Sydney Swans Chairman Andrew Pridham has called upon the AFL Commission to remove the club's trade ban impose by the league last year.
In his pre-game Chairman's address Pridham said the Commission had to ensure they did not let 'pride override practice' in the wake of recent commentary surrounding the issue from senior AFL officials.
Pridham details the facts behind the ban and said 'On multiple occasions the AFL Chairman and some AFL Commissioners have told me directly that the reason Sydney has a trade ban has nothing to do with COLA. The explanation for the trade ban was that the Commission, and I quote, “did not want to be embarrassed by the Swans, with another high profile player signing following the signing in consecutive years of Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin.”
See the full transcript of the speech below.
Over the past couple of weeks there has been some public commentary that the AFL Industry should stick to being Australia’s premier sporting code or be a vehicle for socially progressive change.
AFL is Australia’s Indigenous game. It is played and loved by the most elite private schools and the most disadvantaged public schools – it is a game for everyone.
AFL is a window into our society.
Millions watch the game every week on television.
There are over 800,000 members of the 18 clubs.
Over 7 million people attend games during the course of the season.
Weekly there are thousands of hours of TV and radio broadcast , hundreds of pages of newspaper print, countless discussions around work water coolers, in taxis, trains, planes and schoolyards.
If, through the power of AFL, we can't help better our society, it would be a shameful lost opportunity to improve our community – make Australia an even better country.
The AFL and its clubs and players put an enormous effort into feeding the passion of Australian’s for the game. I think that it is such an important opportunity to harness this passion and encourage, guide and feed debate on issues critical to the development of our young and ever changing nation.
Over the course of a season the AFL shines the light on issues including racism, bullying, domestic violence, gay rights, indigenous, depression, multiculturalism, health and fitness, alcohol abuse, illicit and performance enhancing drugs, violence in society, responsible gambling, road user behaviour, woman’s sport and the importance of education.
We can help focus fans passion and media hours to educate and improve. I for one believe that the ability to stimulate and lead cultural growth and where appropriate set high ethical and behavioural standards, using our players and officials as the standard is one of the most powerful and wonderful aspects of our game. I believe that by striving to participate in making Australia better our game remains relevant, it remains current.
I believe that it is by setting and living these high standards that we can maintain a reputation and image that is consistent with what our commercial partners, sponsors, media organisations, government’s and educational institutions seek when associating and supporting our game.
This is our great advantage.
If AFL, as Australia's most popular spectator sport and only truly indigenous game we cannot stand for what is right and good, if it only delivers nine games of football a week, then it stands for little.
Having said all of this I do want to close on an issue that the Sydney Swans have attempted to resolve in a diplomatic way out of the public eye. The Swans accepted the removal of COLA, despite believing that it is a necessary equalisation measure. Then we were sanctioned with a two year trade ban.
Ongoing comments by senior AFL officials, most recently CEO Gillon McLaughlin and AFL Football Operations Manager Mark Evans on Melbourne radio over the past week have continued to perpetuate an explanation of the reasons for the trade ban that are simply untrue.
The Sydney Swans were so concerned about the false assertions emanating directly from the AFL regarding the circumstances surrounding and reasons for the trade ban that on 31 March of this year Andrew Ireland wrote to the CEO of the AFL and requested that the AFL, and I quote, “not continue to make these erroneous comments which we must continually correct”. We received no reply to this request. The assertions continue.
Following the AFL’s pronouncement of the trade ban there has been universal condemnation throughout the AFL industry. Perhaps this is because the trade ban impacts not just the Swans but any club or player who may wish to be involved in a trade with our club. We believe that the trade ban and restrictions is unconstitutional and a serious restraint of trade impacting players and clubs.
The trade ban has no justification. The Sydney Swans have broken no rules. It is the senseless sanction.
The AFL’s ongoing assertion is that the Swans were always aware that a trade ban was to be a component of the phasing out of COLA; and that the trade ban is necessary as COLA money should not be used to attract new players.
These are the facts:
On 16 July 2014 AFL General Council Andrew Dillon wrote to the Sydney Swans and GWS outlining the terms for the phasing out of COLA. Both the Swans and GWS were to be treated equally and there was no mention, nor had their ever been any mention, of a trade ban in the many meetings leading up to the 16 July letter.
On 28 July 2014 the AFL Commission met to approve the transition arrangements for the removal of COLA. At this meeting the executive recommendations were not accepted and it was decided, by the Commission, to add a two year trade ban on the Sydney Swans, but not GWS.
On multiple occasions the AFL Chairman and some AFL Commissioners have told me directly that the reason Sydney has a trade ban has nothing to do with COLA. The explanation for the trade ban was that the Commission, and I quote, “did not want to be embarrassed by the Swans, with another high profile player signing following the signing in consecutive years of Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin.”
So there you have it. The Swans were banned from trading when other clubs continue to recruit top line players year after year – often from lowly positioned clubs. The trade ban was subsequently relaxed to only ban trading players paid above the average wage. This reinforces the fact that the ban is about stopping the Swans trading top end talent, not COLA.
I believe that for all the good things the AFL does, all of the talk about high standards of corporate governance and community teaching, it is incongruous and somewhat undermining of what I believe the governing body should stand for, that it should exhibit such a questionable lack of transparency and process.
The trade ban was not in response to a breach of any rule; No infraction notice. Nothing.
The trade ban was solely applied to the Sydney Swans and to claim it is linked to COLA is unfathomable when GWS has no trade ban yet it also is subject to the same terms of COLA removal
The trade ban was not discussed with the Sydney Swans prior to its pronouncement by the AFL Commission.
I believe that it was important for reasons of transparency, and in response to ongoing questions from Sydney Swans Members and media debate, that we now put the facts clearly on the table.
To the AFL Commissioner’s in the room tonight. I truly believe in the high principles that you espouse you should join with your colleagues at the next opportunity to remove the trade ban and let transparency and fairness outweigh spin. Modification of an unjust rule is not a solution. Only removal of an unjust ruling is adequate. Please don’t let pride override proper practice.
I sincerely believe that the trade ban will distort the competion, is unfair to all clubs and players and will continue to have very serious consequences to the Sydney Swans and the integrity of the competition and its governance.
Our game should be better than this.
