North Melbourne will give Alastair Clarkson as much time as he needs after the veteran coach stepped away from the club due to his mental health deteriorating amid the Hawthorn racism investigation.
A week after describing the handling of racism claims during his time at the Hawks as “shameful”, the strain has become too much for Clarkson.
Former Carlton and St Kilda coach Brett Ratten, who was only a part-time assistant with the Kangaroos up until Wednesday, will take the helm of the struggling side in Clarkson’s absence.
Clarkson and wife Caryn met with North football boss Todd Viney and club chief executive Jennifer Watt on Wednesday night to inform them of the decision.
“There’s been no time frame to talk about when when he’s coming back,” Viney said on Thursday.
“It’s our firm belief that he will be back this year, but if you ask him, and if you ask us, we’ can’t tell you if that’s one week or six weeks, so we’ll take that as it comes.
“The number one priority will be for him to get fit and healthy again.”
He said he had told Clarkson to “burn his phone” to help remove himself from the scrutiny and pressure of the situation.
“Not having a voice for that period of time has really weighed him down in the mental space,” Viney said.
“He’s bravely fought on through this period and the players really wouldn’t have been able to tell how much pressure he was under because he’s done an amazing job in building relationships, helping set the foundation for this club moving forward.
“But when he leaves his workplace and he goes home, then he’s dealing with the constant unknown around this investigation.
“We don’t want him to wear a mask, we don’t want him to be in a poor mental state.”
Four-time Hawthorn premiership coach Clarkson, his then assistant and now Brisbane Lions head coach Chris Fagan, and ex-Hawk player welfare manager Jason Burt have been named in allegations of racism during their time at the club.
All deny any wrongdoing.
Fagan on Thursday reiterated his innocence.
“I know I’m not guilty of racism or cultural insensitivity, so that’s where I stand,” Fagan told reporters before Clarkson’s decision to step away was announced.
The AFL formed an independent investigation into the claims eight months ago, but it has yet to interview Clarkson, Fagan or Burt.
“It’s just extraordinary that we’ve waited eight months, the game is the victim of this,” Clarkson said last Thursday.
“The game has been shamed, obviously myself, ‘Fages’ and Jason, our families have been shamed.
“The Indigenous and First Nations families, they’ve been shamed.
“And there’s one particular party out there that was the catalyst for all this that haven’t been investigated at all, their governance and conduct in this whole thing, the Hawthorn Football Club, just shameful.
“Let’s do an investigation on them and their practices and see how they go.”
The AFL initially hoped the independent investigation would report findings last December, but now says there is no set time frame.
Clarkson coached Hawthorn from 2005 to 2021 and had last year off before returning to coach North Melbourne, where he played.
After winning the initial two games under Clarkson, the Roos have lost seven matches in a row.
AFL Coaches Association boss Alistair Nicholson said the entire organisation was thinking of Clarkson and urged for the process to be sped up.
“Today’s announcement underscores the importance of expediting the investigation into the Hawthorn issue for all parties involved,” Nicholson said.
“It has taken too long and is taking a significant toll on those at the centre of the issue.”
