Former AFL player Craig Kelly has been nominated for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame after being accused of racism.
Kelly earned the nomination in his role as the chief executive of Collingwood Magpies, where he enjoyed a lengthy playing career.
The Frownlow Medal is awarded to the player whose off-field demeanour epitomises the values of the modern-day footballer and draws attention to the status of footballers as role models to young Australians. It covers Australia’s four major football codes: the National Rugby League (NRL), Australian Football League (AFL), the A-League (Football) and Rugby Union’s Super Rugby competition. NRL player Shaun Kenny-Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015, while NRL star Talatau Amone is the most recent recipient.
The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame honours former players and players who received media attention in previous seasons, for similarly scandalous behaviour, and its inductees include Ben Cousins and Julian O’Neill.
Kelly is facing accusations of racism from Collingwood’s former head of First Nations strategy, Mark Cleaver.
Cleaver claims Kelly made made slurs and jokes about Indigenous culture between February and when Cleaver’s employment was terminated in May this year. He also accuses Kelly of unlawful discrimination and bullying.
The alleged comments include telling Cleaver to “go throw a boomerang”, and claims that Kelly once picked up a marngrook (a ball made of possum hair) and “forcefully threw it at” Cleaver, before allegedly saying,
“I don’t give a f— what you put in there. I don’t give a f— if you put a live f—ing possum in there.”
Cleaver also alleges he was dealing with a First Nations behaviour-change program body, Dardi Munwurro, which claimed the Magpies had failed to pay fees of between $300,000 and $500,000. The documents claim Kelly asked: “Are they trying to extort us for money? These people do that.”
Collingwood stood by Kelly, calling the allegations “embarrassing” and “objectionable”. They say Cleaver was sacked “solely because it was satisfied that he had engaged in misconduct”.
These accusations follow a recent racism scandal at the Magpies, which prompted the independent review into the club and the publication of the Do Better report, which uncovered systemic racism stretching back decades, and made a range of recommendations to change the culture of the club.
This was published in 2021.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 