A candidate for the top job at the Melbourne Demons reportedly had to withdraw his application to be the club’s new chief executive over a number of social media posts perceived to be pro-Palestinian.
The Melbourne-based AFL team commenced a search for its next chief executive late last year after Gary Pert resigned in late October, a month after club president Kate Roffey also stood down.
As reported by Channel Seven’s The Agenda Setters on Monday, the extensive search is believed to have boiled down to a number of strong candidates, including David Chippindall, who was serving as interim CEO of the Demons for the last six months; Alistair Nicholson, who is CEO of the AFL Coaches Association; and Keith Thomas, the former Port Adelaide CEO and Norwood player.
According to The Agenda Setters’ Caroline Wilson, the “curveball” was Thomas, who was strongly favoured by many at the AFL HQ.
“And then came some social media commentary from this past… Some commentary regarding the Middle Eastern war, perceived by some as pro-Palestinian, perceived by other nervous people at Melbourne, maybe offending some of the stakeholders around a potential new home for the Melbourne football club at Caulfield,” Wilson claimed on Monday.
“Keith Thomas has withdrawn from the process. I’m not sure whether Keith made the call or Melbourne [did], but I know there was a lot of nervousness when this social media stuff emerged.”
Citing sources from Thomas’ camp, Wilson said it’s been suggested he “simply opposes war” and the posts were meant to be “anti-war comments”. Posts that appeared on LinkedIn appear to have been taken down.
Part of one of his posts, which was shared to LinkedIn, is still visible on Google, it reads: “I remain deeply disturbed by the events unfolding in Gaza.”
On Tuesday, the Melbourne Football Club announced its official pick for chief executive, Paul Guerra, who will make the move from the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry after more than five years in the role.
In a statement on Tuesday, Melbourne President Brad Green said Guerra’s vast experience and strong values made him the standout candidate for the role, describing him as a highly respected executive “with a proven track record of results in member organisations”.
Thomas’ withdrawal from the CEO candidacy, allegedly prompted by his pro-Palestine posts, has sparked a wave of debate among football fans on social media.
“Melbourne missed out on a good one there… Still wish he was at Port,” wrote one user on Reddit while another pointed out this was “absolute insanity”.
“Are we all comfortable with the idea that you have to pledge allegiance to Israel if you want to hold a leadership position in Australia?” a Reddit user wrote.
“Opposing and standing up against a genocide, this is my kind of person. He would have been good for our club, need more people like this around,” one footie fan shared.
“At least you know they’ll never chase Alex Pearce,” another stated, referencing the Fremantle Dockers skipper who was also criticised this week after he shared pro-Palestine posts by Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap.
Sports fans also highlighted a similar instance earlier this year that saw SEN Radio part ways with prominent cricket journalist Peter Lalor in February over his social media activity relating to Palestine.
As reported by The Age, Lalor’s X feed included re-posts of news stories about Israeli attacks in Gaza, and about the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
In a statement, Lalor explained he was “told in one call there were serious organisations making complaints” and in another, he was “told that this was not the case”.
“Perhaps I misunderstood. I was told there were accusations I was antisemitic which I strongly objected to. I was told my retweeting was not balanced, and insensitive to one side and that many people had complained,” he stated, per The Age.
“I was asked by station boss Craig Hutchison, who was civil, if I didn’t care that my retweeting of events in Gaza made Jewish people in Melbourne feel unsafe. I said I didn’t want anyone to feel unsafe. Of course, I care. I have friends who are frightened and have heard the fear in their voices during conversations. It is an awful situation. But so is Gaza. It was a brief and cordial call.
“The following day Hutchison told me that because the ‘sound of my voice made people feel unsafe’ and that people are ‘triggered by my voice’, I could not cover the cricket for them any more,” he said.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to Thomas and Melbourne Football Club for comment.
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