AFL investigating treatment of past Indigenous players

The Australian Football League [AFL] said it is investigating "extremely serious" allegations about the treatment of Indigenous former players at 13-times champions Hawthorn.

Citing an independent review commissioned by the club, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that former Hawthorn staff are alleged to have demanded Indigenous players separate from their partners to focus on their careers.

One player said the club had left him "broken" after they pressured him and his partner to terminate a pregnancy for the sake of his career, the report said.

The players were not identified in the ABC report.

Melbourne-based Hawthorn said in a statement on Wednesday that it had engaged the AFL's integrity unit immediately after the review raised the historical allegations.

The AFL, the top flight competition of Australian Rules football, said it would set up a panel to investigate further.

"It will give natural justice to those accused and get to the bottom of these very serious allegations," AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan told a media conference in Melbourne on Wednesday.

"I've read the report. There's more today that is not in the report and obviously it's a tough read."

The ABC reported that one player had alleged in the review that former head coach Alastair Clarkson and assistant coach Chris Fagan were among a group of staff that urged him to have his partner's pregnancy terminated.

"Clarkson just leaned over me and demanded that I needed to get rid of my unborn child and my partner," the ABC quoted the unnamed player as saying.

The club sought to cut off contact between the player and his partner by having him remove the SIM card from his phone, he added.

"I've lost the love of the game. I've had suicide attempts.