- Sledges were made public after dressing room leak
Hugh McCluggage has defended the Brisbane Lions’ culture but admitted the AFL club should not have involved the partner of an opponent in a strategy session leaked to the public.
The co-captain on Tuesday addressed both the Essendon whiteboard list that raised eyebrows and the investigation into draftee Koby Evans’ use of a homophobic slur in a VFL game.
‘I don’t agree with that at all,’ McCluggage said of suggestions of cultural issues at the two-time defending premiers.
‘We’ve had a lot of journalists and outside people come inside our club in the last two years and I think all of them would say it’s a really inclusive environment.
‘It’s a fun environment.
‘We set the foundations and the rules and sometimes there’s going to be people that make mistakes.
Brisbane Lions star Hugh McCluggage (pictured) has conceded his club was wrong to use a rival player’s girlfriend to sledge him recently
The Lions listed Bombers star Jaxon Prior’s only strength as his partner, Bronte Thompson (pictured together)
Prior (pictured) has played 29 AFL matches for Essendon across two seasons after switching from Brisbane
‘That’s life, that’s what happens in all walks of life.
‘When it happens we educate, we learn and we get better. As leaders we play a massive role in making sure that happens.’
A photo of a whiteboard at their Brighton Homes Arena base, listing Bombers players’ strengths and weaknesses, was leaked by a member of the public in the lead-up to Saturday’s defeat of Essendon in Melbourne.
‘It was regrettable that that got out; it wasn’t meant to be in the public,’ McCluggage said.
‘We’ll learn from that; privacy and security needs to be lifted around the place.’
But the All-Australian midfielder conceded listing former teammate Jaxon Prior’s partner as his only ‘strength’ was a mistake.
The pair were housemates when Prior was at the Lions.
‘I’ve spoken to “Priz”,’ McCluggage said.
‘If we had our time again, we wouldn’t have involved his partner, it’s as simple as that.
‘Things stand in a really good place. I’ve called him, I’ve spoken to him about his partner as well and we’ll leave it at that out of respect for the two of them.’
A remorseful Evans is the latest AFL player facing suspension for homophobic language after an incident involving the 18-year-old during last Saturday’s VFL game against Coburg.
It comes less than a fortnight after the league sacked its appeals board chairman Will Houghton, in the aftermath of St Kilda player Lance Collard’s ban for calling a VFL opponent a ‘f***ing faggot’ last month.
Houghton was axed after saying racist, sexist or homophobic language was ‘commonplace’ in the AFL when adjudicating St Kilda’s appeal.
‘We’ve seen these incidents in the AFL industry, but I don’t think it’s isolated to that,’ McCluggage said.
‘I think leaders in every walk of life have a responsibility to call this behaviour and this language out that’s offensive to people.
‘We want to create environments where everyone feels welcome, everyone feels safe and we’re probably not where we want to be as a society yet in that area.
‘It’s disappointing it’s happening in the AFL environment, and hopefully everyone learns from this, not just elite sports.’
