Hawthorn legend and premiership winning Collingwood and Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews has questioned the integrity of the AFL Players' Association after failing to come to an agreement with the league over pay cuts.
The AFLPA and the AFL remain at a crossroads as the season has been suspended until May 31 amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the players offering to take a 50 per cent pay cut for April and May.
Matthews has labelled the current players "embarrassingly disappointing", acknowledging the current 28 per cent revenue intake the players would normally earn.
โIโve always been a playerโs man,โ Matthews said on Sportsday.
โWhen you are earning all the money for the game and you are only getting 28 percent, I thought that players have always been really generous. Thatโs been my attitude as a general principle.
โBut over the last week or two when the field has changed completelyโฆ
โI say that simple principle, if you get 28 per cent of a billion, you know thatโs about the salary cap. If you get 28 per cent of 100 million, thatโs bugger all.
โIn other words, if the revenue is going down, so too do the salaries.
โI just feel the collective respect for the playersโ attitudes in this, Iโve certainly lost respect for it.
โI think whatโs happened the last week is embarrassingly disappointing, for what youโd hope the players would be prepared to do under the circumstances that they now face.โ
Ex-Melbourne captain Nathan Jones responded earnestly to the VFL/AFL great, supporting the position of the AFLPA.
โI wholeheartedly back the playing group and their understanding of the situation, particularly in the last 24 hours,โ Jones said in response.
โWe are under no illusions about where the game sits and what is going to be required from our end to play our part in keeping our game alive. Which is ultimately what we are all trying to do.
โI think the logical thing would be we would have to take a significant pay cut for the survival of the game.
โI donโt think there is any doubt in that. As far as what that percentage is right now, I honestly couldnโt tell you. I donโt have enough information or understand whatโs going on or what the discussions are behind closed doors.
โPersonally, Iโve definitely got my head around the fact that thatโs coming. If you look at the bigger picture, itโs about keeping out game alive. If we arenโt willing to sacrifice in some sort of way, its difficult to face. But Potentially the AFL may be no longer.
โItโs disappointing that thatโs the perspective that you take but hopefully in the end when it all comes to light we can end up on the same page.โ
