Kennett made comments about umpires that the League determined were damaging during round four. He was offered the opportunity to avoid a fine by meeting umpires and seeing first-hand the challenges facing the game’s officials.
However, the former Victorian premier rejected the AFL’s proposal and told Hawthorn members on Friday via hawthornfc.com.au that he would be paying the money.
Kennett referred members to a letter he wrote to the AFL which relayed his reasons for not going to re-education. It read in part:
“Your letter of penalty has given me two options, one that I be sent to what is best being described as umpiring school, or secondly, to pay a fine.
“Your first option, umpiring school, only further puts the umpires under a microscope. It would take time before I could clear my diary to provide for the three hours you believe this schooling would take, and until I had completed my three hours of re-education, the media would continue to focus on umpires and this issue. Not to mention what they would justifiably expect from me, once I had completed this re-education.
“I personally think that is unfair on umpires.”
Kennett’s original comments were made during a radio interview. In part, Kennett said: "I'll tell you what we've got to do, we've got to de-mike the umpires.
"The umpires are now, I don't think they're doing it consciously, but they're almost bigger than the game and the players.
“That's not their role - they're there to be umpires, to be the adjudicators. The comments they're making, you hear more from the umpires than you do from the broadcasters or the commentators."
AFL Football Operations Manager Adrian Anderson ruled that Kennett’s comments were damaging and reiterated that it was a second recent offence for the club, following a sanction imposed late in the 2008 season.
Kennett also said he was concerned that the AFL would dock the Hawk’s premiership points if he continued the public battle.
“And secondly you could not put it past the AFL to impose sanctions on the club, such as loss of premiership points, if the matter was not settled, and that we would not want. So let the matters of substance be settled in the court of public opinion,” Kennett told his members.
Kennett could have avoided the $5000 fine if he had attended the following:
- Presentation of the 2009 Laws Of the Game DVD
- Presentation of the AFL umpiring department covering recruiting, training, coaching, assessing and structure
- Opportunity to observe a game review by AFL umpiring department coaching staff. This is the weekly review of every decision for every game and how umpires are assessed
- Presentation the AFL’s umpire “Effective Communication” coaching notes and video examples
- Explanation the AFL’s instruction to umpires on effective use of the “MatchCom” communication system and how it is used as a learning and coaching tool to assist umpires with on field team work and communication)
