AFL executive Tanya Hosch hopes the complainants in the Hawthorn racism saga can achieve a satisfactory outcome at the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), but concedes the matter could ultimately end up in the Federal Court.
Speaking for the first time since the AFL concluded the eight-month-long independent investigation into claims of mistreatment of First Nations players, Hosch – the League's executive general manager of inclusion and social policy – acknowledged the hurt of the complainants and expressed her desire for all parties to reach an acceptable conclusion through conciliation at the AHRC.
Four-time Hawthorn premiership star Cyril Rioli last week publicly identified himself as one of six complainants in the saga, details of which emerged last September.
With Rioli and his five co-complainants confirming they will now take the matter to the AHRC, Hosch said she hopes all parties could find solace in the process.
"What we read in the open letter from Cyril Rioli in recent days makes it really clear that there's still some conversations that he and the other complainants want to be able to have," Hosch told Yokayi Footy. "Hopefully, them going to the Human Rights Commission will enable that to happen.
"It's my understanding that (the AHRC) can create a situation where all parties come to the table for a conversation. Then it would be a matter of how long it would take to reach an agreement or a conciliation.
"There's no knowing how long that could take, and there's also no guarantee that would be successful.
"Hearing about them going to the Human Rights Commission, I do hope that a conciliation model – which is obviously something they want to pursue – has a chance of great success."
The AFL last week concluded the independent investigation it commissioned into the claims, with no adverse findings made. The three former Hawthorn figures at the centre of the allegations – Alastair Clarkson, Chris Fagan and Jason Burt – have denied any wrongdoing.
Following the AFL announcement, Rioli, wife Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli, ex-Hawthorn players Carl Peterson and Jermaine Miller-Lewis, as well as his partner Montanah Miller-Lewis, and former Hawks Indigenous manager Leon Egan identified themselves as part of the claims. They flagged the prospect of taking the matter to the Federal Court if they are not satisfied with the AHRC outcome.
At least three other people who made complaints to Hawthorn during its investigation remain anonymous.
More broadly, Hosch said the League was committed to increasingly Indigenous representation in key positions across the AFL and its clubs.
"Certainly, the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on club boards and at decision-making levels in this sector, in footy across the board, is something I've been concerned about since I arrived (at the AFL in 2016)," she said.
"When I arrived, there was only one Aboriginal director. Currently, there's eight across clubs. It's something we've been encouraging for some time, but now we'll be looking at a process to make that complete across the 18 clubs and maintaining that at the AFL Commission level as well is really important."
Andy Krakouer's full interview with Tanya Hosch can be seen on this week's episode of Yokayi Footy. Yokayi Footy is broadcast weekly on AFL.com.au, the AFL Live app, NITV and SBS On Demand
