“People are saying until there is change we don’t want anything to do with this club and the board is saying,‘just elect us all again’. It’s incongruous. It’s rubbing people’s noses in the stupidity.
“I am calling out the failings of the current board,not just those up for re-election but those who led the club. There has been no proper governance or process.
“Every member of the board who has failed to be outspoken has been complicit. The big issues have not been talked about.
“They have failed to advise the public of what they intended to do[with the report by Egan into First Nations players’ experiences at the club],what the results were or how they think they have changed the club for the better. What has the club done to be proactive and improve and better itself?
“I take no pleasure in pointing out people’s shortcomings. Directors have been told by one individual how to behave and what things should be done. It’s one thing to have good leadership and another to have people silenced.”
Meanwhile,as the board election draws clear fault lines among Hawthorn people,presidential hopeful Andy Gowers has called for a peace summit after the election.
He said the “family club” needed to behave like a family and after an argument,settle differences and move on.
“When I decided to put up my hand to be president of our club,it was because I could see Hawthorn’s board and leadership were out of touch with members. I jotted down what I would change if elected and the first word was ‘unity’,” Gowers said in a statement released on Sunday.
“It’s clear to me that the club needs leadership if we are to come together and be united.
“That’s why,if elected president,my first priority will be to hold a summit of Hawthorn people;past players,club legends,coaches,coterie leaders,administrators,directors,and members – including interstate.
“It’s time to unify our club and heal the divisions that have emerged over the past five years.
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“We are the family club at Hawthorn. Most families have arguments,and they work it out and move forward. That will be my first act,if elected president.”
The proposed summit was supported by Gwen Crimmins,the widow of premiership star Peter Crimmins,who has not endorsed either Gowers or Peter Nankivell for president but backed the summit to bring peace to the club.
“After discussions with Andy Gowers,if he is elected our next president,I absolutely welcome and support his plan to hold a member summit,so that Hawthorn members can come together and discuss the club they would be proud to be a member of,” Crimmins said.
The move comes after theclub drew deeper into division on Saturday with Don Scott leading a group of former premiership players – Peter Hudson,Peter Knights,Jarryd Roughead,Jordan Lewis,Nathan Thompson,Joel Smith and Campbell Brown – in backing Nankivell as president.
Former president Ian Dicker,meanwhile,joined former premiership players Peter Schwab,Gary Ayres and Bruce Stevenson in backing Gowers.
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