Racism saga led by Cyril Rioli would be over without lawyers: Alastair Clarkson

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson claims the “legal eagles” have prevented the long-running Hawthorn racism saga from already being resolved.

The statement of claim from the Federal Court case, headlined by former Hawthorn star Cyril Rioli, was revealed via documents on Monday.

Serious allegations of unlawful discrimination were levelled against Clarkson, as well as former Hawks welfare manager Jason Burt and ex-Hawthorn football manager Chris Fagan, via a bombshell ABC report in 2022.

Those claims, that had only previously come to light through the media, were formalised through the court documents, after meditation talks between all parties earlier this year failed to stop further court action.

Rioli’s wife, Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli, former players Carl Peterson and Jermaine Miller-Lewis, his partner Montanah-Rae Lewis, and Hawthorn’s former Indigenous liaison officer Leon Egan are co-plaintiffs in the action.

Among the allegations in a statement of claim released by the Federal Court on Monday, Rioli alleges staff regularly made “culturally ignorant” remarks to him and by 2015 both he and his wife felt “culturally unsafe” at Hawthorn.

Rioli claimed that in 2017, during a trip to Alice Springs to visit his father after a heart attack, Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said: “Why do these Aboriginal people have darker skin than you?”

“We’ve had small opportunities to participate in the Human Rights Commission,” said Clarkson, who spoke on Thursday for the first time since the statement of claim emerged but did not address the specific claims made against him.

“It was a really, really productive couple of days (in March) and, unfortunately, if it was probably left to the ones that are directly involved, it would have been resolved, but then the legal eagles get involved.

“We are hoping there will be a resolution at some point in time and some context put to it all.

“I think there was terrific goodwill from all parties in Human Rights Commission, and then it goes it goes beyond that and then becomes more of a legal stoush.

“It’s been a tough road. It’s nearly two years.

“We haven’t got a resolution as yet, and if the Federal Court provides that platform to be able to do that, then we welcome it.”

Another damning claim is that made by Kununurra-raised Peterson, who alleges he was told to end the relationship he had with partner Nikita Rotumah and terminate their pregnancy during the 2009 season.

Peterson alleges he was called into a meeting with then-coach Alastair Clarkson, welfare officer Jason Burt and head of football Chris Fagan.

“Mr Burt said words to the effect: ‘Carl, being a father is a huge responsibility and we don’t think you’re ready to be a father’,” the statement of claim says.

“Mr Clarkson said words to the effect: ‘Carl, you need to break up with Nikita and focus only on your football . . . unless you break up with her and tell her to terminate the pregnancy, your football career will be in jeopardy’. Mr Fagan nodded his head during the meeting.”

Peterson claims he was told he had an hour to respond.

The court documents say Peterson was left “highly distressed and anxious” about what he had just been told, and felt as though he had to comply. About 30 minutes later, he called Ms Rotumah and ended the relationship, telling her that it was “not a good idea that she have the baby”.

Ms Rotumah did not terminate the pregnancy and the pair resumed their relationship a few months later.

Hawthorn commissioned and released the findings from a cultural safety review in 2022 to investigate allegations of systemic mistreatment of First Nations players at the club.

An AFL investigation later produced no adverse findings against Clarkson, Fagan and Burt.

All three men have vehemently denied any wrongdoing since the allegations first emerged just days before the 2022 AFL grand final.

“The people that know us well, and certainly Jason and Chris, I know those guys really well and trust with my life,” Clarkson said.

“We’re just searching for the platform.”