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Letter from CEO, Jim Watts
4 May 2006
Jim Watts
St Kilda Football Club
Open letter to all Members and Corporate Partners of the St Kilda Football Club from Jim Watts.
AFL Football is a highly competitive game. The game requires skill, courage, commitment, dedication, and above all focus from every member of the team on clear objectives and outcomes.
We play the game with unparalleled passion and determination. We fight for every position and never take a backward step – even in the face of danger and uncertainty.
We are bound by the rules of the game and wholeheartedly commit to the highest ideals of fair play and sportsmanship. There exists a kinship amongst anyone who has played or followed our great game, particularly at the elite AFL level, and we understand that all competitors are similarly driven.
The St Kilda Football Club, its Members and Corporate Partners identify with the statements made above and the values inherent in them.
Upon hearing the determination of the AFL Commission regarding our Round 5 match verses Fremantle, our immediate reaction was to fight. Legal opinion indicated we would win. Take them on, shove it up them, play by the rules and get what is rightfully ours.
We decided to sleep on it.
With clearer heads, the task was to evaluate our position and make a decision that best served the game and the St Kilda Football Club.
Legal action means a Supreme Court hearing. It means a massive investment in management time and members money. It means distraction and lack of focus in our ongoing 2006 campaign. If we win a protracted legal case, we get the two points, but what do we lose?
The St Kilda Football Club loses focus. Our Members and Corporate Partners are dragged through a protracted debate on what is ‘fair play’. Is it fair to fight to enforce the rules and letter of the law, or is it fair to accept the ruling of the AFL Commission who are charged with the almost impossible responsibility of managing a system based on the principles of equalisation but which has so many inherent inequalities.
Our decision was to accept the decision of the AFL Commission and move on.
I have received many emails, faxes, and letters from members expressing a wide range of views. The divergence of opinion ranges from “if you don’t fight it, you are letting the members down” to “if you don’t accept the Commission’s decision, you are letting the game down”.
At the end of the day, the St Kilda Board of Directors and our Executive team have made the decision which we believe best serves the interests of all Members and Corporate Partners. We understand that we will not get unanimous agreement for this, however, that is the responsibility with which we are charged.
I would like to take the opportunity to explain a couple of points to our members that have not been clear in the media.
Firstly, the suggestion that we should have forfeited the two points in the spirit of sportsmanship.
The reality here is that there simply is no mechanism for this. There is no rule that allows clubs to hand back Premiership points. If this were possible, then the integrity of the draft could be compromised, if clubs decided at some stage in the season to forfeit points.
Secondly, that the St Kilda Football Club initiated any action to protect the result of the match.
The facts are that the Fremantle Football Club, as is its right, challenged the result. We are on record as saying we would have probably taken the same path and completely understand the course they took.
The AFL then directed St Kilda to make a submission to the AFL Commission. There was no choice in this and we did not have the option to decline to submit our position.
Once involved, it was important that we did the best job possible. In making our submission, we invested significant time and resources to ensure that we left no stone unturned in representing our Members to the highest level.
We sought opinion from football and legal experts and constructed a submission to include analysis of the relevant laws of the game and previous examples of similar incidents, many of which have been discussed through the media. Our submission included considered argument together with video footage and other evidence.
On the day of the hearing we were represented by legal Senior Council (Frank Parry), our own Legal Director (Ross Levin), President Rod Butterss, and myself.
I am very comfortable that we did all that we could to represent our members and corporate partners in a thorough, professional, and considered way.
The AFL Commission in its absolute right as the ultimate arbitrators of the game found that the result of the match should be changed and scores should stand at the point when the siren was first sounded in the fourth quarter as opposed to when a field umpire first heard it.
We will abide by that decision.
I have spoken to our staff and particularly with the players and coaching staff who understand the decision and are now focused on the job ahead.
I would now urge all Members and corporate partners to similarly focus on what lies ahead and ensure that we are unified in support of our team.
On Saturday we play the Western Bulldogs in what is only our second home game at Telstra Dome. We are expecting a ferocious and exciting match. If supporters reading this have not yet become members, I would encourage you to join up and show solidarity and support for our players as they go into battle.
Get along to the match, barrack loudly and show your support.
Our board, staff, coaches, and players are fully aligned on our objectives. Whatever your own personal opinion, I urge you to take that journey with us and live by the stated values that have driven the Club for over 100 years.
Fortius Quo Fidelius.
Strength Through Loyalty.
Link to St Kilda brand
4 May 2006
Jim Watts
St Kilda Football Club
Open letter to all Members and Corporate Partners of the St Kilda Football Club from Jim Watts.
AFL Football is a highly competitive game. The game requires skill, courage, commitment, dedication, and above all focus from every member of the team on clear objectives and outcomes.
We play the game with unparalleled passion and determination. We fight for every position and never take a backward step – even in the face of danger and uncertainty.
We are bound by the rules of the game and wholeheartedly commit to the highest ideals of fair play and sportsmanship. There exists a kinship amongst anyone who has played or followed our great game, particularly at the elite AFL level, and we understand that all competitors are similarly driven.
The St Kilda Football Club, its Members and Corporate Partners identify with the statements made above and the values inherent in them.
Upon hearing the determination of the AFL Commission regarding our Round 5 match verses Fremantle, our immediate reaction was to fight. Legal opinion indicated we would win. Take them on, shove it up them, play by the rules and get what is rightfully ours.
We decided to sleep on it.
With clearer heads, the task was to evaluate our position and make a decision that best served the game and the St Kilda Football Club.
Legal action means a Supreme Court hearing. It means a massive investment in management time and members money. It means distraction and lack of focus in our ongoing 2006 campaign. If we win a protracted legal case, we get the two points, but what do we lose?
The St Kilda Football Club loses focus. Our Members and Corporate Partners are dragged through a protracted debate on what is ‘fair play’. Is it fair to fight to enforce the rules and letter of the law, or is it fair to accept the ruling of the AFL Commission who are charged with the almost impossible responsibility of managing a system based on the principles of equalisation but which has so many inherent inequalities.
Our decision was to accept the decision of the AFL Commission and move on.
I have received many emails, faxes, and letters from members expressing a wide range of views. The divergence of opinion ranges from “if you don’t fight it, you are letting the members down” to “if you don’t accept the Commission’s decision, you are letting the game down”.
At the end of the day, the St Kilda Board of Directors and our Executive team have made the decision which we believe best serves the interests of all Members and Corporate Partners. We understand that we will not get unanimous agreement for this, however, that is the responsibility with which we are charged.
I would like to take the opportunity to explain a couple of points to our members that have not been clear in the media.
Firstly, the suggestion that we should have forfeited the two points in the spirit of sportsmanship.
The reality here is that there simply is no mechanism for this. There is no rule that allows clubs to hand back Premiership points. If this were possible, then the integrity of the draft could be compromised, if clubs decided at some stage in the season to forfeit points.
Secondly, that the St Kilda Football Club initiated any action to protect the result of the match.
The facts are that the Fremantle Football Club, as is its right, challenged the result. We are on record as saying we would have probably taken the same path and completely understand the course they took.
The AFL then directed St Kilda to make a submission to the AFL Commission. There was no choice in this and we did not have the option to decline to submit our position.
Once involved, it was important that we did the best job possible. In making our submission, we invested significant time and resources to ensure that we left no stone unturned in representing our Members to the highest level.
We sought opinion from football and legal experts and constructed a submission to include analysis of the relevant laws of the game and previous examples of similar incidents, many of which have been discussed through the media. Our submission included considered argument together with video footage and other evidence.
On the day of the hearing we were represented by legal Senior Council (Frank Parry), our own Legal Director (Ross Levin), President Rod Butterss, and myself.
I am very comfortable that we did all that we could to represent our members and corporate partners in a thorough, professional, and considered way.
The AFL Commission in its absolute right as the ultimate arbitrators of the game found that the result of the match should be changed and scores should stand at the point when the siren was first sounded in the fourth quarter as opposed to when a field umpire first heard it.
We will abide by that decision.
I have spoken to our staff and particularly with the players and coaching staff who understand the decision and are now focused on the job ahead.
I would now urge all Members and corporate partners to similarly focus on what lies ahead and ensure that we are unified in support of our team.
On Saturday we play the Western Bulldogs in what is only our second home game at Telstra Dome. We are expecting a ferocious and exciting match. If supporters reading this have not yet become members, I would encourage you to join up and show solidarity and support for our players as they go into battle.
Get along to the match, barrack loudly and show your support.
Our board, staff, coaches, and players are fully aligned on our objectives. Whatever your own personal opinion, I urge you to take that journey with us and live by the stated values that have driven the Club for over 100 years.
Fortius Quo Fidelius.
Strength Through Loyalty.
Link to St Kilda brand