The AFL has issued Geelong a please explain letter over the revelation that a player signed a secret concussion waiver, with Cats CEO Steve Hocking taking full responsibility for what he admits was a “misstep”.
Geelong avoided sanction from the AFL over the secret arrangement struck in 2024, which was only revealed on Thursday, with an undisclosed player.
The player signed an agreement taking on legal responsibility for future brain trauma in a bid to exonerate the club and its medical staff from court action down the line.
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Speaking to reporters on Friday, Hocking admitted the club should have made the AFL and the AFL Players’ Association aware of the document.
“I take responsibility for the fact that we didn’t lodge it with the AFL and the PA,” Hocking said.
Asked if there was a reason the club didn’t lodge it with the relevant parties, Hocking said: “No, there’s no reason, it was just a misstep in the process.”
The veteran administrator said the player will remain anonymous.
“The player’s been through a lot already, and we’re mindful of that as a football club,” Hocking said.
“Quite clearly, some of the decision-making has dragged him into that, so we’re conscious of that.
“But no, at this point in time, the player would prefer to be confidential.”
Steve Hocking has taken full responsibility for what he admits was a “misstep”. Credit: 7NEWS
Hocking added he holds no fears about his position at the Cats in the wake of the revelation.
“I’m quite confident, I’ve got a board that’s very supportive,” he said.
“As I said, I’ll take full responsibility for it, I’m CEO of the Geelong Football Club, and we’ll work through it over the coming week, as we have been over the last couple of days.
“Whatever the AFL decide to do from here is up to them. I have received a please explain letter from the AFL in relation to this matter, so we’ll deal with that over the coming days.”
Hocking said the agreement was the result of an extensive process over two months, adding the player’s representatives were involved, including his family and the club’s medical team.
Calling it a “complex and unique case” in a statement on Thursday, the AFL insisted it was “satisfied that the letter was not used by Geelong to allow a medically unfit player to return to play”.
Geelong also issued a statement, saying they would remove the waiver from the contract.
“The club was not attempting to vary the terms of the AFL standard playing contract, or attempting to avoid its responsibilities under health and safety laws,” the Geelong statement read.
New AFL Commission chair Craig Drummond was the president of the Geelong board when the deal was struck.
Drummond was not mentioned in the AFL statement.
Deciding not to front the media to explain the situation, Drummond issued a three-line statement on Thursday night calling concussion a “challenging medical and legal issue for all contact sports globally”.
With AAP
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