Fagan rips ‘profoundly damaging’ probe after Clarkson exit

”I am saddened by the decision of my friend and colleague Alastair Clarkson to step away from his role at North Melbourne indefinitely,” his statement read.

“I was fortunate to work with ‘Clarko’ for almost nine years, and I have known him for much longer than this.

“I know him to be a person of very good character who has had an overwhelmingly positive influence on the lives of the young men he has coached. The football community is immeasurably better off with Clarko in it.

“The deeply flawed process that we have been subjected to has taken a heavy toll. It has been profoundly damaging and unfair.

“It is my hope that it will very soon come to an appropriate end. In the meantime, Clarko’s physical and mental wellbeing must come first. I extend my very best wishes to him, (wife) Caryn and his family.

“Out of respect for Clarko, I do not intend to make further public comment.”

Fagan wasn’t the only one to speak out in support of Clarkson, with Kangaroos great David King offering his own scathing assessment of the saga.

”I’ve never seen anything like this,” King said of the investigation on SEN.

“This is supposed to be a fair process. It’s been a fair balls-up I’d say. To put this man in this situation … I don’t know if we will ever get to the truth given this process that we’ve gone down.

“I don’t know if Alastair will ever feel that he’s had an opportunity to clear a reputation that’s been built over four decades.

“They’ve just slowly destroyed the fabric of this guy.”

King claimed that Clarkson hadn’t “been given a fair swing at life” since the allegations came out on the week of the grand final last September.

Alastair Clarkson takes aim at ‘shameful’ Hawks amid racism probe

“These allegations are horrifying and he hasn’t been allowed due process in any point from that moment onwards,” he said.

“The toll on him emotionally, physically, whether he can sleep at night, whether he can hold a normal conversation without this running through his head, the sheer fatigue that he’d be carrying day to day, and then to try and run a football club and manage 100 odd people day to day and still be that same person that he was during his hall of fame years at Hawthorn would’ve been nigh-on impossible.

“The pressure cooker environment has obviously got to a point where it’s blown up and I’m devastated for Alastair and the North Melbourne Football Club today.”

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said the league was supportive of the four-time premiership winner’s decision.

”We understand how much the investigation by the independent panel into allegations of racism has impacted on all people involved, including Alastair, and believe the investigation needs to find resolution,” he said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.

“It is a heavy burden being carried by all parties involved and the wellbeing of everyone who is a part of this process is the key priority for our game.

“It takes great courage to stand up and say you need to focus on your own personal wellbeing and we support Alastair in doing what he needs to do in the best interests of himself and his family. We will continue to provide support to all parties.

“The AFL supports current efforts to find a mediated outcome that provides fairness and natural justice for all involved and encourage all parties to work towards a timely and just outcome.”

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