Back in Tiger fold, Bartlett regrets exileJake Niall
July 21, 2011RICHMOND legend Kevin Bartlett has expressed regret that he remained estranged from the club for ''too long'' while revealing the rationale behind his 16-year self-imposed exile from Punt Rd.
In his book, KB: A Life in Football, Bartlett admits that he should have returned to Richmond when he was made an ''Immortal'' in 2000 when he sent his son Rhett to receive the award on his behalf. He calls this snub ''a wrong decision''.
Bartlett's exile was a protest that followed his sacking as coach at the end of the 1991 season after four years in the job.
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''Looking back, my stance went on for too long. I think I made my point that I was disappointed with the way the club had acted,'' Bartlett wrote in his book, which is to be released on August 2 and covers his 403 games and five premierships as a Richmond champion, his contentious sacking as coach and exile and his influential role on the AFL's laws of the game committee.
''My son represented me on the Immortal night but looking back I should have been there on the night to accept the accolade.''
Bartlett wrote that he was ''very thrilled'' to be a Richmond immortal in 2000.
''In looking back, I was too stubborn and I should have been there on the night, because the club had bestowed on me their highest individual honour.
''Instead I sent my son on my behalf. At the time it was a comfortable decision for me. But in hindsight it was a poor decision and a wrong decision.''
Bartlett said he stayed away because of the way he had been treated when he was sacked and that he also wanted to ''send a message to that board - or any board''.
''I came to the conclusion that the club didn't have any real respect for its people. If they sacked me without the least opportunity to meet to discuss where the club was at and what its strengths and weaknesses were after my four years as coach, then the ethos of the club had fundamentally changed and I no longer wanted to be part of it.
''It was a silent protest. I wanted to show the club that it could no longer treat people as it had done and that if it wanted to dispense of its coaches in the future in a similar fashion, there might be consequences.''
In the book, which was co-authored with son Rhett, who has written extensively about Richmond's history, Bartlett also reveals:
■That during his exile he was approached on multiple occasions to either run for the board or be part of an attempt to ''oust'' an administration.
■That famed club ''Godfather,'' the late Graeme Richmond, had asked media to undermine Bartlett when he was coach and had encouraged people to go down to the rooms and agitate for his removal.
■That, from his vantage point on the rules committee, the high mark is dead. ''I am really passionate in my belief that the high mark will never return as a permanent highlight in our game. It is dead. The players are so skilful, the keepings off nature of the game so ingrained.''
■That he decided to return to Punt Rd after a 2006 reunion of premiership players in which he spoke to Neville Crowe, the president who sacked him, and realised it was time to end his protest.
''My wife Denise, was also in my ear, telling me it was time to let go. I had made my point and it was time to move on.''
Bartlett said during his exile, ''I was approached to try and oust somebody, I was approached to join a group to challenge the board and was approached to support people running for the board.
''I may have stayed away for too long and I put my hand up for that because I can be stubborn at times.
''During that time, I made an absolute priority of never getting involved in the politics of the club and never criticising anyone individually … even though I was away 16 years, I wasn't bitter. Some people say I was, but there was no bitterness.''
Bartlett said many footy fans didn't understand the rules of the game. ''… I don't think many football supporters understand the laws of the game. They certainly don't appreciate how hard it is to umpire.''
Bartlett said after he was sacked as coach, a journalist who was close to Graeme Richmond told him ''Graeme had called a number of media friends to a lunch and put it on them to make life difficult for me. This journalist even went as far to say that Graeme deliberately sent people down to the dressing rooms after the game to be abusive towards the players and me, in an effort to create unrest.''
KB: A Life in Football is available at footybookclub.com
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