NO TROLLS EDDIE BETTS, JOSH JENKINS & the Crow's Camp. A knife, a harness and the ‘power stance’: Eddie Betts reveals ‘cult-like’ training camp

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Oct 19, 2020
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I think this needs a thread on the main board as it's not just a rumour anymore.

Edit: Read the full article below.

It all made me feel really sick’​

Betts writes that his first “serious reservations” about the camp began after a compulsory hour-long psychological assessment, conducted over the phone by a person he understood to be a counsellor from the mind-training and leadership specialist group.
“We were told that we weren’t to do the interview with our partners in ear-shot and that the objective of the questions was to build a profile about us that we would work through on the camp,” Betts writes.
Eddie Betts with partner Anna and their children.

Eddie Betts with partner Anna and their children.
He says he opened up to the interviewer and divulged what he described as private life experiences, believing that it would assist the specialists to appreciate “the cultural complexities” of his life.
“I thought it would be used to build a profile about me that showed obstacles I’ve overcome to be successful and to play AFL.”
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The red flag for Betts was when the interviewer tried to gain Betts’ confidence by claiming familiarity with Aboriginal culture: “He tried to make out as though he was like me, as though I should feel comfortable disclosing to him my trauma.”
Then 30 years old, Betts, who was part of the Adelaide club’s senior leadership group, says he was told the camp would do more than just invigorate his game-day performances. “I was told that I would come back a better husband and father, a better teammate and that I’d get a lot out of the camp,” he says.
However, the Wirangu, Kokatha and Guburn man, who is a father of five, says he returned with feelings of shame and humiliation that left him angry, paranoid, secretive and “feeling drained and lethargic”. Betts says the emotional fallout immediately began to harm his family relationships. His partner, Anna, noticed “the extent of my distress”, Betts writes. “Anna noticed I was starting to get snappy at the kids and I started getting really bad anxiety,” he says.
That’s when the couple sat down and spoke about what had happened.
The Crows adopt the ‘power stance’ as they face off against Richmond before the 2017 Grand Final.

The Crows adopt the ‘power stance’ as they face off against Richmond before the 2017 Grand Final.


 
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The Club hierarchy should hang their heads in shame, and the players should consider Civil Suits agains the camp organisers and "counsellors".
 

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May 5, 2016
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What I’m curious to know is this:

Who on earth, who’s job it is to run, lead or play for a professional football club, would think that ANY of this stuff in ANY way would help players and the team get better at football?

YOURE KICKING A F***ING LEATHER BAG OF AIR!!!!!

Players like Betts played with a smile on their face, players like Hodge played with a scowl half the time, players like Ablett Sr almost looked like they weren’t even aware they were playing a game, one of the best key forwards in the game retired yesterday after a career spent looking like he’d just slept under a bridge, half the under 23s players now look like they’ve just come from the audition of a Village People/Billy Ray Cyrus supergroup cover band.

What on earth would possess ANYONE to start looking at things like the way they ran through the banner.

F***en hell this sport shits me sometimes
 
Just heard the bit about how one of the councellors said that Eddie would be a s**t father because he was raised by a single mother. That is just so vile. Not surprised at all Betts reacted violently.
 
May 24, 2008
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That's the most detail I've read on it but the whole thing was a disaster. Nothing new can really come of this though. Crows handled it horribly during and after, most of the senior off field leaders departed as a result. Somehow Riccuito is still there, great player doesn't equal great administrator, director etc.
 
It’s a real shame Jake Lever didn’t do what Tex and Roo wanted and stay at this place. Clearly made the wrong decision chasing money and being closer to family over this kind of success.
 
Mar 10, 2007
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And for Roo to just gloss over it still and say that he hopes Eddie can just move on is pretty poor from a club director IMO

Agreed - my first take as well. No reiterating of any apologies, just we hope you get over it.

How pathetic !!

Just reeks of continuous denial and sweeping it under the rug, nothing to see here…
 

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Also the Collective Minds people flat out lied and said the Richmond song was never played.
Not sure why they had one of their employees dress up in Tigers kit to abuse the players. I'm sure there would have been plenty of Richmond supporters more than happy to do that job for free.
 
Dec 27, 2017
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Absolutely disgusting and tbh some of it is just bizarre. The Richmond man WTF!

Trying to get them to cup each other’s genitals because it’s masculine. Just flat out weird.

The breach of trust by conning them into telling personal details thinking it would be confidential and then using that information to abuse them.

Just disgraceful. Anyone who was at the club in a coaching or administrative role should resign immediately.
 
Said it before and will say it again: it’s the mental health version of the drug saga.

Absolute nutbag quackery by uneducated, misguided morons.

It is the immediate parallel I drew. Both share fundamental breaches of trust and exploitation of players.

Using information shared during counselling sessions directly against the player who shared the information and in a public setting is one of the more disturbing parts of this.
 
Apr 2, 2012
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Gillon McLachlan has been a weak leader on issues like this as he was with the Adam Goodes hate.
It's not surprising considering his privileged background and family connection to the Liberal party.
Andrew Demetriou would have sorted this out straight away.
By putting the Crows hierarchy through a cert IV in business via his shady training institute?
 
Oct 20, 2004
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It is the immediate parallel I drew. Both share fundamental breaches of trust and exploitation of players.

Using information shared during counselling sessions directly against the player who shared the information and in a public setting is one of the more disturbing parts of this.
Yeah, I agree. This is disgusting. Utterly disgusting.
 

Ricketz

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 2, 2011
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I think this needs a thread on the main board as it's not just a rumour anymore.

Edit: Read the full article below.

It all made me feel really sick’​

Betts writes that his first “serious reservations” about the camp began after a compulsory hour-long psychological assessment, conducted over the phone by a person he understood to be a counsellor from the mind-training and leadership specialist group.
“We were told that we weren’t to do the interview with our partners in ear-shot and that the objective of the questions was to build a profile about us that we would work through on the camp,” Betts writes.
Eddie Betts with partner Anna and their children.

Eddie Betts with partner Anna and their children.
He says he opened up to the interviewer and divulged what he described as private life experiences, believing that it would assist the specialists to appreciate “the cultural complexities” of his life.
“I thought it would be used to build a profile about me that showed obstacles I’ve overcome to be successful and to play AFL.”
Advertisement

The red flag for Betts was when the interviewer tried to gain Betts’ confidence by claiming familiarity with Aboriginal culture: “He tried to make out as though he was like me, as though I should feel comfortable disclosing to him my trauma.”
Then 30 years old, Betts, who was part of the Adelaide club’s senior leadership group, says he was told the camp would do more than just invigorate his game-day performances. “I was told that I would come back a better husband and father, a better teammate and that I’d get a lot out of the camp,” he says.
However, the Wirangu, Kokatha and Guburn man, who is a father of five, says he returned with feelings of shame and humiliation that left him angry, paranoid, secretive and “feeling drained and lethargic”. Betts says the emotional fallout immediately began to harm his family relationships. His partner, Anna, noticed “the extent of my distress”, Betts writes. “Anna noticed I was starting to get snappy at the kids and I started getting really bad anxiety,” he says.
That’s when the couple sat down and spoke about what had happened.
The Crows adopt the ‘power stance’ as they face off against Richmond before the 2017 Grand Final.

The Crows adopt the ‘power stance’ as they face off against Richmond before the 2017 Grand Final.


Disgusting.

And for Ricciuto and the rest of the club management to double down and gaslight the players just damns the board even further.

Not good enough Adelaide. I hope SafeWork takes you to the cleaners and those counsellors get decertified.

It's just a *ing game, ffs. This is predatory competitiveness at all costs and should be rubbed out of the game.
 

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