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AFL off-field probes must be fair: Marsh
The AFL Players Association has raised concerns about the competition’s handling of off-field incidents.
May 2, 2018
The AFL “may have gone too far” as it seeks to govern off-field behaviour, the players association boss says.
Chief executive Paul Marsh raised his concerns while discussing the AFL’s handling of an incident in an Adelaide nightclub involving Port Adelaide player Sam Powell-Pepper.
The midfielder was handed three-week suspension after the AFL carried out an internal investigation.
“What’s important for us going forward is that the process is a fair process,” Marsh told SEN radio.
He said it took considerable work and negotiation by the association, Port and Powell-Pepper to gain access the details of the investigation.
“I think the players should get natural justice where the AFL does conduct an investigation and what comes out of that investigation should be shared with the player,” he said.
“We may have gone too far and we have probably crossed that line as a sport.”
Marsh said it was time to discuss “what are we actually trying to achieve when we deal with these issues”.
“I don’t think (the process is) very fair because young people do make mistakes,” he said.
“The punishments we’ve seen dished out … are becoming disproportionate, wildly disproportionate in some case.
“That’s something as an industry at some point we just need to step back and ask, are we comfortable with the direction this is heading?”
Marsh acknowledged the AFL’s punishments were aimed at achieving behavioural change and protecting its high-profile brand.