We thought it was important to provide an update on issues that we have been dealing with as a club over the past few weeks. They have had a widespread impact on our club.
The club has finalised a plan designed to ensure Harley Bennell receives the support he requires and provide a pathway for him to return to the field.
The plan was designed in consultation with Bennell, the club’s chief medical officer, his manager and the AFL Players Association.
We believe the outcome is a considered position, having consulted widely with experts in these areas, and it balances the welfare of the player with his obligations to the club, our supporters, partners and our community.
Harley has bought into the plan and it gives him a real opportunity to demonstrate he is prepared to make long-term change and live up to the expectations required of him on and off the field.
We know the actions of some players who have made poor choices and taken illicit drugs have hurt our club, our supporters, partners and the wider community.
The club has gone out of its way to provide ongoing education and a supportive structure that encourages our players to always make the right decisions. We are both disappointed and angry that some players have made poor decisions and have failed to live up to our values.
Those players have let down their team-mates. They have let down the club and they have let down our supporters, partners and our community.
We believed it was important to communicate to our members the decision around Harley and our resolve as a playing group and as a club but we also know that we won’t be judged on what the players or officials say. And nor should we be.
We will be judged by our supporters, the football community and the wider Gold Coast community by our actions. We want to make it clear that as leaders of this club we are committed to ensuring that our actions – and the actions of all in our club - reflect our words.
Certainly as a club we have learned a lot over the last nine months and we have learned a lot more over the last few weeks.
Not quite the way you want to learn, but they have been lessons that are important to us in building a stronger club and ensuring we continue to be vigilant.
As a club we have a commitment to continuous improvement and we have learned lessons through these issues that we believe will help us regain respect.
We are sorry that these incidents have caused our supporters, partners and our community so much hurt and embarrassment.
They don’t deserve this and neither do the vast majority of our playing group who are also upset by the revelations in recent times.
Maybe the players were not crystal clear about the obligations they have to their team-mates, their club, their supporters and the wider Gold Coast community.
We have spoken with the playing group about the disappointment of our community, supporters, partners, the Board and their team-mates.
We also told them that our values and behaviours are not to pick and choose. They are not optional and are non-negotiable.
We said that we will support players who have issues and help anyone who needs help. We believe we have demonstrated this in recent weeks.
But this is a two-way street. There is obligations on both sides.
Our obligation is to help those on our list to be better players and better people and to set an environment that has the discipline and the support and opportunity to achieve this.
And they all have an obligation to act in a manner that is in line with the values and behaviours that we have signed up to as a club.
We also asked everyone there whether they understood what was expected of them as Gold Coast players.
We wanted them to be absolutely clear as to what our expectations are. That the level of behaviour we expect is what any member of this community is expected to follow. It’s not that hard. We know that, because most of our players have no problem living our values.
We want to say that every single player is now very, very clear about what we expect. What we need. What our supporters, partners and the wider community want.
A lot of people have done a lot of work to get this club to where it is. We have achieved a lot. But right now, we need to win back respect - and we will.
Our players are up for it; we will ensure we build a strong club together.
To do that we need to continue to face the issues and learn from them.
We have learned a lot over the last couple of weeks and it will help us build a stronger playing group and a stronger Gold Coast Football Club.
John Witheriff Andrew Travis
Chairman Chief Executive
