Adelaide Crows chief executive Tim Silvers has apologised to Eddie Betts, as the fallout from the AFL great's shocking revelations into his time with the team continues.
In excerpts from his forthcoming autobiography shown to the Nine papers, Betts details the harrowing experiences he and fellow teammates went through at a 'cult-like' camp designed to increase their aggression on the field.
The Wirangu Kokatha Guburn man said he felt sick and ashamed after the camp appropriated First Nations cultural elements, and players were forced to scream obscenities at each other.
Silvers offered the clubs regret in a press conference Wednesday afternoon, saying he was "saddened" to read the reports.
"People's welfare and wellbeing is paramount to our club," he told reporters.
“Anyone who leaves our club that doesn’t have a positive experience, we’re sorry.
“I think we can move forward, but we’d like to say sorry to Eddie and anyone else that had a negative experience throughout the camp.”
The AFL and broader community have reacted with disgust at the revelations. Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney took to Twitter to express her support for Betts.
"Eddie Betts is one of the AFL’s most loved players & an icon of the game. No one deserves to be treated in the way Eddie was," Burney wrote.
"Eddie’s distressing experience is an important reminder on why we need to do better at understanding & respecting Indigenous culture and traditions."
Betts removed from leadership after airing concerns
After attending the camp on the Gold Coast in 2017, Betts said he felt as though a part of him had been "brainwashed".
Part of his concern stemmed from the fact that an interview conducted with players before the camp began, in which they were encouraged to reveal personal and intimate details about their lives, was used to create psychological profiles of them.
He said players were encouraged to use a 'talking stick' while conducting round tables, in an appropriation of First Nations culture.
“In my view, the talking stick was used incorrectly, and I was not aware that any Elder had given permission for it to be used either," he told The Age.
Betts' forthcoming autobiography goes into the detail behind the infamous 2017 incident. Source: AAP
“There was all sorts of weird shit that was disrespectful to many cultures, but particularly and extremely disrespectful to my culture,” reads an excerpt from the book.
Players had been taught to adopt aggressive stances, went through simulated attacks with mock knives, and yelled swear words at each other while maintaining eye contact.
Betts said younger Indigenous players were uncomfortable with the tactic.
“One of the young fullas said to me, ‘I see you as an Uncle. I don’t really like screaming “f--- you” at you’. In our culture, from a young age, our older people are a model of respect to our kids and we quickly learn to reciprocate that respect back towards our Elders."
Shortly after Betts registered his discomfort with the playing group, he was removed from the squad's leadership team.
