Chris Johnson backs Hawthorn great Cyril Rioli over his break with the club over comments by Hawks' president Jeff Kennett

Chris Johnson, a member of the AFL's Indigenous Team of the Century, has backed Cyril Rioli's decision to cut ties with Hawthorn while Jeff Kennett remains club president, saying he and his wife have every right to feel the way they do. 

In a report in The Age on Saturday, Rioli said he would not return to the club in any capacity while Kennett remained in his post.

The four-time premiership winner said a series of issues had fractured the relationship between Hawthorn and its Indigenous players during his time there from 2008 until his retirement in 2018.

These included comments by Kennett towards Rioli's wife Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli that contributed to his decision to end his career at the Hawks at the age of just 28.

Speaking on ABC's AFL coverage on Saturday night, Johnson took issue with people who disregard or downplay comments made to Indigenous Australians that cause hurt or embarrassment. 

«We as Indigenous people think a flippant comment is not a flippant comment; it's a comment,» Johnson said.

«It's a comment to hurt, it's a comment to embarrass, it's a comment to degrade somebody.

Jeff Kennett comes under increasing pressure to step down as president of AFL club Hawthorn after revelations about his treatment of Cyril Rioli and the premiership star's family.

Johnson, who also captained the Australian International Rules team in 2005 and was twice named All-Australian, said First Nations people carried trauma „for a long, long time“ after racial insults.

»Cyril and his partner have every right to feel the way they feel, and it may never be right that they feel comfortable going back to the club," he said.

«We always have to be forgiving of people, but sometimes enough is enough and sometimes you're better off without those