Fremantle chief executive Steve Rosich denies the Ku Klux Klan controversy that engulfed the Dockers yesterday will create a rift between the AFL club's indigenous and non-indigenous players.
The Dockers were forced to go into damage control when assistant coach Steve Malaxos revealed on community radio that players were dressing up in KKK outfits and raiding each others' houses as a prank.
But the controversy proved to be a storm in a teacup, with the offending costume, which consisted of a white mask, dark sunglasses, hat, scarf and white sheet that covered the body from the shoulders down, clearly not that of the KKK.
The club released a photo of the outfit yesterday afternoon and named Clayton Hinkley and Andrew Foster as the two players behind the prank.
The pair, both fringe players at the club, egged the cars of four teammates, none of whom were Aboriginal, and in one case covered a car in glad wrap.
They took a photo of themselves wearing the disguise in front of one of the vehicles before posting the photo in the club's change rooms at a later date.
Fremantle has eight Aboriginal players on its list the most in the AFL. But Rosich insisted the initial speculation that players were donning KKK outfits would not create a rift at the club.
''The facts are that two of our younger players have played a private, non-discriminatory, harmless practical joke on four of their teammates,'' Rosich told a packed media conference yesterday.
''As well as talking to the full playing list today, [football operations manager] Chris Bond and I spoke to Des Headland and Antoni Grover, who are on our leadership group, and they see the light-hearted nature in the matter that's taken place and have absolutely no issues with the two players concerned at all.
''It hasn't distracted our players.''
The Ku Klux Klan is a white supremacist organisation which has a record of violence towards African Americans, Jews and other minorities.
Rosich said 20-year-old Hinkley, who last played for the Dockers in round three, and 23-year-old Foster, who is currently sidelined by a back injury, had done ''nothing wrong'', but said the pair had been told to take no further part in the pranks.
''We won't be sanctioning the players [but] they've agreed this is not an activity they'll be continuing with,'' he said. ''We are very comfortable with the off-field behaviour of our players.
''This is the first incident that's attracted this sort of attention.
''We are very comfortable that our players have the capacity to understand what is right and what is wrong.''
Rosich said Malaxos, who enjoyed a distinguished playing career with Hawthorn and West Coast, deeply regretted his comments.
''Steven is very upset,'' Rosich said.
''He regrets those comments, he agrees they were inaccurate and ... he doesn't know why he actually said them because he doesn't believe that.''
Rosich said he would contact sponsors of the club to ensure there were no misunderstandings over the incident.
The controversy was the last thing Fremantle needed following its winless start to the season, which has heaped the pressure on coach Mark Harvey.
It is also unwanted publicity for the AFL, which was fuming over the ''chickengate'' affair at North Melbourne.
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