Ross Lyon Considers Resignation After Controversial Comment
Ross Lyon, the St Kilda coach, has reportedly offered to reconsider his position after a comment he made during training upset Indigenous players at the club. The veteran AFL coach, who is in his second stint with St Kilda, admitted that a remark he made earlier this month did not land as intended and could have been interpreted as “casual racism.”
Lyon shared these thoughts with Age columnist and Channel Seven’s Agenda Setters panellist Caroline Wilson. He explained that during a training drill where three Indigenous players linked up, he said: “I love the Brotherboy connection, but we all have to remember we are part of a bigger team here.”
According to Wilson, the comment was met with disapproval from some St Kilda players, including veteran Indigenous player Bradley Hill and the club’s superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera.
“I’m not here to justify or try to rationalise what I said. We are all only as good as our next moment and it was a moment I understand I misjudged. Was I being flippant? Could it be described as casual racism? It didn’t land where it should have landed and I have to wear that and I take full responsibility for what I said,” Lyon said.
The mis-aimed comment led to a meeting between Lyon and some of the club’s Indigenous players only days later. Wilson reported that the players were satisfied and “absolutely accepted” that Lyon had said the wrong thing, but “in no way meant to be racist.”
“I was very emotional at the meeting, and I offered to consider my position,” Lyon added.
A Meeting That Changed Everything
The comment did not sit well with several players, including Brad Hill and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. Wilson noted that on Saturday night, Hill, who is considered the leader of St Kilda’s Indigenous cohort, called Lyon and communicated his displeasure.
Wilson said that Lyon felt uncomfortable since the previous day and wanted the players to have a day off because they were on the bye. He gathered them all at the club on Monday, where he became very emotional and offered to consider his position as senior coach.
“There is no doubt he has a very good track record with Indigenous footballers going back to his time at Fremantle,” Wilson said. “He doesn’t think he’s racist and he certainly was horrified at how much he had hurt those players.”
Lyon also offered to address the entire playing group after the initial meeting, but the players said that was unnecessary and insisted they had moved on.
A Supportive Response from Players
Wilson mentioned that Lyon told her he “didn’t want to speak for his players.” She added that Hill and his teammates, including Wanganeen-Milera, were satisfied and accepted that Lyon had said the wrong thing, but in no way meant to be racist.
Hill reportedly made the point to Lyon on Saturday night: “Look, you wouldn’t have said that if it was three white players, so you shouldn’t have said it to us.”
Hill posted a picture of him and Wanganeen-Milera arm-in-arm with Lyon on social media on Monday night, with the caption “Sorry Caro, we love Ross.”
St Kilda have been contacted for comment.
Essendon Faces Another Injury Setback
Essendon has faced another injury setback as emerging forward Isaac Kako has been ruled out with a stress injury in his back. The 20-year-old kicked a clever goal on Anzac Day but was starved of opportunities as he collected 10 touches.
Kako has kicked seven goals in six matches but has shown signs of improvement as he played his 29th game for the Bombers in just his second season. Essendon football manager Dan MacPherson confirmed the issue was revealed when Kako had scans on Monday morning.
“It’s a really disappointing setback for Isaac, who’d been playing some exciting footy for us in the early stages of this season,” MacPherson said. “He’ll need to enter a period of rest now to let the injury settle, before building back up towards a return to play later in the season.”
The club identified his period of absence as medium term, which could mean between six and eight weeks, but was not prepared to be definitive. Sullivan Robey, who played his third match on Saturday, had an interrupted pre-season with a hot spot in his back.
Kako, a next generation academy graduate, was pick 13 in the 2024 national draft. He was part of an inexperienced forward line on Saturday alongside Robey, Nate Caddy, Archer Day-Wicks, and Archer May.
Zak Butters Remains Focused on His Future
Zak Butters, the man with the most sought-after signature in the AFL, remains steadfast in not deciding his future until the end of the season. As multi-million dollar offers mount from suitors in his native Victoria, the Port Adelaide dynamo remains solid.
“Nothing has really changed my mind,” Butters told reporters on Monday. “I feel like, yeah, the end of the season will probably be when I make my decision. And I think I’ll be sticking to that all year.”
Butters is being chased by clubs including Western Bulldogs, Hawthorn, Collingwood, Geelong, Essendon, and Richmond. The triple club champion falls off-contract at Port at season’s end and becomes a restricted free agent, with the South Australian club pledging to match any offer.
Butters spent last week in unwanted spotlight amid a controversial tribunal case after being found to have abused umpire Nick Foot. However, he was cleared when the appeals board ruled he was denied natural justice as tribunal member Jason Johnson was driving at stages of the hearing.
“I keep it pretty clear to myself … keep the off-field stuff to the off-field and worry about my performance foremost and how I control that,” Butters said. “That’s what I’m paid to do.”
Butters added that a lot of his time and energy goes into training, getting better as a player, making his teammates better, and being a good leader. “I’d like to say I fill my cup up with most of that stuff.”
Asked how difficult the case was, Butters replied: “I wouldn’t say it was ideal. But difficult or not, I feel like there’s quite a lot of worse things going on in the world.”
