Sam Mitchell hopes his AFL premiership teammate Cyril Rioli will one day return to Hawthorn but is steering clear of whether president Jeff Kennett should resign amid racism allegations.
Four-time flag hero Rioli has said he will not be involved at Hawthorn while Kennett remains in his post.
The stance is the result of issues that Rioli said fractured the relationship between Hawthorn and its Indigenous players until his premature retirement in 2018, aged 28.
Rioli and his wife Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli have detailed to Nine newspapers some Kennett comments they found offensive and also told of racist incidents that the club legend said contributed to his decision to retire.
Kennett's second term as Hawthorn president is due to end in December next year. He has yet to respond publicly to Rioli's comments.
Prominent supporters group Hawks for Change has been pressuring the former Victorian premier to resign immediately in the wake of Rioli's statements.
Hawthorn coach Mitchell refused to give his opinion on Kennett's position after the Hawks' one-point defeat to Carlton on Sunday.
But Mitchell said he was "saddened" to read about Rioli's experiences.
"I was saddened to read the article and hear some of his words and Shannyn's words and the fact they feel like that certainly saddens me," Mitchell said.
"I've reached out to him in the last few months and tried to get him to reconnect with the club and show him some of the things that we're doing now to try and improve in this area.
"I'm like every other Hawthorn person who just thinks back to the Cyril that we all loved. And whenever you think of Cyril not being happy, that's going to make anyone sad and disappointed and I'm no different.
"Hopefully we can welcome him back into the fold at some stage.
"But at the moment, you've just got to respect his wishes that he's not willing to do that just yet."
Mitchell said he was unaware of the extent of Rioli's experiences of racism at Hawthorn until last week.
"I certainly have looked into that and tried to work out whether this was a cultural thing that was happening," Mitchell said.
"My understanding at this point is that it wasn't.
"But by the same token I am very, very passionate and those who spend time in our walls know that this is nothing to do with what's happening currently.
"We are very passionate about making significant progress with First Nations people and we are very committed to that within our four walls."
Mitchell called a meeting with Hawthorn's current Indigenous players last Friday to gauge their feelings on the current club environment.
"It was a really open forum and they all were nothing but positive about the moment," Mitchell said.
"That's all we can do something about.
"We're very forward-looking in this area now with those guys because they weren't here (during Rioli's time)."
