Once Jason has recovered from his hamstring injury he will be required to play for Williamstown in the VFL for two games.
We would like to stress at this time that despite reports, Jason’s recent on-field performance and the issues relating to the publication of this article are two separate matters. By no means has Jason’s performance for the Club had any impact on the decision the Western Bulldogs have reached today.
The Club wishes to make clear that it has been supportive of Jason’s entitlement to maintain third party media arrangements.
However, the Club sought and obtained Jason’s agreement before he entered any such contract that all written articles be first approved by the Club. The reason we sought such a process was to ensure that no senior representative of our Club would publish views which are contrary to the fundamental values of the Club. The version of Jason’s recent article which went to press did not follow this process. The Club never saw the final version of this article until it was published.
We wish to make it clear that had we seen this article, it would never have been approved. While we respect Jason’s rights to hold and express his own views and to pursue his other career opportunities, we will continue to exercise the right (previously agreed to by Jason) to monitor these written publications to ensure that our Club’s values are not compromised.
We will strengthen our procedures and communications with Jason to ensure that such an event is not repeated.
Following the publication of the article, the Club was misled as to the extent of Jason’s knowledge of its contents. Jason has explained to us that this was unintentional on his part.
Yesterday, the playing group asked Jason to re-assess his priorities to our group and prioritise his football commitments. Jason will suspend his media activities for three weeks in response to this request, and during that time, will consider whether his media and football activities have struck the appropriate balance.
In consequence, the playing group and management of the Club have unanimously supported Jason and will continue to do so going forward.
It was made clear to him that we want Jason to be a part of our group going forward, he remains a valued member of the Western Bulldogs.
Equally Jason has made it clear that he wants to continue as a Western Bulldogs player first and foremost.
We have made significant steps over a number of years to develop a culture at the Western Bulldogs that will give us the best possible chance of achieving success.
We hope our Members understand that the Club has been working extremely hard behind the scenes to reach a resolution and we now believe that the matter is closed and that the best possible outcome for all parties has been reached.
