Crows Players Are Reportedly Considering A Class Action Lawsuit Over “Traumatising” 2018 Camp
Multiple players have spoken up about the camp after Eddie Betts wrote about his experiences in his new biography.
A number of Adelaide Crows players are reportedly considering filing a class action lawsuit against the club and the AFL over the infamous 2018 pre-season camp that former player Eddie Betts described in his new biography, The Boy From Boomerang Crescent.
Details about the camp were brought to light in Betts’ book, in which he also described harrowing accounts of racism he endured throughout his career, and claims he was told to stay silent over.
Betts also described how the camp allegedly used personal details about his life and childhood to verbally abuse him in front of his teammates in a traumatic initiation exercise. Betts described the experience as “traumatising”, and asserted it had “broken him to tears”.
Following Betts’ decision to share his story, other players involved in the camp have spoken out to validate his claims and share their own experiences.
In an interview with Melbourne’s SEN radio station, retired player and former teammate Josh Jenkins alleged that the club’s welfare manager was “iced out” of discussions regarding the infamous camp, and has called for the report written by club doctor Marc Cesana after the camp to be made public.
“No one has ever acted on that report, which I know is damning,” Jenkins told SEN. “The report must see the light of day. It’s the only example of a medical professional who had day-to-day dealings with the people and players who were involved. He was concerned about us.”
“He expressed his disappointment to me about what happened to us, but never disclosed the details of what he’d discussed with other players.”
Bryce Gibbs has also broken his silence on the camp, saying that he regrets not speaking up sooner.
“Reflecting on those ongoing conversations when we were trying to flush it out, I do regret not speaking up when I probably should’ve been a more experienced and senior player of that group,” he told SEN.
“A lot of them have stopped playing football, a lot of them are still suffering as a consequence of what happened on that camp…”
While both the club and AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan have since issued apologies to Betts, prominent sports lawyer Greg Griffin has told the ABC that a class action is being considered.
The class action, if players choose to take that route, would be based on the allegation that the AFL and Adelaide Crows’ contract with players was breached.
“They now very much are emboldened by the fact that the public and also the Crows and the AFL are now, for the first time, looking like coming clean as to what actually happened,” Griffin told the ABC.
A class action lawsuit — which would need to be filed with the Supreme Court of Victoria — requires seven members to proceed, but Griffin claims he has already spoken to enough players to exceed this minimum.
“I think the players are now galvanised to say ‘well, we’ve had enough of this’,” said Griffin. “A lot of them have stopped playing football, a lot of them are still suffering as a consequence of what happened on that camp.”
While the AFL has apologised to Betts and has implemented recommendations following an investigation into the camp back in 2018, it ultimately found that the camp did not violate industry rules.