AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou says the league did not orchestrate the scenario which led to the resignation of Adelaide recruiting manager Matt Rendell over a racism controversy.
Rendell resigned last week after a comment he made several months ago in regard to the recruitment of indigenous footballers became public.
Rendell had told AFL community engagement manager Jason Mifsud that the AFL was heading towards a situation in which the Crows wouldn’t recruit a player unless he had at least one white parent.
Demetriou said he regarded the comment as “completely unacceptable” but had left it entirely to the Crows to deal with.
He said Adelaide officials had given Rendell the chance to back away from the comments, but he refused to do so and tendered his resignation.
“He didn’t resile from what he said,” Demetriou told Fox Footy’s On the Couch program on Monday night.
“(Crows chief executive) Steven Trigg advised him he should go away for a couple of hours and think about what he said.
“When he came back he said ‘I don’t resile from what I said,’ so he said ‘I should resign,’ so he resigned.
“So it was dealt with by the club. It wasn’t orchestrated.”
Asked if he had demanded Rendell’s head, Demetriou said “absolutely, categorically not”.
The AFL boss said he had never suggested Rendell was racist, but would let others draw their own conclusions.
“That comment is a completely unacceptable comment in this day and age and you can draw your own opinion on what that means,” he said.
But Demetriou was hopeful Rendell could return to the AFL industry at some stage.
“Everybody deserves a second chance. AFL football gives people second chances,” he said.
“He has had a long and distinguished career in the game, both playing and in other roles.
“If he learns from this and if he can be educated about why those comments or those attitudes are unacceptable, of course he should be welcomed back.”
Rendell was to give his version of events on the Nine Network later on Monday night.