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Geoff Stone
AFL Match Review Officer Michael Christian has sent Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson to the tribunal where he may face a two game suspension for 'unduly rough conduct', 'unprovoked aggression with intent', and 'failing a duty of care to prevent submersion in perilous liquid' after the Big Freeze charity event at the MCG on Monday.
Clarkson will present his case to the AFL tribunal on Wednesday night after a routine video review of the day's action on Monday sparked Christian's interest. Christian said in his findings that Clarkson 'deliberately and aggressively propelled' Sydney coach John Longmire 'without displaying a duty of care to his wellbeing despite the consequences of his actions being foreseeable'. Australian Sports Weakly, in our regular correspondence with the AFL and Christian, was able to ask for further clarification on what Clarkson, who has had off-field incidents of aggression in the past, must answer to. 
"John Longmire was seated at the top of an inclined plane, the bottom of which directly led into a large pool of iced liquid which was clearly visible from the top of the plane," said Christian.
"Clarkson, without consideration for the safety and wellbeing of Longmire, deliberately propelled Longmire with open palms down the inclined plane. The combined forces of Clarkson and gravity were then insurmountable and Longmire was unable to prevent his complete submersion in the watery fluid. "While there are very few precedents for an incident like this the rules are very clear that a mandatory two week suspension is suitable if found guilty, and so I have had to refer it to the tribunal." When asked if the fact that John Longmire was dressed as a jockey riding a horse would have contributed to his endangerment, Christian said "he hadn't noticed". Australian Sports Weakly reached out to Longmire to ask if he felt that Clarkson's trip to the tribunal was justified. "He's having coffee with Gil tomorrow morning so he may not even get there," said Longmire. If you would like to donate to Fight MND you can do so at fightmnd.org.au. |