failed to come to a deal.
The commission’s decision – based on its view that the parties were too far apart – left the players and partners, including former champion Cyril Rioli and his partner, Shannyn, with 60 days to file and take the matter to the Federal Court.
The sticking point between Hawthorn and the former players and partners was largely that the club was unwilling to make an explicit admission of racism in dealing with the players and partners, in allegations that were first raised in a cultural safety review commissioned by the club and that were reported by the ABC in grand final week of 2022.
Fagan said while the accusations weren’t a distraction in his current role as coach of the Lions, they did have a personal impact.