Commission chair won\u2019t be involved in any AFL assessment of the case<\/p>\n
Former Cats president was on club board when deal approved in 2024<\/p>\n
The AFL Commission chair and former Geelong president, Craig Drummond, has apologised for \u201cthe mistakes made in this very complex situation\u201d over the secret concussion deal the Cats made with player Jake Kolodjashnij.<\/p>\n
Drummond also confirmed he will not be involved in any AFL assessment of the case, which emerged on Thursday, while the AFL chief executive, Andrew Dillon, refused to say on Saturday whether the commission chair should stand down from his position during the investigation.<\/p>\n
Dillon expects Geelong to formally respond by early next week after the AFL issued the club a \u201cplease explain\u201d for the secret deal made with Kolodjashnij.<\/p>\n
Geelong struck an agreement with Kolodjashnij in 2024, when he took on legal responsibility for any potential future head trauma.<\/p>\n
Drummond, who became commission chair in March, was Geelong\u2019s president and on the club board at the time the deal was signed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was president of the Geelong football club in 2024,\u201d the AFL chairman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was an extremely complex and sensitive matter, and obligations to both the player and the club were very carefully considered by the Geelong board.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake\u2019s welfare was central to all discussions and I have been thinking of him particularly over the past few days.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the player was medically cleared to play, the club engaged in lengthy discussions including with him, his family, doctors and insurers about his future and the potential risks of returning to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of the player\u2019s agreement, the club went too far in adding a waiver into an informed consent document and it will be removed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club scrapped the waiver on Thursday, while the AFL released a statement the same day saying it did not approve the deal.<\/p>\n
The AFL did not penalise Geelong though the Cats\u2019 chief executive, Steve Hocking, did not rule out a sanction while taking responsibility for Kolodjashnij\u2019s waiver on Friday.<\/p>\n
Kolodjashnij went public on Friday evening to defend the club that he has now played 200 AFL matches with and the process that led to him continuing his career.<\/p>\n