Wests Tigers chief executive Justin Pascoe has hit back at the sensational accusation that the club lied about collaborating with the Australian Defence Force regarding its commemorative jersey, declaring the suggestion was “disrespectful” and admitting “it hurts”.
Pascoe, who’s copping blows yet again over the club’s controversial jersey design for Anzac Round, lashed out at critics in an interview with Nine’s Emma Lawrence at Wests Tigers’ Concord headquarters on Thursday.
“The fact that people have come out last night and suggested that we lied is really disrespectful to this club, and we’re bitterly disappointed,” Pascoe said.
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“We would never lie in regards to this topic and we certainly would never lie to our members or our fans.
“We’ve never come out and said we got approval on the design from the Australian Defence Force. What we did say in a media release on Tuesday night was that we’ve been working in collaboration with Holsworthy Army Barracks, which is a local army barracks here in our catchment area about the approval of marketing collateral.”
Pascoe said Wests Tigers had “a trail of communication emails” with Holsworthy Army Barracks in which the club was approved to use “not just video, but content for social and also pictures”.
“It hurts to be accused of lying to our fans and members,” Pascoe added.
“It’s a clear shot at the integrity of the club.
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“As we clearly articulated in a release on Tuesday — we’re not being cute with words — we clearly articulated that we were working with Holsworthy Army Barracks in regards to the production of collateral.
“They saw the design, the NRL saw the design … The ownership is on us. We were the ones who initiated the design. It was our concept, our notion and the fault lies with us.
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“Our team here designed this jersey with the notion to pay homage to modern-day war in a desert environment. We were the ones who used the stock image and that’s the fact.”
Pascoe made it clear the club had made “an honest mistake”.
”We would never, ever demean or disrespect the Anzacs or the Anzac spirit and what it represents,” he added.
“I’m the chief executive officer here, so anything that happens, good and bad, sits with me, and I take full responsibility.”
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