Craig Kelly has broken his silence to thank outgoing president Jeff Browne for his support after a former staff member accused the Collingwood chief executive of highly offensive racial slurs.
Allegations against Kelly were made in July, with former First Nations Chief Strategy Officer Mark Cleaver filing papers in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, alleging he had suffered financial loss, distress and humiliation after his employment at the club will end. been terminated.
The case has since been settled out of court, but he has opened up about the impact the incident had on him and his family. Following an investigation, Collingwood said no labor laws had been broken. They maintained that the cessation of their conduct was due to conduct unrelated to their complaint.
Browne revealed in August that he had been diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer. He stated that he would step down as club president when he believed “things were in order.”
The chairman had fiercely denied the allegations made against Kelly during the wrongful dismissal and denied the Magpies were a racist club.
He said: “We support Craig Kelly in this and we intend to fight these proceedings.”
Collingwood boss Craig Kelly has broken his silence after allegations of racism were made against him.
Jeff Browne has revealed he is stepping down as president of Collingwood after being diagnosed with cancer.
Meanwhile, Kelly, who has been at the club for two seasons, has not commented on the matter since it first came to light, but this week spoke about how Browne had been a pillar for him during his time at the club. club. .
“I’m going to miss Jeff (Browne) a lot,” he told SEN.
‘He’s an incredible gentleman, how he supported and supported (Kelly). To be honest, I’ve been able to focus on what I have to do.
‘He has endured a lot of pressure in relation to that (the claim). It wasn’t a good time.
‘I don’t really want to talk about it too much because it’s quite legal.
“But it’s done and we move on.”
He also added that the legal claim had taken a heavy toll on his loved ones.
“It’s hard for the family, it’s hard for many things, but we have to move on.”
The 72-year-old revealed that he has been fighting blood cancer since September 2023.
It comes as the Magpies are working on a major restructure of their management department after former assistant chief executive Graham Wright jumped ship to join Victorian rivals Carlton amid rumors he and Kelly had fallen out.
Wright had opted to part ways with the Magpies after a gap year abroad. The news came in August, and questions were raised about why it took Collingwood so long to name his successor.
“We had the conversation at that time with Jeff (Browne) and I and he (Wright) sat down in our office and said that during the period there, there may be a situation where you get opportunities elsewhere (and you may not return to Collingwood),’ Kelly said as he defended the club’s long search for a new debutant CEO.
“Those conversations went on throughout the year, they had to go on a little longer than we wanted for a lot of reasons, nothing to do with Wrighty.”
Despite claims that the pair had been at odds, Kelly praised Wright.
“Good for Wrighty, he has a great opportunity (at Carlton as deputy chief executive), Cooky (Brian Cook) is an incredible chief executive as a person with a long track record in the industry.
“But the thing is, now he’s at Carlton and we’re at Collingwood… last time I checked, the two of them don’t like each other very much.”
Meanwhile, former Swans executive Charlie Gardiner has signed a deal to join Collingwood as their new director of football, with Kelly claiming the incoming football mastermind was a perfect fit for the Magpies.
Kelly (right) also praised former deputy chief executive Graham Wright after he left the club to join Carlton.
Former Swans director of football Charlie Gardener will now join Collingwood as the club revamps its boardroom
“He fit us wonderfully, he has great experience,” he told SEN.
“He’s been with the Sydney Swans and I think we should all agree they’ve had a consistent performance and a tough market.”
‘Not only has he been able to participate in the list, in which I think he has done a great job. But also, (former Swans coach) John Longmire has a strong personality, so to have that relationship that they’ve had (is impressive) and (chief executive) Tom Harley is also an outstanding person.
“He and I have been talking about this process and he’s been so professional it’s perfect.”