A clandestine meeting on Tuesday between Canterbury League Club directors and influential supporters of embattled chairman George Coorey could also have repercussions for the future of the Bulldogs football club board led by Lynne Anderson
Mr Coorey, 61, has been the subject of complaints by several women who have alleged he made inappropriate comments to them. Fellow board members have called for him to at least stand down while there is an inquiry, however his backers say he has nothing to answer for and have turned their anger towards Mrs Anderson, to whom the complaints were first made.
Neither Mrs Anderson nor Mr Coorey will be in attendance. Instead, at the meeting will be John Ballesty and Paul Dunn, who sit on both the football and league club boards.
Bill Diakos, a key ally of Mr Coorey who described his role at the meeting as a "dealmaker", will also be present.
Mr Diakos told the
Herald he hoped a “truce” would be achieved between the two club chairs and warned that if not, there could be an emergency board meeting of members called to spill the football club board.
“My concern is that if we don’t have harmony in the next few days and weeks there will be people who are disgruntled and might call for an EGM,” Mr Diakos said.
“The football club is going through a tough time on the field and what is happening off the field affects the football club moving forward.”
This was news, however, to Mr Ballesty when contacted on Monday night.
“Lynne Anderson has got nothing to do with this whole situation. She is the chair of the football club,” Mr Ballesty said.
“She has had no contribution to this at all. It is a league's club matter and the league's club board is handling it. So if that’s what Bill wants to talk about he’s wasting his time and mine.
“We’ve been approached by a couple of club members who would like to impose a solution to the embarrassing situation that the club is experiencing and I’m prepared to listen to any suggestions that will help the club, and so is Paul Dunn, so we’ll meet them and listen to their suggestions.”
Mr Diakos, a long-time club member, said he did not think it was advisable for Mr Coorey to attend the meeting in the circumstances and said he was not going to represent him.
“I am going there as a dealmaker,” he said, explaining that he’d sent an SMS to Mr Dunn and Mr Ballesty to set up the meeting.
Mr Diakos said the meeting would not be held at the league club.
“People recognise us. So they would put one and one together that we are having a meeting,” he said.
The league club board met several times last week in the wake of the
Herald’s revelation concerning Mr Coorey’s alleged inappropriate behaviour which included a lewd text message sent from his phone.
Source: SMH
By Chris Barrett and Kate McClymont
September 7, 2020 — 7.33pm
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