CEO Justin Reeves has penned the below update to Hawthorn members...
Dear members,
On Sunday we were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of club Legend Graham Arthur. Our inaugural premiership captain exemplified the values of our great club and his contribution to Hawthorn is near immeasurable. Together with John Kennedy, Graham was integral to laying our club’s foundational values and his legacy continues to live on within the club.
Our players returned to training last week and have hit the track focussed and determined to see a significant improvement on last season. Our new arrivals are settling into the fold at Hawthorn. Kyle, Tom, Denver, Seamus, Connor, Tyler and Jack are all fantastic additions to the brown and gold and are following their new teammates lead in their standard of training and commitment to a strong 2021 season.
As members of this club, you are part of our family and it is important that our members receive a direct and clear account from the club on our position and handling of the recent allegations made against Jonathon Patton.
The complaints made are of behaviour that does not reflect the values of our club. We are a club that is proud of our family values and we strive to exemplify them across every element of our club. Hawthorn actively promotes and advocates for both respect and equality for all and we demand this standard from all involved with the club.
As soon as the club was made aware of the matter we addressed it directly with Jonathon and made it clear that behaviour of this nature would not be tolerated by Hawthorn Football Club. Jonathon has been stood down from all club commitments while the investigation takes place. This is a difficult time for all involved and it is important our club ensures that Jonathon receives the support he requires during this period.
We take this matter very seriously and our Integrity Committee is working in conjunction with the AFL’s Integrity Unit to undertake the investigation into these complaints within the framework of the AFL’s Respect and Responsibility Policy. We anticipate this process will take some time and we will provide a further update when more information is available.
As I said before, our members are our family, and our membership tally continues to rise as we edge closer and closer to the season. Thank you for standing by our club through the good times and the hard times. We can already feel the anticipation building towards Round 1.
I will be in touch weekly in the lead-up to the season to make sure that you, our members, are kept up-to-date with all the latest at Hawthorn.
Go Hawks!
Justin Reeves.
