Reported in the Herald-Sun as well ...
AFL boss Andrew Demetriou says Richmond’s Jake King should dump bikie mate Toby Mitchell Mark Robinson
From: Herald Sun
February 21, 2014 AFL boss Andrew Demetriou says Jake King’s continued association with bikie figure Toby Mitchell “defies belief” and the Tigers forward should reconsider the friendship for his and his club’s sake.
Demetriou told the Herald Sun that Richmond chiefs would be justifiably frustrated that King had refused repeated requests to drop links and the club would tire of his stance.
King and Mitchell have been seen together publicly twice since King brought the former Bandidos enforcer into the Richmond rooms at the MCG last August.
The Tigers then banned Mitchell from club events and asked King not to associate with him, but stopped short of demanding their meetings cease.
Asked if the AFL could say who players could spend time with, Demetriou said: “The short answer is yes.
“I’ve spoken to (Richmond CEO) Brendon Gale. I said to him I didn’t share his view that as a club you couldn’t tell a player who he should or shouldn’t associate with,” Demetriou said.
“We’ve spent 12 months talking about people who seek to infiltrate the game for a number of things.
“I’m not suggesting for a minute it’s this case, but I’m talking about match-fixing, information sharing, performance enhancing drugs, illicit drugs — these are serious issues so we’ve got to do everything we can to protect it.’’
Richmond last night indicated it would not be toughening its stance on King.
“After considering all the facts we remain comfortable with the position we have taken,” Gale said.
The AFL last year briefed clubs about dangers confronting the sport outlined in the Australian Crime Commission’s explosive Project Aperio report released 12 months ago.
“We know from the Crime Commission, we know from the Victoria Police and others, that there are people seeking to infiltrate our sport,’’ Demetriou said.
“We also know that some people prey on the vulnerability of our players and this came through very clear from Victoria Police and we briefed the clubs about this.
“So why someone would want to not just put them themselves in that position, but also their club in that position, defies belief for me.
“I think (Richmond) need to stress to Jake King that. ‘We’ve got a good culture at this club, we’re going places’, and they don’t need this distraction.
“And if he wants to be part of the club and share in the values of the club and be part of the values, is this something that important that it would jeopardise what this club is trying to do.”
The Herald Sun reported last month that King’s contract contained a trigger for 2015 if he played 12 games this season.
Demetriou said King needed to reassess his friendship with Mitchell, who has survived two shooting attempts on his life.
“In my view, Brendon Gale and the Richmond Football Club should counsel Jake King (that) he should seriously think about who he associates with.
“Not just pertaining to this issue, but clubs are really important entities and if you are asking someone in your employment and they are constantly saying no to you, the club at some point in time will get tired of that.
“The same would be in my organisation. If I was asking one of my executives to stop doing something, and they kept saying no to me, you’d get a little bit tired of it.”
Demetriou said he hoped King’s contract was not terminated.
“I hope common sense prevails. He’s a good player Jake King, he’s popular, he’s a good asset for Richmond and he’s got more football in him.”
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-boss-andrew-demetriou-says-richmonds-jake-king-should-dump-bikie-mate-toby-mitchell/story-fndv8t7m-1226833176389
