by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago
Not only is the AFL investigating Melbourne over allegations that the Demons deliberately lost games in 2009, the Crows are facing equally serious charges of draft tampering and possible salary cap breaches in relation to disgruntled forward Kurt Tippett. During trade week, it came to light that the Crows agreed to trade Tippett to the club of his choice at the end of his three year contract, which expired this year. There is also suspicion that Tippett was guaranteed $100,000 per season outside of his contract which was kept secret from the AFL.
When trade talks between Adelaide and Sydney stalled, it is believed Tippett's management threatened to go public with incriminating documents. This forced Adelaide CEO Stephen Trigg to inform club chairman Rob Chapman who then went to the AFL. Investigator Ken Wood and integrity officer Brett Clothier were assigned to the case. Chapman told the AFL that neither he nor other board members knew of the illegal dealings. Chapman was unable to say why neither the club nor AFL had acted sooner with all the media speculation regarding an exit clause in Tippett's contract. Some of the correspondence being checked are letters and emails between Adelaide football manager John Reid and Tippett's Brisbane manager Peter Blucher which guarantee payments to Tippett either by the club or selected companies willing to cover what the Crows could not.
As a result, Adelaide was told by the League to discontinue all trade talks involving Tippett, who originally wanted to return home to Queensland.
There is also speculation, unproven, that Adelaide arranged for Tippett's brother Joel to move to SA to play for West Adelaide after being delisted by Gold Coast. Once talks with Sydney were put on hold, other clubs sought clarification regarding any risk of pursuing a deal for Tippett.
The club, Tippett and Tippett's manager and management company Velocity Sports could all be facing serious penalties for the illegal dealings. All could face heavy fines and the Crows could be stripped of draft selections over the next two years. CEO Trigg could find himself out of a job. Tippett could not only be suspended but de-registered for a time which would bring his AFL career to a temporary standstill. If he is allowed to play next year, he could end up with GWS. The Giants believe they can afford Tippett with the departure of Israel Folau and have a very good chance of picking him up with the first three selections in the draft. CEO Dave Matthews said Tippett had been discussed at a sub-committee meeting involving himself, Coach Kevin Sheedy, newly appointed assistant Leon Cameron, list manager Steve Silvagni and football manager Graeme Allan.
The club already has promising forwards in Jeremy Cameron and Jonathon Patton, but Matthews believes Tippett, 25, would add to their depth up forward and in the ruck.
Source: theage.com.au, theaustralian.com.au
Article last changed on Friday, February 01, 2013 - 10:09 PM EST
