North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson recently released a statement regarding his "inappropriate" and "unnecessary" comments directed at St Kilda players during a practice match.
Clarkson and the Kangaroos received notice of the premiership coach's punishment from the AFL on Friday, which was found to
As a result, Clarkson copped a two-week suspension (wholly suspended until the end of 2025), a $20,000 fine and will be required to undergo appropriate Pride in Sport training that was approved by the AFL.
Apologising for the incident, Clarkson was accepting of the punishment that was handed down by the league, saying he's committed to changing his ways.
"At the outset, I want to reiterate my initial public apology and acknowledge that my exchange with the St Kilda players was unnecessary and the language I used was inappropriate," Clarkson said according to the club.
"This has been a significant reflective moment for me. My language was not used with any intent to vilify or marginalise, however, through this incident I have begun to understand the impact of the use of casual language. I am fully committed to educating myself in this regard.
"In terms of my reaction to the incident involving Jy (Simpkin), I have been doing some work to understand why I respond in the manner I do, but also to develop strategies I can implement in these moments."
North Melbourne Chief Executive Jennifer Watt said the club was accepting of the punishment given by the AFL and that Clarkson "acknowledged" that he needs to "be better in those situations".
"As Alastair has identified himself, his behaviour and the language he used was unacceptable and he has taken responsibility for that," Watt said.
"He has now received a significant sanction from the AFL as a result of his conduct.
"We also acknowledge that Alastair has reflected on how he responds to incidents like we saw on Sunday, and we'll support him as he seeks to be better in those situations."
