Power chairman David Koch is reportedly set to make a ‘negative call’ on board member and premiership captain Warren Tredrea following disturbing comments made by a guest on his podcast.
Tredrea’s position has reportedly been under threat while Port performs a ‘formal governance review’ into the 46-year-old.
Port’s move comes after The Jewish Council of Australia objected to an Instagram post from Tredrea related to comments about Israel from a guest on the retired footballer’s Ballsy Show podcast.
‘(The council) is deeply disturbed by the amplification of far-right … conspiracy theories in this Instagram post and podcast episode,’ executive officer Max Kaiser said in a statement.
On Tuesday night, AFL journalist Caroline Wilson gave an update on the drama at Port Adelaide, suggesting that the board will ultimately sack Tredrea.
‘David Koch and his team, I’m told, has decided… they just want to dot every i and cross every t before they make what I believe will be a negative call on Warren Tredrea’s ability to serve on that board,’ Wilson said on Seven’s The Agenda Setters.
Power chairman David Koch (pictured) and the rest of the board are reportedly moving on with efforts to remove premiership captain Warren Tredrea from the club’s top brass following controversial comments he made on a podcast
Port Adelaide has not yet arrived at a decision on whether the club will sanction Tredrea (pictured with wife Bianca)
‘That is my belief, but no one at the board will talk to me about this.’
Last month, Koch said the club maintained ‘comprehensive governance standards’.
‘Directors and officials of the club are entitled to their personal views, however there are concerns that recent content published is in breach of these standards,’ Koch said in a statement.
‘The club is committed to upholding the professional standards our members, partners and the community expect and deserve.’
In a podcast segment posted to Tredrea’s social media, he hosted a man claiming to be a former soldier, who put forward the conspiracy theories.
Tredrea wrote a response to public criticisms on his own Instagram account about the issue.
‘I unequivocally condemn war and genocide, and seek only to share other perspectives of what has been a very one-way reported narrative in the mainstream media,’ he wrote.
‘I am not in any way, shape, or form, an anti-Semite, and consider it defamatory for anyone to accuse me as such.
Journalist Caroline Wilson believes the Port Adelaide board is preparing to sack Tredrea
Tredrea, who retired as a player in 2010, is Port’s all-time leading goalkicker and captained the team to the 2004 AFL premiership
‘The purpose of my podcast has been not to shine a light on my own personal views and opinions, but rather to provide a platform for others to present their views and opinions in an unfiltered forum.’
Tredrea and Koch have butted heads in the past, with the former champion centre half forward branding Port coach Ken Hinkley’s position ‘untenable’ in 2023 after poor performances.
Koch hit back by claiming Tredrea only said that because he has ‘a new podcast to promote’, prompting a furious response.
‘I can’t ignore multiple times now he’s gaslighting,’ Tredrea shot back on radio station FIVEaa.
‘When I went to the board he told me – not to me – that ‘you need to learn about Port Adelaide’.
‘I was like, OK, I’ll let that go, but then yesterday he’s said it’s to get podcast downloads.
‘Telling people to get involved in the club and learn about the club, and it’s for a podcast, give us a spell.’
Tredrea added that he and Koch haven’t spoken for years and insisted he wanted to join the board to support the club – but said he knew he might not be wanted because ‘I’ve been outspoken’.
Tredrea is revered and considered among Port’s greatest AFL players. He is a four-time All Australian and captained the club to their only premiership in 2004.
Tredrea moved into the media in Adelaide after a decorated 255-game playing career between 1997 and 2010.
He was dismissed in 2021 for refusing the company’s Covid vaccine edict and lost a court appeal seeking $6million in lost wages.
The case was dismissed in the Federal Court last year after Nine argued his contract was not up for renewal.
