OUTGOING Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has repeated his criticism of Indigenous players for going public with racism allegations against the club.
He's also welcomed a WorkSafe Victoria investigation into the Hawks, saying he was confident the body would be "very impressed" with how the club operated, and adding the allegations were historic.
In a speech at Saturday night's club best and fairest function, Kennett said it was "unfair" allegations in a review commissioned by the club were made public through last month's ABC report.
'NOT A CRISIS' Kennett speaks about Hawthorn report
Among those named in that report were former coach Alastair Clarkson and his assistant at the time, current Brisbane coach Chris Fagan, who both deny any wrongdoing.
The former players, and some family members, initially aired their grievances confidentially with the club, which forwarded a report to the AFL.
"The AFL has a process in place that could have resolved this confidentially and in the interests of all parties," Kennett told 3AW on Sunday.
"But the families, who have been involved themselves in a confidential process, went and spoke to the ABC and sadly having asked for, and we respected the confidentiality of them and their names, they then went and named those they had grievances with, and that took the process to a different level.
"I was dumbfounded by what I read in their stories, and I'm saddened by them, but they are - at this stage - allegations."
After saying on Saturday night he hoped the matter could be resolved by the end of the year, Kennett speculated on Sunday that it could take longer.
LETTER TO MEMBERS Kennett breaks his silence, urges natural justice to be served
"While I'm still hopeful all parties can come together, there's now the possibility this could go on for a year - and that's in no-one's interests," he said.
Kennett again said he didn't think Hawthorn was in a crisis, rather a situation that needed to be managed.
WorkSafe have confirmed they are looking into the matter, with inspectors from the health and safety body to visit the club on Monday.
'DEEPLY OFFENSIVE' Clarkson again denies allegations after new report
"I'm not worried at all, that's just part of the process and they are entitled to come in and have a look," Kennett said.
"I guess these incidents, I'm not quite sure when they occurred, but somewhere between six and 12 years ago, so it's got a long tail.
"That doesn't mean you excuse it, it doesn't mean you don't deal with it.
'EXTREMELY SERIOUS' AFL to probe Hawks' treatment of Indigenous players
"I'm quite sure when they complete their report, they will be, I would suspect, very impressed by the processes that we have in place."
The AFL will establish an independent four-person panel to look at the allegations.
Clarkson, who was recruited by North Melbourne in August, and Fagan, now at Brisbane, have stood down from their coaching duties.