The Rendell Fiasco

[alex_is_on_fire]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

Who is this Justin Mifsud guy?

Never heard of him before.

 

[aneale]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

I agree with comments but the meeting wasn't private ....it was an official AFL meeting to investigate club attitudes to recruiting ........MR should have realised he WAS NOT just speaking to an old mate

If he is sitting in a meeting in AFL House with 17 other recruiting managers and the bloke who is in charge of Aboriginal affairs basically, that's private.

No member of the public or press are able to get in. That's no different than the montly AFL Board meeting.

 

[aneale]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

This thread is about Rendell and the Crows, not about your opinions on indigenous players. I'll remind you all that casual racism is against site rules.

This is a final warning. Forthcoming posts containing casual racism will receive infractions.

Stabby, from a legal perspective and someone who represents many people in a number of Industrial disputes, many including race, i'd like a definition on what 'casual' racism is.

Because frankly, that's a somewhat naive, childish and clueless description.

 

[DREAM TEAM BUFF]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

Who is this Justin Mifsud guy?

Never heard of him before.

AFL community engagement manager

 

[aneale]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

Who is this Justin Mifsud guy?

Never heard of him before.

a list clogger of epic proportions @ St Kilda in the early 90's.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

If he is sitting in a meeting in AFL House with 17 other recruiting managers and the bloke who is in charge of Aboriginal affairs basically, that's private.

No member of the public or press are able to get in. That's no different than the montly AFL Board meeting.

what i was saying was that given the meeting was officially sanctioned by the AFL it was diiferent than chatting over a beer at the pub with an old mate .....and i believe it was only a sample of recruiting managers. I gather these were one on one meetings.

The press got wind of the comments because the AFL wanted them to go public

 

[cmndstab]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

Stabby, from a legal perspective and someone who represents many people in a number of Industrial disputes, many including race, i'd like a definition on what 'casual' racism is.

Because frankly, that's a somewhat naive, childish and clueless description.

Racism full stop is not allowed on Bigfooty.

I'm using the term "casual racism" to make it clear that simply saying "well everyone secretly thinks" or "we all know that" before expressing a racist viewpoint does not make it acceptable.

As always the good rule of thumb is, if you're not sure whether it's going to break a rule, ask first or simply don't post it.

 

[CroCop]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

If he is sitting in a meeting in AFL House with 17 other recruiting managers and the bloke who is in charge of Aboriginal affairs basically, that's private.

No member of the public or press are able to get in. That's no different than the montly AFL Board meeting.

Triggy and the Chapman are a joke . Lets ask Chapman the bank guru how many aboriginals work in his organisation.

The CEO and Chairman are dipsticks when in todays press conference they mention Petrenko and Mcleod as examples of clubs proud history of recruiting aboriginals. . Petrenko is half Ukrainian and McLeod is Half Scottish , both their fathers are white, exactly what Rendell said .

 

[Footypie32]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

The Jurrah incident is a legal incident, not an AFL incident, that is why the AFL is not getting involved. If he is guilty, he will punished by the law not the AFL.

Do people really think that if Rendell was taken out of context he would step down? If it happened to me at my workplace, I wouldn't. Seems to be an admission of guilt.

 

[ManInTheArena]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

I think Rendell was one or two "straight shooter" comments away from being sacked anyway. He was way to casual with his comments, and I wouldn't be surprised if half of the Adelaide Crows leaks that appear on here indirectly came from Rendell. He had been "spoken to" by the club a few previously because of it. Great recruiter but unprofessional.

My guess is that Trigg gave him the ultimatum.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

The Jurrah incident is a legal incident, not an AFL incident, that is why the AFL is not getting involved. If he is guilty, he will punished by the law not the AFL.

Do people really think that if Rendell was taken out of context he would step down? If it happened to me at my workplace, I wouldn't. Seems to be an admission of guilt.

Wasn't that St Kilda player suspended by the AFL pending a court case

 

[Wood_Duck]

Triggy is a clever CEO, but he should avoid speaking at press conferences.

 

[aneale]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

what i was saying was that given the meeting was officially sanctioned by the AFL it was diiferent than chatting over a beer at the pub with an old mate .....and i believe it was only a sample of recruiting managers. I gather these were one on one meetings.

The press got wind of the comments because the AFL wanted them to go public

If it was a casual convo over beer with a mate, it's a dog act by a mate, but you could see how that would leak out and it in a public area.

Official meetings, that's just crap, despite what was said. The AFL if they weren't so culpable in the whole affair should sack Mifsud too.

 

[TheTonic]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

As soon as this was made public he was gone... like others have said I am sure he was referring to the risks of recruiting any socially disadvantaged individual... making reference to "white" parent's was a very bad thing to say as it reflects his ignorance and brings up all sorts of issues.

Ultimately the biggest scandal to come out of all of this is the reaction of the AFL by ruining 'a very good man's' career by broadcasting a private conversation. This has the potential to tarnish the AFC brand as much as the AFL's brand..... everybody loses.

I would feel much better about the AFL's behaviour if they took the same moral high ground when it comes to gambling, tanking and even the tactics of the franchise clubs behaviour in regards to signing up players when it was quite obviously a blatant breaching of their own rules. All this stuff was pushed under the carpet and defended to the hilt against all the facts.... 1 guy makes a stupid comment in a private conversation and they have destroyed his life.

Completely unnecessary... I am completely ashamed of the AFL's behaviour on this issue. Anyone living in the real world knows how people can say stupid things... the way the AFL has handled this has brought un necessary attention to the individual, the club, the game and furthermore is going to have zero impact on the decisions recruitment people will make in regards to any recruits into the future.

Absolutely ashamed of this morally corrupt organisation.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

If it was a casual convo over beer with a mate, it's a dog act by a mate, but you could see how that would leak out and it in a public area.

Official meetings, that's just crap, despite what was said. The AFL if they weren't so culpable in the whole affair should sack Mifsud too.

It was Mifsuds job to send a report back to AFL on recruiters feedback ......his comments would have been in the report

IMO Mifsud just doing his job and may not have been aware himself of the fallout

 

[Dirty Bird]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

You know what I find most amusing about this whole scenerio?

Being the bigget football controversy in this state since.......... I don't know, before the AFL came into existance?

Our head football writer wasn't even the first to report on it.

Andrew Capel's article: 6:34pm
Michelangelo Rucci's article: 7:15pm

Just shows incompetant the sloth is.

 

[ManInTheArena]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

Triggy is a clever CEO, but he should avoid speaking at press conferences.

I would reverse those. Why is he a clever CEO? and what is wrong with his public speaking?

 

[Big Gazoongas]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

1) stupid thing to say to Jason Mifsud

2) disgraceful conduct by Misfud to ask for feedback on a particular issue because they have concerns about what going on, to then dob them in and leak info from a private official AFL meeting

3) good luck getting Clubs to honestly discuss why there are changes in recruiting now without fear of being hung out to dry

4) Clearly inspired by Jurrah, Taylor, Wonna, Sampi, Rioli and all the other examples lately, in a risk business you can't be surprised that they weigh up all risks, regardless of how unsavoury it may be. Don't ask Don't tell will be the next AFL mandate.

5) What would the AFL have done if he said 'I don't recruit Irish kids because in 25 years they've all been shit bar 2 and its an expensive waste of time'?

6) he did the right thing and resigned, so the CLub weren't forced to sack him but if I were Triggy privately I'd be taking a sledgehammer to Vlad for making it a story. They could have handled it behind closed doors, now the AFL have a PR nightmare cos they know that a number of Clubs are expressing concern.

The points in your post are spot on aneale

 

[Mego Red]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

The fact that the case is going to court means that nothing has been proved yet. I'd really rather we didn't speculate on it. In any event, this thread is about Rendell, not Jurrah.

How is this different to Ben Cousins?

 

[CroCop]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

Triggy is a clever CEO, but he should avoid speaking at press conferences.

Clever CEO? The CEO and Chairman are dipsticks when in todays press conference they mention Petrenko and Mcleod as examples of clubs proud history of recruiting aboriginals. . Petrenko is half Ukrainian and McLeod is Half Scottish , both their fathers are white, exactly what Rendell said .

 

[fairdinkum]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

Stabby, from a legal perspective and someone who represents many people in a number of Industrial disputes, many including race, i'd like a definition on what 'casual' racism is.

Because frankly, that's a somewhat naive, childish and clueless description.

Agreed. I thought the North board mods were pedantic when they booted me for good, but your mod seems even more... 'pedantic'.

Call me old-fashioned, but let honest opinion reign free, I say. Jaysus.

 

[aneale]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

It was Mifsuds job to send a report back to AFL on recruiters feedback ......his comments would have been in the report

IMO Mifsud just doing his job and may not have been aware himself of the fallout

Then he is as rubbish at that as was at playing the game.

I have to right plenty of reports on some pretty horrific things at times, but if you are relying on honesty about anything you don't then dump people in it. I'm sure he wasn't writing the magna carta, he could have verbalised that to Vlad without putting it in print and attributing names to quotes. Then stood by his own credibility and refused to answer if pushed by saying that he's got to remain in a trusted and professional position with Clubs and their staff.

The AFL have then seemingly jumped all over the quote and ignored the story, which is why has the number of Aboriginal footballers dropped across the league, especially given there is now 18 not 16 teams.

Mifsud is quoted as saying it's a 180 degree circle and undoing the work from the last 15 years but has made it into a racial issue rather than what it is, a cultural issue, and are there now more cultural issues impacting on these young kids (basically) being recruited in something as big as the AFL now? is how they should be looking at it.

 

[cmndstab]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

How is this different to Ben Cousins?

Ben Cousins admitted he was addicted to drugs, right? I don't know the details.

I would prefer we keep Ben Cousins out of it too.


fairdinkum - there are site rules that cannot be excused simply because people are upset at what has happened. I think I've been very reasonable letting people know what will and will not be accepted rather than simply swinging the hammer.

 

[Deaneus!]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

It appears the club has caved in again, 2 times in one week.

Grow some balls afc

MR has gone into a development meeting, topic of AFL indigenous development given the drop in indigenous numbers in the league this year and the Jurrah incident.

Along the lines of "more likely to look at drafting a player with 1 white parent, hesitant to draft without"

Put in meeting notes, notes back to AFL House, AD pissed, AD forces clubs hand.

Moral of the story for all clubs. Do not be honest with the AFL.

Hang Rendell out to dry as a racist, that way you don't have to actually address the issue.

I’m with you Rayven but your message will be lost in a PC world armed with pitchforks and torches.
On the surface, Rendell’s comments are certainly not fit for public consumption which is why they were made in private. The AFL chose to make his comments public and therefore force the AFC’s hand leaving the club no other option but to stand Rendell down and distance the club from the comment made.
I for one have no doubt Rendell was highlighting the risks and challenges clubs face when recruiting Indigenous players from purely tribal communities and that risk is certainly diminished when the player has a parent(s) that is already adapted to the rat race called ‘city life’ and by proxy don’t have to make the massive cultural/lifestyle changes required when taken out of said community. I don’t think it was a comment against indigenous parents per say but more so to highlight the fact that when some people are taken out of their natural environment they often find it difficult to adapt to a new set of circumstances. I just think he chose extremely poor words to make a point.
Call him a racist if you want but we all guilty of not always choose the right words to make a point.
Thank you for your service to the club Rendell, your recruiting record proves you are not a racist. Actions always speak louder than words.

1) stupid thing to say to Jason Mifsud

2) disgraceful conduct by Misfud to ask for feedback on a particular issue because they have concerns about what going on, to then dob them in and leak info from a private official AFL meeting

3) good luck getting Clubs to honestly discuss why there are changes in recruiting now without fear of being hung out to dry

4) Clearly inspired by Jurrah, Taylor, Wonna, Sampi, Rioli and all the other examples lately, in a risk business you can't be surprised that they weigh up all risks, regardless of how unsavoury it may be. Don't ask Don't tell will be the next AFL mandate.

5) What would the AFL have done if he said 'I don't recruit Irish kids because in 25 years they've all been shit bar 2 and its an expensive waste of time'?

6) he did the right thing and resigned, so the CLub weren't forced to sack him but if I were Triggy privately I'd be taking a sledgehammer to Vlad for making it a story. They could have handled it behind closed doors, now the AFL have a PR nightmare cos they know that a number of Clubs are expressing concern.

Stabby, from a legal perspective and someone who represents many people in a number of Industrial disputes, many including race, i'd like a definition on what 'casual' racism is.

Because frankly, that's a somewhat naive, childish and clueless description.

Dear Andy D & Jason Mifsud,

Thanks for pointing out our recruiter is racist. You've done everyone a service by taking his honest feedback about the difficulties of drafting Aboriginal kids - and they are kids - and screwing him for it, thereby ensuring you'll never get any honest feedback from recruiters again, when you could have handled it in-house... or even, taken on board his comments. Instead, you threw him under the bus. Mifsud, you list-clogger, great work, you really helped solve this issue. Oh that's right, there's no issue now, because the only person honest enough to tell you what was going on is gone - problem solved!

regards
deaneus

 

[Footypie32]

Re: Rendell Says the club will only recruit Aboriginals that have one white parent

Wasn't that St Kilda player suspended by the AFL pending a court case

You're probably right to be confused, but are we arguing about the fact the AFL is a completely inept and inconsistent organisation or are we arguing about wether what Rendell said was right or wrong?