Gordon: Mental health is the "most serious issue confronting the game"

Western Bulldogs President Peter Gordon has declared that mental health is the biggest issue in the AFL.

Gordon and other club executives reportedly banded together to take a stand against players using mental health as an excuse for abusing illicit drugs.

The Western Bulldogs President admits that while they have differing views, they are all united on the seriousness of mental health within the sport.

“There’s a range of issues that we’ve got to deal with but I think the clubs identify mental health as the most serious issue confronting them and the game,” Gordon told SEN’s Whateley.

“I’ve been saying the one thing and the same thing about illicit drugs for a number of years and I actually never said anything new and I don’t want to own the comments that other people have made.”

Gordon does maintain the view that the AFL could work better with club executives to decrease the prevalence of mental health issues in the sport.

“My view is that club management, club CEOs and football directors and club boards both have responsibilities as employers and to discharge those responsibilities properly, there are certain things that we need to know,” the Bulldogs President told Gerard Whateley.

“We currently are in a situation where some of our employees know that information, the AFL knows that information, the player knows that information and we don’t.

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“I would like to work with the AFL and the AFLPA to find a way through that because I feel, and I have felt for some time now, impeded as a responsible employer.

“It’s an obligation of a good employer and a good person, really, to do the best you can to look after players in those circumstances, and I haven’t felt for some years now we are able to do that.”

Hear Gerard Whateley's full interview with Peter Gordon in the player below.