Re: Kurt Tippett

by Gingernuts Sat Dec 01, 2012 7:40 am

As I've said before this whole process has really made me lose my love for the highest form of the game. I'm sure that will lessen once the first ball is bounced next season, but at the moment I have no faith in the AFL as custodians of the game. If Trigg keeps his job, then that lack of faith extends to the administrators of my club. I have sympathy for the man but the man at the top gets paid the big bucks because the buck stops with them in this situation, therefore he has to go.

What's done is done now I guess. Time to move on and hopefully time will heal the wounds resulting from this mess.

by Gingernuts Sat Dec 01, 2012 7:51 am

Well said AH, some great posts on here about this issue on here.

I have thought of the supporter factor in 2009 myself tbh. Every Crows fan was calling on the club to throw the kitchen sink at Tippett to keep him. Hence my sympathy for Trigg, he only did what the fans asked but now he must take the fall for it. Ultimately it was still his call to go outside the rules though.

by Adelaide Hawk Sat Dec 01, 2012 8:30 am

I guess where AFL leaves me cold is I am old school. I come from an era where the club was the thing, and had the ethos drummed into me that the club was far more important than the individual.

We had organizing bodies, but they were pretty much represented by the clubs who had a fair say in how things would be run.

The AFL have gone beyond being an organizing body, they are a dictatorship, and how they were ever allowed to assume such power in the game escapes me.

The AFL have also given the individual far greater say. So these days we see the clubs copping presure from both sides, the AFL and player managers.

The AFL have stripped the clubs of any real power in the game, and reduced them to a body with a mess or rules and regulations to follow. It's all very well saying clubs are independant. A train is independant as well, but if you lay down the tracks for them, that is the direction they travel.

The other major concern I have with the AFL is their obvious favourtism of certain clubs over others. Nobody will ever convince me that the AFL are innocent of illegal practices. Who is going to investigate them?

by FOOTYfollower Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:41 am

Unfortunately the AFL won't really be held to account on the way they operate, until someone decides to challenge them in a court of law - restraint of trade/breach of Fair Trading Act, etc etc.

Unlikely to happen (any time soon at least!), essentially because of the financial might behind the AFL.

I wonder how things might be different now if the former Norwood ruckman (Brett Cook I think his name was) went ahead with his threat to take the AFL to court 20 years ago when he was drafted by Fitzroy.

by Adelaide Hawk Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:58 am

Yep, Brett Cook his name is. Played a handful of games for Fitzroy and St.Kilda.

by bayman Sat Dec 01, 2012 12:40 pm

i spoke to a person that is a corporate lawyer this morning & was told the AFL has NO power to actually punish these people by sacking them, as the AFL & AFC are seperate entities, even though the AFC play in the AFL competition they are seperate, the lawyer added Tippet has a very strong case for restraint of trade...............i presume if they went to court it would get nasty & AFC & its people would end up winning but they wont do it as it would open up a hornetts nest & no one would look good & the competition could fall on its knees

by Chambo Off To Work We Go Sun Dec 02, 2012 9:26 pm

bayman wrote:i spoke to a person that is a corporate lawyer this morning & was told the AFL has NO power to actually punish these people by sacking them, as the AFL & AFC are seperate entities, even though the AFC play in the AFL competition they are seperate, the lawyer added Tippet has a very strong case for restraint of trade...............i presume if they went to court it would get nasty & AFC & its people would end up winning but they wont do it as it would open up a hornetts nest & no one would look good & the competition could fall on its knees

This has been my angle.
Trigg etc are employees of the Adelaide Football Club not the AFL.
The AFL cannot legally suspend, sack or discipline employees that are not their own.
Maybe AFL rules say they can, but they are not law of the land.
This is not just a draft system or salary cap.

We are now talking about penalties that breach law.
If the AFC does what the AFL has decreed, then they are open to action by those employees.
Maybe Trigg will play ball, but really does the board of the AFC want to act in a manner that leaves such action open?

This is why I said that this whole thing is a farce and the penalties should relate to the crime IE Draft and salary cap restrictions. That plays the ball not the man.

I too have no interest supporting any AFL side whilst such inequities and inconsistencies make it such an imbalanced and unfair competition.

by Gingernuts Mon Dec 03, 2012 9:15 am

I received these statements from the club last Friday, I thought I'd post them on here for the interest of those who aren't club members:

Friday November 30, 2012

The Board and management of the Adelaide Football Club apologise to everyone associated with the Club – staff, players, members, sponsors and supporters.

The Club accepts the sanctions from the AFL Commission and accepts that the AFL does not tolerate any breach, intended or unintended.

The sanctions are:

- A $300,000 fine against the Club

- The loss of our first two picks in the 2013 NAB National Draft on top of the first two picks in this year’s 2012 NAB National Draft that we gave up as a gesture of goodwill

- A six month suspension for Steven Trigg, effective 1 January 2013. It is listed as 12, with half of the suspension to be deferred in recognition of his exemplary record and on condition of no further infraction of AFL rules and a $50,000 fine

A two month suspension for Phil Harper, effective 1 January 2013. It’s listed as six, but with four months of the suspension deferred in recognition of Phil’s exemplary record and on condition of no further infraction of AFL rules

The Club is confident that the youth, ability and character of its player list, the capacity of its coaching panel and off-field leadership, coupled with the quality of its strategic recruiting in the 2011 and 2012 drafts and trading periods, will help it offset the loss of high draft picks this year and next year.

On top of this, the new free agency rules offer unprecedented recruiting flexibility.

These are harsh sanctions for what were mistakes in process and errors of judgement. Never was there any intent to gain unfair advantage, compromise the draft, breach the salary cap or make improper player payments.

The Club and its officers always acted consistent with their intent to uphold the integrity of the draft and the Club did not breach the salary cap. This is accepted by the AFL.

However, it was wrong to generate a letter of agreement outside of Kurt Tippett’s AFL-lodged contract.

The Club’s Board will meet soon to decide how to structure the Club’s management in the short term, to provide continuing leadership and strength at the Adelaide Football Club. The Club has been planning for all contingencies and we are well advanced in our thinking. A full announcement will be made as soon as possible.

Rob Chapman
CHAIRMAN
_________________________________________________________________

STEVEN TRIGG STATEMENT

I hope that today’s outcome represents the end of the Kurt Tippett affair which unfortunately has proved to be a very unhappy one for the Adelaide Football Club.

The matters dealt with by the AFL Commission occurred as long ago as October 2009 when the club was faced with a unique and very difficult situation.

The club was keen to retain the services of Kurt Tippett because of the enormous value placed on him by our supporters and everyone at the club. But we were faced with a player who was homesick, unhappy in the city of Adelaide and with an offer from the Gold Coast Football Club to join them in 2011 on very favourable terms.

The club has accepted that in negotiations concerning the Tippett arrangements those responsible overreached and agreed to arrangements which the club now accepts went beyond the permitted scope of the AFL Rules.

As Chief Executive Officer, then and now, I have accepted full responsibility for what the AFL considers to be a significant transgression of the player rules. And for that I’m very sorry.

What I can say now, with the benefit of hindsight and in defence of those involved, was that we were trying to meet what we understood to be Kurt Tippett’s desire for the club to accommodate him if he wished to move on to another club at the conclusion of his renewed contract. To do the best thing for our Club!

The Club has paid a very high price for an error of judgement. But I ask people understand that when the issue was taken up by the Board and its executives, including me, full and complete disclosure was made of the Tippett deal and the club provided the AFL with full access to all player files.

The results of that forensic investigation have proven, as I said earlier, that the Kurt Tippett case presented a truly unique situation for the Adelaide Football Club.

One thing remains, and that is the club never intended to exceed, and never has exceeded the TPP limit.

The Commission has heard my explanation and has suspended me from performing any function for the club for six months, effective 1 January 2013. As a result, my position from here is obviously in the hands of the Board. But I very much hope that I can remain in the industry - and hopefully as CEO of the club which I have served for the last 11 years. This is clearly an extraordinary position to take, but I can assure you it’s been an extraordinary situation.

Although I acknowledge the penalties imposed by the Commission on the club represent a set-back, I am confident the steps that I, along with the Board and other senior Executives, have put in place over the last few years, will see the club become stronger and more successful than ever.

_________________________________________________________________

PHIL HARPER STATEMENT

I love the Adelaide Football Club and all the people involved with it.

In my 15 years here, I have always tried to do everything for the good of the Club.

I had no involvement in making the deal struck in 2009. I first became aware of it well after my appointment as General Manager – Football Operations.

Unfortunately, whilst I thought my actions at the time were within the rules, it appears that, in some instances, I stepped outside the rules and the agreements should have been ASA’s and not independent Agreements. Hence I find myself in the current situation.

I accept the AFL Commission’s ruling on the penalty and wish to thank the Board of the Adelaide Football Club for their incredible support. I want to continue to serve the Adelaide Football Club to the best of my ability and hope to return to work at the completion of the suspension.

I have enormous sympathy for Phil Harper in particular.

by Ben W Mon Dec 03, 2012 1:00 pm

On that I agree Ginge, it seems that Phil Harper had little if anything to do with it and a reprimand would have been more than appropriate.

One wonders if Trigg had of simply apologised and admitted making an error, then stood down during the investigation, how much of all this might have been spared? Because the AFC gave the impression to the public that they were innocent and it was all just a big mistake and so on, whilst taking no responsability for anything, I suspect Harper would have simply got a reprimand out of it instead.

It is a worry to see that in their so called apology letter they are still trying to justify the behaviour. For the board of the club to unanimously vote to keep Trigg at the club is a curious decision, lets just leave it at that....

by A Mum Thu Dec 13, 2012 7:51 am

Dear Adelaide Media,

Now that Tippett has gone to Sydney - I'd appreciate not seeing him all over the news/stories anymore.
Especially with such headings as 'Tippett feeling right at home' while wearing a Sydney guernsey.

Okay - thanks.

Signed
Good riddance.

by Gingernuts Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:55 am

Hahaha.

..... x the entire Adelaide fan base. Laughing

by A Mum Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:39 am

by Adelaide Hawk Sun Feb 17, 2013 10:00 am

Now that clubs are tweaking numbers, trying to come up with an offer great enough to entice Buddy Franklin away from the Hawks, I bet Sydney are gnashing their teeth that they blew all of their sugar daddy allowance on Tippett. Otherwise they be in great shape to make a ridicuous offer to get him. Smile

by bayman Sun Feb 17, 2013 12:23 pm

Adelaide Hawk wrote:Now that clubs are tweaking numbers, trying to come up with an offer great enough to entice Buddy Franklin away from the Hawks, I bet Sydney are gnashing their teeth that they blew all of their sugar daddy allowance on Tippett. Otherwise they be in great shape to make a ridicuous offer to get him.

according to foxsports last week, only Freo & Adelaide have the capabilities of getting him if he moves from Hawthorn

by Adelaide Hawk Sun Feb 17, 2013 12:39 pm

Yep, I think it's Freo or Hawthorn. Can't see him moving away from the Hawks unless it's to return to the west.

by howthewestwaswon Sun Feb 17, 2013 2:06 pm

Adelaide Hawk wrote:Yep, I think it's Freo or Hawthorn. Can't see him moving away from the Hawks unless it's to return to the west.

Why wouldn't West Coast be in the picture? scratch

by Adelaide Hawk Sun Feb 17, 2013 2:33 pm

Geographically they would, but I've heard they aren't in a position to match Hawthorn's initial offer whereas Fremantle are.

by howthewestwaswon Sun Feb 17, 2013 2:48 pm

Gotcha. Thanks AH.

I would have thought with the departure of Lynch, WCE might be looking at another big bloke, but with a bit of speed thrown in.

by Adelaide Hawk Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:01 pm

Yes, it's got more to do with available space in the salary cap than personal needs. The Hawks have offered Buddy $1 million per year for 4 seasons, so if another club wants Buddy, he's not going to come cheap.

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Where will Tippett be in 2013?