The Bulldogs, represented by president David Smorgon, football manager James Fantasia and coach Rodney Eade, emphasised that point when they fronted the media late on Wednesday afternoon.
Akermanis wasn’t present. He left Whitten Oval earlier that afternoon following the meeting that saw his contract ripped up after he refused an offer to retire and leave the Dogs on his terms.
According to the trio, the former Brisbane Lion departed with the knowledge the financial side of his terms of employment would be fulfilled.
He was also told the end of his tenure as a Bulldog was not influenced by anyone’s personal opinion of his flamboyant nature.
The real reason was forcibly delivered. Akermanis had run out of chances to show his teammates they could a) trust him, and b) they were a higher priority than his lucrative media commitments.
“This is not personal. Unfortunately some people want to make it personal,” Eade said.
“This is about our team values, about us being as a team, what we stand for, our trademarks.
“It’s about team first, end of story. Any decision with any player or any feedback to any player is about what they can do to help the team, or what they’re not doing to help the team. End of story.”
Fantasia described the situation as having stemmed from Akermanis’ “pattern of behaviour” that was highly inflamed when he penned the controversial column on gay footballers in late May.
He didn’t think the club’s decision to allow Akermanis - who has been involved in the media in some way throughout almost his entire career - to continue with his outside contracts had any influence on the way his days at Whitten Oval came to a close.
“We have two other players that have regular commitments with various media outlets, they write regular columns and I think it’s a high line to suggest us allowing Akermanis to have media affects this situation,” he said.
“You are responsible for your actions. I can understand we’re going to hone in on some issues but the reality is Jason has demonstrated a pattern of behaviour that now has stemmed for a number of years.
“We’ve put things into place and we’ve got to the place where we’ve got to make a hard call.”
Eade said the club knew what they were taking on at the end of 2006. They knew Akermanis was a mouthpiece - a loud one at that - and denied the club had struggled to handle his outside interests.
It was Akermanis’ continual betrayal of “inner sanctum” trust that infuriated the Dogs, and led them to make the decision to end the partnership.
“People have got to take responsibility for their own actions,” Eade said.
“You can’t say it’s the parents’ fault all the time that the young boy’s in jail 45 times.”
All players - not just the leaders - were consulted after it appeared Akermanis’ breaches of the club’s ethics were becoming problematic and consistent.
And despite the sublimely talented goalkicker’s enormous on-field upside and the fact Eade maintained “you don’t have to get along with everyone” in a team, they couldn’t see past the fact he wasn’t always committed to their ultimate goal.
You need confidence and trust between all involved, and that dissolved - and continued to - after ‘that’ column nearly two months ago.
“I’ve played in premierships and you’re not friendly with every player,” Eade said.
“But there’s a united front and a united cause, and you’re all going to do everything you can to get the team to win.
“Part of that builds trust and confidence, and the players had articulated that the trust wasn’t rebuilt with Jason after the previous episode.”
According to Eade, there were more confidentiality breaches than have been made public that contributed to the club’s eventual stance.
Ultimately, it was about eliminating any distractions before the finals began.
“It was time this club stood up and made a statement about what it stands for. I think we’ve been very clear with that,” Fantasia said.
Akermanis is yet to comment on his demise as an AFL player. However, Smorgon said the Dogs would be ready for whatever parting shot the flamboyant midfielder had to offer.
“We’re prepared for whatever Jason wants to serve up.”
