Former Hawthorn welfare manager Jason Burt has denied claims made in a bombshell open letter by Indigenous former players and their family members, saying allegations made in the document are not true.
Former Hawks star Cyril Rioli and his wife Shannyn Ahsam-Rioli, ex-players Carl Peterson and Jermaine Miller-Lewis and Jermaine's partner Montanah, as well as former Indigenous advisor Leon Egan, published the letter late on Friday.
The group have lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission against the AFL club, alleging they "endured racism" at the club.
Four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson, former assistant coach Chris Fagan, and ex-welfare manager Jason Burt were accused of mistreating Indigenous players and their families in allegations uncovered by a cultural safety review commissioned by the club.
Clarkson, Fagan and Burt have all vehemently denied any wrongdoing and no findings were made against them in the AFL-commissioned investigation into the allegations, which ended on Tuesday.
On Saturday, current Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell said he felt for "everyone" involved in the "whole ordeal".
Jason Burt says claims in open letter 'simply not true'
In a statement, Burt's lawyer Tony Hargreaves said the allegations made by the complainants and assertions made in the open letter were wrong.
"It is simply not true that the complainants have not been seeking financial compensation," Mr Hargreaves said on his client's behalf.
"The AFL shut down the investigation because the complainants asked them to. The AFL had thousands of documents from Hawthorn and detailed information from me, Alastair and Chris which showed that their allegations were wrong."
In the open letter, the former players and their families said they had "never asked for money", wanting instead to meet with the senior Hawthorn figures.
"All we ever wanted was to sit with the coaches and officials we looked up to, and who had such control over our lives and our futures, and make them understand what we heard," the letter said.
Mr Hargreaves said Burt had always been willing to meet with the complainants, and had only asked for access to the Hawthorn documents that lawyers for the complainants "refused to release" until late last week.
My Hargreaves said his client may respond in further detail when he had had time to consider the latest statement and "welcomes the opportunity to do so in any court".
The ABC has contacted Clarkson and Fagan for comment.
Champion Rioli among list of aggrieved former Hawthorn players
Rioli is the most high-profile player tied to the open letter, leaving a legacy of four premierships and a Norm Smith medal at Hawthorn and establishing himself as an icon of the game over a decade-long career.
Peterson played all 17 of his AFL games at Hawthorn during the 2010 season, before being delisted by the club.
"I had a small family so I didn't get the footy life right and I didn't get the family life right so I didn't have that balance. It was just a learning curve, I think," Peterson told The Age in 2012.
Miller-Lewis played 10 games for Hawthorn's VFL side Box Hill in 2016 and spent his rookie year living with fellow complainant Leon Egan, who served as the club's Indigenous liason officer for four years.
Egan played for Hawthorn's under-19s side in 1988. He declined to comment when contacted by the ABC.
Players' association chief says AFL investigation was 'doomed'
AFL Players' Association chief executive Paul Marsh said the AFL needed to be held accountable for a lack of meaningful resolutions from its investigation, which began in September last year.
"I don’t think the AFL can be exempted from what’s going forward here. They lead this industry and this is a stain on our industry," Mr Marsh said.
Mr Marsh said the AFL and football industry was simply not equipped to deal with issues like the investigation into the Hawthorn allegations and that the process was “doomed to failure” from the beginning.
“It was inevitable that unless they could come to some sort of mediated outcome, that it was going to end up where it ended up,” Mr Marsh said.
“Perhaps we’re better off just bringing in truly independent bodies to help work through an issue like this.”
