Submissions made and opinions offered during the investigation of alleged racism at the Hawthorn Football Club included positive experiences with Alastair Clarkson and Chris Fagan, and raised concerns about the cultural safety review partially behind the scandal, News Corp has reported.

An in-depth piece published Wednesday, first reported by Code Sports, features extracts of interviews with former Hawthorn players, including First Nations stars Shaun Burgoyne and Brad Hill, conducted during the probe after allegations of racism surfaced in grand final week of 2022. The investigation was concluded in mid-2023.

Within those interviews and evidence were individual testimonies regarding Clarkson, Fagan and former Hawks staffer Jason Burt — who had been central to the allegations of racist conduct at the club over a decade ago, News Corp reports.

Burgoyne also raised concerns regarding the club-commissioned cultural safety review critical to the allegations authored by Phil Egan, the outlet stated.

Egan's report had accused Clarkson, Fagan and Burt of alleged systemic racism.

The AFL set up an independent investigation panel in late 2022.

In May 2023, then-AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan announced investigations had been brought to an end with 'no adverse findings' against Clarkson, Fagan and Burt, and agreements reached with the Indigenous former Hawthorn players behind allegations of racism at the club.

The issue later went to the Australian Human Rights Commission and Federal Court where parties involved reached an undisclosed settlement in November 2024.

"The Herald Sun has uncovered hours of video testimony and more than 20 witness statements from Hawks players and officials that underpinned the call to terminate the probe," News Corp reported on Wednesday, adding that "All of the witnesses vehemently disputed claims in Mr Egan's report that a sub-culture of racism had ever existed at the club".

"The statements formed the basis of a secret assessment of the evidence later conducted by a retired Federal Court judge, who found that all of the most serious claims were 'lacking in evidence' and could not be substantiated," News Corp reported.

In a written submission obtained by the Herald Sun, Burgoyne reportedly wrote he "could not speak more highly" of Clarkson, Fagan and Burt, that he would trust the trio with the lives of his wife and children, and "At no time did I see, or was I subjected to, inappropriate, racist, bullying or intimidatory conduct by any of Clarkson, Fagan or Burt".

Burgoyne also wrote to investigators he "couldn't say I picked up on anything that he would have been unhappy with", referring to former teammate Carl Peterson, whose allegation he and his partner were pushed towards terminating a pregnancy were a major part of the racism claims.

"To be honest it's all very surprising to me," Burgoyne wrote, News Corp reports.

Of his discussions with Egan in forming the earlier cultural safety review, Burgoyne claimed Egan hadn't made notes or recorded their face-to-face conversation.

Burgoyne, a 400-gamer and three-time premiership Hawk, also raised his concerns about what effect the investigations into Hawthorn would have for Aboriginal players across other AFL clubs, according to News Corp.

The Herald Sun reports current St Kilda and former Hawk Bradley Hill told investigators: "Mr Clarkson has always been welcoming to me and my family and always made time for me. I'm still connected with him and still talk to him to this day. He is someone I am very thankful to have in my life. I don't have a bad thing to say about Mr Clarkson, Mr Fagan or Mr Burt."

Luke Hodge, Jarryd Roughead, Issace Smith, Luke Breust, Josh Gibson and other premiership players also made statements for the investigation.

Hodge, Roughead, James Frawley, Jonathon Ceglar, Brad Sewell, all of whom are non-Indigenous, gave positive assessments of the support they felt was offered to First Nations players at the club, News Corp reports.

"My observations were that Mr Clarkson cared greatly about including Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and First Nation players at Hawthorn. I do not believe he would compromise this progress by allowing misconduct like what has been alleged to occur at HFC," Hodge said in his submission.

Clarkson was last week sacked as head coach of North Melbourne's men's team after four years in charge.

Fagan is the current back-to-back premiership coach of Brisbane, having been at the helm at the Lions since 2017.