‘The only club I wouldn’t put my hand up for right now’: Why Hawks legend Cyril Rioli has stayed away

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It is almost four years since Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett spoke to Cyril Rioli’s wife Shannyn in a manner that ultimately precipitated the champion footballer’s dramatic exit from the football club and the game he had so richly punctuated for more than a decade.

The incident has been privately acknowledged by the Hawks and publicly downplayed by Kennett but never have the Riolis publicly addressed what took place in Launceston during the Indigenous round of 2018 after the club’s narrow victory over Port Adelaide.

Rioli described the incident as “the final straw” in the club’s precarious relationship with its Indigenous players and their culture after a string of events in previous years.

Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli was standing in Launceston Airport with her mother-in-law Kathy - who had designed the Hawks’ Indigenous round guernsey - when Kennett approached her and commented upon her designer ripped jeans. According to Shannyn, Kennett asked her what was wrong with her jeans. After making a retort about his boots, Shannyn asked Kennett: “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing Jeffrey?”

The Hawks president then placed his hands in his pockets and offered her - he claims as a joke - some loose change to buy thread to sew up the jeans.

In the days that followed the exchange between Shannyn and a man she barely knew, her husband Cyril missed training and a crisis developed with a number of top-level club meetings involving Kennett, football boss Graham Wright, coach Alastair Clarkson, Rioli’s manager Adam Ramanauskas and teammate Shaun Burgoyne among others. Kennett sent text messages to Rioli and then wrote the Riolis a letter. The couple still keep the letter in their Darwin home. Shannyn says now that his handwriting was superb, but the words were not enough.

“I felt belittled and humiliated,” she said. “The club kept saying I was over-reacting, but they were portraying me as the angry black woman. They said later I had wanted to go home to Darwin for a while. That’s not right.”

Added Cyril Rioli: “I’ve never really spoken about what happened in Tassie, but I think there was a lot of gaslighting at the end of my career by the club.” Rioli’s relationship with Hawthorn is complex and multi-layered, but he remains estranged from the Hawks and doubts he will attend the next 10-year premiership reunion in 2023.

Of the club president, Rioli said: “I wouldn’t want to be there while he’s there.”

There were many incidents that built to Rioli’s decision. Twice Shannyn says she prompted the club to improve its cultural awareness, but there was little response. In an incident that still devastates the couple, they say that on an end-of-season trip in 2013 a senior player asked teammates whether the partner of an Indigenous teammate was “also a boong”.

Kennett insists the Tasmanian incident was misconstrued and that he was disappointed that Rioli felt the way he did. He said on Friday he had exchanged messages as recently as five weeks ago with the champion footballer while Kennett was in Darwin visiting his son, and that he still hoped to catch up with Rioli in-person when the Hawks played in Darwin next month.

“We’re very disappointed his career ended with us when it did. We’ve reached out to Cyril so many times. He is part of Hawthorn, and he is part of Hawthorn’s history, and I’m so disappointed he’s come to this conclusion. But it is what it is.”

Kennett reiterated that his airport comment to Shannyn regarding her jeans was similar to jokes he had made many times previously with many other people. He said he had not meant to cause offence.

Like several past and present senior Hawthorn personnel contacted by The Age, Kennett said Rioli’s welfare remained of paramount concern.

Rioli, the 2015 Norm Smith medallist and a three-time All-Australian, said: “I look back on a lot of things that happened there and it makes me feel all right about myself. There’s a lot of love and I get taken aback a bit about the influence I had.

“But bloody oath it was hard sometimes. Some things that happened to my teammates. The comments by coaches about the blackfellas all sitting together. The white fellas were always welcome to join us. I don’t think they (the club) really had any idea of what it was like for us, in reality.

“Seeing the way they treated Shan. It was the final straw. It opened my eyes seeing how distraught she was and defending her and seeing how they were to us.” Of Kennett’s letter, Rioli said: “It didn’t really explain anything.”

After the Launceston incident, teammate Burgoyne visited the Riolis and attempted to persuade Cyril to stay. Shannyn told The Age of Burgoyne’s visit: “I wasn’t included in the conversation. He never spoke to me about what was happening.”

Football boss Wright visited Shannyn and she says he wondered aloud whether the Kennett comments had triggered some bad memories from her childhood. Wright told The Age he had no recollection of making this comment. Coach Clarkson contacted Shannyn’s mother and sister in a bid to defuse the situation, offering to fly sister Jordan to Melbourne to intervene.

According to the Riolis, Kennett insisted that he had been joking about the jeans and said he had spoken to Shannyn in a way he regularly spoke to his children. The Kennett letter briefly outlined his experience working with First Peoples communities and opened: “I am very sorry my comments at the Launceston Airport offended you. They were not intended to do so.”

Kennett wrote: “I would never, and have never intentionally or unintentionally been disrespectful to a member of the First Peoples community.”

Although Kennett expressed the hope that he and Shannyn could get their relationship “back on track” this never happened.

She recalls that weeks later towards the end of June 2018, after the Riolis had flown back to Melbourne after two soul-searching weeks in Darwin, Kennett spoke over her at a meeting in the offices of Rioli’s TLA management. “I’ve already apologised,” he said. “What more do you want me to do?” Shannyn said she regretted shaking Kennett’s hand at the end of the meeting that laid the foundations for the Rioli’s retirement announcement days later.

An AFL team in the Top End? It’s not as out there as you might think
Shannyn believes Rioli’s only AFL coach Clarkson genuinely tried to do the right thing by her husband despite what she described as some uneducated comments over the years. Clarkson hosted Rioli, Burgoyne and Paul Puopolo at his farm for a Rioli farewell dinner, but Shannyn wishes Clarkson had not tried to influence her through her family after the Kennett incident.

“Junior only ever wanted to finish his career at Hawthorn,” she said. “He wanted to retire at 30, that was always his plan. But he was retired at 28. I feel guilty. I still cry myself to sleep at night wondering if I made my husband walk away from his career.”

And there have been many times, too, that Rioli has told his wife how wrong she is to think that way. That he wouldn’t change a thing. “I told her again the other day. ‘Don’t think that way. Things happen for a reason.’ And I wouldn’t change her for anything.”

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The exchange seen as an over-reaction by some at the club and yet so hurtful to the Riolis followed a challenging 2017 in which Rioli managed just seven games after a season-ending knee injury, followed by the massive heart attack suffered by his beloved father Cyril Senior. It had been a difficult time for the family and for the couple.

“The way things happened after that,” he said, “it just hurt so much and it hurt her. I just thought I don’t need to take that shit, so it was fight or flight and I said, ‘let’s get out of this shit storm’.”

The couple believe some of Rioli’s mental struggles since retiring from Hawthorn date to his time at boarding school at Scotch College, where he “lost a part of himself” and then trying too hard at Hawthorn to be “a people pleaser”.

Said Rioli: “For a long time it was easier for me to shut up. That was a part of me for a long time. It was hard work, a lot of hard work keeping the peace, and then it was like, I don’t want to be a part of that any more.“

Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli is currently living in Melbourne and has started work this week with designer Silvana Tedesco. She has broken her silence in a bid to explain that the Kennett incident was, as her husband explained, the final straw after a long line of racial red flags that took place during the Riolis’ time at Hawthorn.

In a long meeting with The Age, she still becomes emotional recalling the events of 2018 - Rioli had been contracted until 2020 - and becomes equally moved when trying to explain her husband’s impact upon communities across the Northern Territory and upon his place of birth the Tiwi Islands. “It has such a big impact on him, it’s difficult to explain the effect he has on people, and it means so much.”

Rioli’s time at Hawthorn was a golden era for the club, but it was also a time when the club paid lip service to cultural awareness, largely through lack of education. It was a time when Rioli watched the battles encountered by teammates, notably his fellow Hawk of two years Amos Frank from the remote APY Lands of far north-west South Australia as he navigated the impossible task of becoming an elite sportsman without anywhere near the required support.

Shannyn said those who called her response to Kennett an over-reaction could never understand its context in the events over the years that preceded it. She recalled when a young Indigenous player - still playing with another club - moved in with the Riolis in late 2012 the club was not happy with the influence of his partner and pushed her to return home. She remembered the manner in which a club official spoke to a young relative of the Riolis when he accompanied her into the rooms one post-game occasion.

She recounts an incident on an end-of-season trip in 2013 when a senior player asked teammates whether the partner of one of his Indigenous teammates was “also a boong”. The Indigenous player was at the table at the time. “Cyril found out about it,” said Shannyn, “and was very upset, but when it went to the leadership group they told him to ignore it and just said: ‘Don’t worry about it’. No one in the leadership group stood up to act.”

Added Rioli: “Nothing really happened. We spoke about it, but it was like: ‘You’re there to play footy.’ You move on, but we should have dealt with it. Being young and not really knowing how to deal with it was hard.” Of the Indigenous teammate, Rioli said: “He was really hurt about it.”

Shannyn urged the club to improve its cultural awareness. In 2012, while working with the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation, she emailed the Hawks ′ welfare officer regarding the club’s Indigenous programs but says she received no response. In 2016, she suggested to Clarkson that the club introduce cultural awareness training, but again she said she received no meaningful response.

In 2015, the Hawks’ Indigenous programs were gifted $1 million over five years from the Epic Good foundation in an announcement that heralded the appearance of Rioli, Burgoyne and their three Indigenous teammates just days after Hawthorn supporters had booed Adam Goodes at the MCG. Rioli remembers he and his teammates meeting about Goodes and wishes now he had spoken up.

The club’s subsequent appointment of highly rated Indigenous liaison officer Leon Egan lasted barely one year with Egan only employed one day a week. The club has said the million-dollar funding was largely spent on Hawthorn’s community programs at Katherine. Now the welfare officer role has been mandated as full-time by the AFL and the Hawks appointed Brady Grey two weeks ago.

Cyril Rioli remains in Darwin, where he is working with young Indigenous offenders at First Step, an alternative sentencing and youth diversion program. He has worked with the Northern Territory Thunder and is open to working back in the AFL system, passionate about coaching young Aboriginal men and women, but said he wants no part of being associated with Hawthorn’s Reconciliation Action Plan. “If they want to use my image or get me to the club I want to be paid,” he said. “I deserve that.“

Estranged from Hawthorn and only occasionally in contact with associates from his Hawthorn days, such as former club football boss Mark Evans, Rioli did not watch his former teammate Lance Franklin’s successful quest for 1000 goals last Friday night, but enjoyed the highlights. Of his AFL playing cousins Daniel and Willie Rioli, he said: “I send them random messages every now and then, but I probably should watch a few more of their games and give them more feedback.” His favourite player right now is Kysaiah Pickett.

He did not attend the Hawks’ fixture in Darwin last year and “respectfully declined” an invitation from Clarkson to go fishing while his former coach was recently in the Northern Territory. Clarkson had reportedly set aside several days in a bid to spend time with Rioli, who many believe had become estranged from the majority of his former teammates. “Alastair’s wanted to come up and throw a bone to me,” Rioli said. “He wanted to go fishing, but it was short notice and my boat was in service.”

Should Shannyn choose to remain in Melbourne for the long term, Rioli is open to relocating, but he added of the wife he has known since she was 13: “It’s her journey and I’m so proud of her.

“I would love to work more with young kids and improve their pathways. We haven’t had enough draftees from Alice or the Northern Territory and I think I have something to offer encouraging their development. And I wish we had more player managers looking after their interests.

“They need to know how to look after the business side of footy better and I would advise any young player like me to make sure you are properly looked after and get the right representation.”

Hawthorn’s new coach Sam Mitchell contacted Rioli in December in a bid to make peace between player and club, while also reinforcing a renewed club quest to forge stronger ties with Indigenous Australia. Mitchell told his four-time premiership teammate he was passionate about facilitating change and that he was looking to focus the club’s community involvement away from the Kokoda program initiated by then rookie coach Clarkson and towards the Northern Territory.

Rioli appeared appreciative of Mitchell’s approach, but the journey back to a constructive relationship with the club appears obstacle-laden, particularly while Kennett remains in charge. “I’d be up for helping clubs if they wanted me … Richmond or West Coast … but I wouldn’t go back to Hawthorn after what’s gone on. It’s the only club I wouldn’t put my hand up for right now.”

Very interesting read.

Shame we missed a few years of Cyril.

Jeff Kennett being a massive, detestable piece of human garbage?

There's just no way anyone could have seen this coming.

I always thought Hawks were good at looking after their indigenous players, but I guess bully boy Kennett can't help himself.

Cyril certainly helped attract alot of boys over to Hawthorn, but this article is scathing and I am disgusted people are treated this way.

How about storm in a tea cup?

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Originally Posted by Ghost Dog

How about storm in a tea cup?

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Wut?

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Originally Posted by Ghost Dog

How about storm in a tea cup?

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The actual pants comment on their own; maybe. But it has connotations Jeff would've been well aware of.

As part of a litany of issues I can see the reason for the reaction.

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Originally Posted by bornadog

The Hawks president then placed his hands in his pockets and offered her - he claims as a joke - some loose change to buy thread to sew up the jeans.

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It's fine everyone he was just joking. Classic

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Originally Posted by bornadog

According to the Riolis, Kennett insisted that he had been joking about the jeans and said he had spoken to Shannyn in a way he regularly spoke to his children.

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Perfect.

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Originally Posted by bornadog

The Kennett letter opened: “I am very sorry my comments at the Launceston Airport offended you. They were not intended to do so.”

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Chef's Kiss. Kennett is a true master of not actually taking any responsibility

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Originally Posted by bornadog

Kennett spoke over her at a meeting in the offices of Rioli’s TLA management. “I’ve already apologised,” he said. “What more do you want me to do?”

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And the coup de grace. Marvelous. It's your fault for not accepting my non-apology. You're being unreasonable

It was a surprising read for me, as Hawthorn and Essendon have always been portrayed as two leaders in the field of indigenous relations. Rioli and Burgoyne are icons, but Wingard and Impey were both reportedly lured to Hawthorn over the dogs because of their indigenous programs. It would be interesting to hear from other indigenous players from Hawthorn, and if these views are shared.

Kennett being terrible was definitely not surprising though.

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Originally Posted by EasternWest

Wut?

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Hi Jeemak

The cascading length of this article diminishes the journalist in stature when one considers the trifling points here-within.
Jeff had a go at humor with a player's wife on a footy trip regarding the style of her Jeans. Jeff declined to go on a fishing trip. In 2013 someone made a racial comment.
Ok fine, but that's far too many pixels, and smacks of moral outrage, which of course The R-Age is highly awarded for.

The age is just trying to politicize football before an election.
No, am not a fan of the Liberal party.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ghost Dog

Hi Jeemak

The cascading length of this article diminishes the journalist in stature when one considers the trifling points here-within.
Jeff had a go at humor with a player's wife on a footy trip regarding the style of her Jeans. Jeff declined to go on a fishing trip. In 2013 someone made a racial comment.
Ok fine, but that's far too many pixels, and smacks of moral outrage, which of course The R-Age is highly awarded for.

The age is just trying to politicize football before an election.
No, am not a fan of the Liberal party.

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So Jee and EW are the same. Always knew it.;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ghost Dog

Hi Jeemak

The cascading length of this article diminishes the journalist in stature when one considers the trifling points here-within.
Jeff had a go at humor with a player's wife on a footy trip regarding the style of her Jeans. Jeff declined to go on a fishing trip. In 2013 someone made a racial comment.
Ok fine, but that's far too many pixels, and smacks of moral outrage, which of course The R-Age is highly awarded for.

The age is just trying to politicize football before an election.
No, am not a fan of the Liberal party.

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Nah GD, I know you're a decent fella. I just have a different opinion on this.

Jeff Kennett has never done anything but punch downwards, and in my opinion this is just true to type.

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Originally Posted by Bulldog4life

So Jee and EW are the same. Always knew it.;)

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That explains why Brad Pitt keeps appearing when I'm not expecting him to.

‘Racism is unacceptable’: Hawks issue apology to Cyril and Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli

A prominent Hawthorn supporter group outraged by Jeff Kennett’s treatment of premiership star Cyril Rioli has called for the president to immediately step down.


The Hawks on Saturday apologised to Rioli and his wife Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli for the racism they experienced at the club, after the four-time premiership winner revealed comments by Kennett contributed to his decision to quit in 2018.


The apology came after Rioli told The Saturday Age that the incident with Victoria’s former Premier was “the final straw” in the club’s precarious relationship with its Indigenous players and their culture after a string of events in previous years.


Members of prominent Hawthorn supporters group Hawks for Change, outraged by the revelations that Rioli will not return to the club, were on Saturday circling to put pressure on Kennett to immediately stand down.


The group, which successfully pushed for former AustralianSuper boss Ian Silk to join the board in December, have been angling for change. It issued a statement on Saturday saying it was “deeply disappointed and concerned” by Kennett’s comments.


“Jeff Kennett’s disrespect of the Rioli family is the latest shameful example of why he is not fit to serve as President of our beloved football club,” the Hawks for Change statement said.


“Jeff Kennett, through his actions, has again brought the reputation of the Hawthorn Football Club into disrepute.“


The group also referenced comments Kennett made in 2016 about his love of golliwogs, a black-faced toy, and how he has one named Buddy after former Hawks champion Lance Franklin.


“Hawks for Change now calls on Jeff Kennett to resign immediately and directors of the Hawthorn Football Club must take a stand and seek Jeff’s resignation today,” they said.


‘The only club I wouldn’t put my hand up for right now’: Why Hawks legend Cyril Rioli has stayed away
“When Eddie McGuire realised he had done the wrong thing he resigned.


“Under the new leadership of Sam Mitchell, the Hawthorn Football Club is fiercely united on the field, but under the stale leadership of Jeff Kennett our Club is clearly divided off it.


“Hawks for Change will continue our campaign for greater diversity and democracy in the leadership of our Club.


“For the good of the mighty Hawthorn Football Club Jeff Kennett must go.”


The club issued an apology to the Rioli family on Saturday, declaring “racism in all shapes and forms is unacceptable”.


“We are sorry that Cyril and Shannyn experienced these incidents during their time at the club. We are saddened these experiences have left them feeling the way they do,” the club statement said.


Kennett’s second term as president is scheduled to end in December next year, but there has been debate about him leaving early. This issue should become clearer when the Hawks’ nomination committee reports back to the board by June 30, with Silk a potential candidate to replace Kennett.


The Hawks said on Friday, the day before the story on Rioli broke, the nominations committee had met for the first time earlier this week.


The six-person committee, chaired by vice-president Peter Nankivell, consists of directors Katie Hudson and Anne-Marie Pellizzer, former board member and club benefactor Geoff Harris, champion ruckman Don Scott and former premiership player Andy Gowers, who is aligned with the Hawks for Change.


Sources close to the Hawks’ board insist current directors Hudson, Owen Wilson and Nankivell also have support to win the presidency.


On Saturday the Hawks told The Age the club did not believe there was a need to launch their own Do Better report, in reference to the review conducted by Collingwood, which sparked major upheaval and ultimately led to president Eddie McGuire’s departure.


Hawks’ indigenous players, including Chad Wingard, Jarman Impey and Tyler Brockman, met with club bosses on Friday. They said they felt culturally safe at the club, and that the club was doing a good job with its Indigenous welfare programs.


The programs have been driven by new coach Sam Mitchell, who introduced a renewed club quest to forge stronger ties with Indigenous Australia. Mitchell told Rioli he was passionate about facilitating change and focusing the club’s community involvement away from the Kokoda program and towards the Northern Territory. Mitchell also encouraged Rioli to “reach out” if he wanted “to be part of the change we are trying to make”.


Rioli has had a complex relationship with the Hawks, which culminated in his decision to quit during the 2018 season. The four-time premiership star and 2015 Norm Smith medallist said “the final straw” for him, including the club’s precarious relationship with its Indigenous players and their culture, came in ’18 after a post-match incident at Launceston Airport between Shannyn, a woman she calls her “mother-in-law”, Lulu, and Kennett.


Shannyn and Lulu - who had designed the Hawks’ Indigenous round guernsey used that day against Port Adelaide - were chatting when Kennett commented upon Shannon’s designer ripped jeans. According to Shannyn, Kennett asked her what was wrong with her jeans. After making a retort about his boots, she asked Kennett: “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing, Jeffrey?”


The Hawks president then placed his hands in his pockets and offered her, he says as a joke, loose change to buy thread to sew up the jeans.


This sparked a crisis between the club, Rioli and his family, and one which remains unresolved despite Kennett’s apology and repeated attempts to rebuild the relationship.


Rioli, who was also dealing with a knee injury at the time, retired soon after, aged 28, and returned home to his family in Darwin.


He remains estranged from the club he played 189 games with and doubts he will attend the next 10-year premiership reunion in 2023.


Of the club president, Rioli said: “I wouldn’t want to be there while he’s there.”


Kennett insists the Tasmanian incident was misconstrued and that he was disappointed Rioli felt the way he did.


Shannyn believes Rioli’s only AFL coach, Alastair Clarkson, genuinely tried to do the right thing by her husband despite what she described as some uneducated comments over the years. Shannon says there was a long line of racial red flags during their time at Hawthorn.


She recounted an incident on an end-of-season trip in 2013 when a senior player asked teammates whether the partner of one of his Indigenous teammates was “also a boong”. The indigenous player was at the table at the time.


The couple believe some of Rioli’s mental struggles since retiring from Hawthorn date to his time at boarding school at Scotch College, where he “lost a part of himself”, and then trying too hard at Hawthorn to be “a people pleaser”.


“Junior only ever wanted to finish his career at Hawthorn,” Shannyn said told The Age.


“He wanted to retire at 30, that was always his plan. But he was retired at 28. I feel guilty. I still cry myself to sleep at night wondering if I made my husband walk away from his career.”


Shannyn said she unsuccessfully urged the club to improve its cultural awareness in 2012, while in 2016, she suggested to Clarkson that the club introduce cultural awareness training, but again she said she received no meaningful response.


The Hawks a fortnight ago appointed Brady Grey as their full-time AFL mandated Indigenous liaison officer.


“Combating racism and educating everyone both within our own walls and in the community is something we are constantly working on and believe we are getting better at. But there is always more work to be done,” the Hawks said in their statement on Saturday.


“We are committed to reconciliation and ensuring our First Nations players are culturally safe and have a voice that is both listened to and acted upon. At Hawthorn, all of our staff and players deserve to be respected. Our doors will always be open to Cyril and Shannyn.”


Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton defended Kennett against calls for his removal as president, saying he had done a “Herculean” job for Hawthorn and had “unfinished business”, and was critical of the Hawks For Change group.


“They have no answers. They just want change for change, and there’s a feeling there’s a personality-driven edge to this,” Brereton said on SEN.


“I don’t think they have any answers to move the club forward in a better shape than what it’s currently doing.”

Jeff Kennett. Is anyone surprised? Do you remember this from 2011?

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FORMER premier Jeff Kennett has once again courted controversy with his love of the golliwog.

The Hawthorn president has revealed the latest member of his golliwog collection wears a brown and gold uniform, is tall and thin and goes by the name of Buddy, after Hawks forward Lance "Buddy" Franklin.

"Buddy (Franklin) is long, tall and thin and I hope he is as proud of the golliwog as I am," Mr Kennett said when asked what Buddy Franklin's response would be to his namesake.

"They are a major part of my life and I love them," he said.

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

"Every golliwog has a name. This one is in Hawthorn colours and he will be my Buddy. He joins Jacko, Mr King - named after boxing promoter Don King - and 40 other gollies in my collection."

But not everyone shares his love of the doll, and former Brisbane Lion Chris Johnson yesterday voiced concern about Mr Kennett's latest golly, which comes after a string of incidents involving racism in football.

"It's definitely a little bit inappropriate," he said.

"He probably should be thinking of the pressure he is putting on Franklin.

"I don't think it matters what colour you are, he is being disrespectful to one of his marquee players who should be focusing on a big game this weekend."

Mr Kennett has previously sung the praises of golliwogs, last year describing them as "the most repressed toys in society today".

He has 40 in his collection, including Jacko who was a present when he was born.

"They are a major part of my life and I love them," he told the Herald Sun.

"I don't intend to listen to those who have lost their sense of humour and seek to make a political correctness issue out of everything.

"I have a complete series of golliwog books to read to my grandchildren and I don't intend to abandon the things in my life that give me pleasure. I'm not hurting anyone and I am not committing any crime."

Mr Kennett said his Buddy would not be attending Sunday's match against Collingwood.

"I never take any golliwogs to the game."

Source: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/go...7d59c1b315cf11