TonyK
CibbuanoKennett remains undecided
April 29th 2009 05:29
HAWTHORN president Jeff Kennett has yet to decide whether he will attend umpiring school.
The AFL yesterday ordered Kennett to go to an umpiring seminar within the next fortnight or the club would be hit with a $5000 fine for his critcism of umpires.
The row between Kennett and the league started on April 18 when Kennett told guests at his president's lunch he believed umpires should be seen and not heard and that they were becoming bigger than the game itself.
Speaking on Melbourne radio station 3AW this morning, AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said Kennett's comments were inapproriate.
"He can't denigrate, humiliate, embarrass umpires and umpiring," Anderson said.
The Hawks then proceeded to making public on their website the letter Kennett wrote to Anderson in response to the league's charges.
Kennett said the AFL's 'miking' of umpires for broadcasters and inclusion of numbers on their backs had made them a greater focus of attention.
"By removing the microphone from umpires you would reduce the public focus on them, you would also eliminate the intrusion that their running commentary often creates when watching a television broadcast," Kennett wrote.
"The AFL has clearly sanctioned the 'miking' of umpires and therefore they, the AFL, must accept responsibility for the increasingly difficult circumstances in which umpires are operating."
"It is AFL policy that has singled out umpires to be more than unnoticed professionals."
In a letter to the club's members, Kennett said his arguments had been 'totally rejected by the AFL'.
"My arguments were totally rejected by the AFL and that has resulted in them imposing a penalty on the club," he said.
"Finally, I make the point that at no time did I criticise an individual umpire, nor name one."
"We at Hawthorn play the ball not the man."
"My comments were general and the result of watching or viewing many games this year."
Kennett has until close of business on Thursday to decide whether to accept the fine or attend a meeting with the league's umpiring department.
The AFL yesterday ordered Kennett to go to an umpiring seminar within the next fortnight or the club would be hit with a $5000 fine for his critcism of umpires.
The row between Kennett and the league started on April 18 when Kennett told guests at his president's lunch he believed umpires should be seen and not heard and that they were becoming bigger than the game itself.
Speaking on Melbourne radio station 3AW this morning, AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said Kennett's comments were inapproriate.
"He can't denigrate, humiliate, embarrass umpires and umpiring," Anderson said.
The Hawks then proceeded to making public on their website the letter Kennett wrote to Anderson in response to the league's charges.
Kennett said the AFL's 'miking' of umpires for broadcasters and inclusion of numbers on their backs had made them a greater focus of attention.
"By removing the microphone from umpires you would reduce the public focus on them, you would also eliminate the intrusion that their running commentary often creates when watching a television broadcast," Kennett wrote.
"The AFL has clearly sanctioned the 'miking' of umpires and therefore they, the AFL, must accept responsibility for the increasingly difficult circumstances in which umpires are operating."
"It is AFL policy that has singled out umpires to be more than unnoticed professionals."
In a letter to the club's members, Kennett said his arguments had been 'totally rejected by the AFL'.
"My arguments were totally rejected by the AFL and that has resulted in them imposing a penalty on the club," he said.
"Finally, I make the point that at no time did I criticise an individual umpire, nor name one."
"We at Hawthorn play the ball not the man."
"My comments were general and the result of watching or viewing many games this year."
Kennett has until close of business on Thursday to decide whether to accept the fine or attend a meeting with the league's umpiring department.
| 19 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
