Collingwood have guaranteed the position of embattled chief executive Craig Kelly until the court action instigated by a former employee, who alleges racially inappropriate language and conduct by the CEO, has been completed.
The Magpies also said they had not reached a settlement with Mark Cleaver, Collingwood’s former head of First Nations strategy, because they did not wish to pay the former employee “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to settle the lawsuit, which is essentially a wrongful dismissal case from this year.
In response to the embarrassing series of allegations that became public this week via Cleaver’s legal action in the Federal Circuit and Family Court, the Magpies doubled down in their backing of their CEO, who has not spoken publicly since the allegations were aired via reporting of the court documents.
Asked if Kelly’s position was “guaranteed” until the Cleaver matter was resolved, a club spokesperson said: “Yes.” This stronger endorsement follows president Jeff Browne’s backing of Kelly’s position on Wednesday.
The AFL has sidestepped the allegations, by deeming the Cleaver claim a workplace matter for Collingwood, rather than one that the league needs to take action on under its rules.
In response to a series of questions put to Browne, the club explained why they had not settled with Cleaver – who is Indigenous and suffers from multiple sclerosis – while saying the court would determine whether Kelly’s language was acceptable.
“Collingwood wasn’t prepared to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars [to Cleaver],” the spokesperson said.
Sources familiar with the settlement discussion – which was confidential – said the Magpies had offered a small amount to Cleaver, potentially as little as $20,000, which would have barely covered his legal costs, while Cleaver had been seeking upwards of $250,000.
But the amount sought by Cleaver at Fair Work mediation – via his lawyers Maurice Blackburn – and the gap between the parties can also be read as an ambit claim, in the course of failed negotiations between Collingwood and Cleaver.
Collingwood have chosen not to settle – and potentially keep the matter out of the public domain – and to fight the claim, despite the embarrassment for a club whose 2020 “Do Better” report found the club had engaged in “systemic racism” – meaning it had inadequate measures to deal with racist incidents or episodes. This led to a major overhaul of practices at the AFL’s highest-profile club and the resignation of long-time president Eddie McGuire after he heralded the report as a “proud day” for the club and was widely lambasted.
The club board commissioned a review of the allegations, by “external experts”, when Cleaver made his allegations, initially to the AFL’s whistleblower hotline, then to AFL integrity. That he was sacked after making a complaint is the basis for his lawsuit, which follows a failure by Collingwood and Cleaver to reach a settlement or agreement at Fair Work.
Cleaver outlined a series of allegations in documents filed as part of an application against his dismissal, alleging that Kelly behaved in a “racist and ableist” manner between February and May this year, when Cleaver was employed as head of First Nations programs.
In response to questions, Collingwood also said:
* It was “a matter for us internally” whether Collingwood, Kelly or the club board had apologised or reached out to any individuals who were allegedly slighted in the allegations from Cleaver.
*Asked about Cleaver’s allegation that the club had failed to pay First Nations behavioural change organisation Dardi Munwurro a portion or all of a $500,000 pledged by the previous administration, the club said: “We resolved the matter satisfactorily with Dardi Munwurro.” Dardi Munwurro severed their relationship with Collingwood on Thursday following reporting of Cleaver’s claim and allegations.
Sources familiar with the discussions between the parties say Collingwood have objected to Cleaver contacting journalists prior to the matter becoming a legal matter, that the club feels Cleaver misrepresented Kelly’s boomerang remarks and that he portrayed remarks to the club’s human resources manager differently.
Collingwood’s version of these three matters are disputed by Cleaver’s lawyers.
*Asked if anyone else at Collingwood had raised concerns about the CEO’s behaviour, the spokesperson responded: “If any concerns are raised in relation to any matter at our club, we have workplace policies and procedures to work through them.″
* The club had spent “much less than the demands [from Cleaver]” in legal fees and associated costs. This comment was in response to a question of how much money had been spent on the Cleaver matter.
*“The matter is before the court for determination,” said the spokesperson, asked if Kelly’s language, as outlined in the allegations from Cleaver, was acceptable in the club.
The Magpies have adopted a legal defence of their position, rather than seeking to rebut specific allegations about what Kelly said, saying those matters would be decided in court.
Cleaver alleged that Kelly picked up a marngrook (an Indigenous football made of possum hair) and “forcefully threw it at Cleaver”, while allegedly saying “I don’t give a f— if you put a live possum in there”.
Cleaver also alleged that Kelly referred to elder Aunty Carol Thorpe as “that dumb old bitch” in a conversation and that the First Nations (male) behaviour change program organisation that Alan Thorpe, her husband, headed, had not been paid a promised portion of $500,000 from sponsor CGU.
He alleged that Kelly was excessively physical with him, as an MS sufferer, causing pain, including in an overly vigorous handshake that caused physical pain. He alleged Kelly had called him “lazy” when he withdrew from a line-dancing group activity.
Cleaver’s lawsuit asserts that his termination was unlawful because it was in retaliation for making the complaints. Browne, as president, sent Cleaver a letter that the termination – for which he was paid a month’s salary and offered counselling support – was “not about your complaints” and was solely the result of “your separate misconduct”.
Cleaver alleged in the claim that Kelly had suggested putting a live possum in a room for Indigenous players and sending a Jewish co-worker at the club a “free Palestine” photograph.
The club’s review, which it said was handled by external experts, found no breach of workplace law, while finding that Kelly had made a comment about a boomerang (“this needs to be a boomerang, and it needs to come back, but then you’ve done it wrong because … they’re meant to come back”) about a program Cleaver had delivered to the players, but that the comment was not racist.
The Collingwood review of the allegations found that the possum comment was not substantiated while remarks about Cleaver’s disability were acknowledged but not deemed ableist or racist.
Club vice-president Jodie Sizer, a leading Indigenous figure within football and Victoria, is viewed internally and at the AFL as a crucial voice in how the club deals with the claim and Kelly’s position.
Kelly declined to comment to this masthead.
Legal representatives of Cleaver have been contacted.