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Andrew Thorburn cancelled as Essendon CEO after 24 hoursThe appointment of Mr Thorburn on Monday to run the besieged football club sparked a backlash by some supporters, including Port Phillip deputy mayor Tim Baxter, who said he had quit his membership in response and urged a wider boycott.
At issue was Mr Thorburn’s position as chairman at the conservative Christian church, City on a Hill, which has condemned abortion and declared homosexuality a sin. Late on Tuesday, Essendon president Dave Barham said the club had accepted Mr Thorburn’s resignation.
“The board made clear that, despite these not being views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally and that were also made prior to him taking up his role as chairman,
he couldn’t continue to serve in his dual roles at the Essendon Football Club and as chairman of City on the Hill.”
Mr Andrews, a fellow Essendon supporter who was educated at Galen Catholic College and was a resident of the Catholic Mannix College at Monash University, was scathing of the church’s values.
“Those views are absolutely appalling,” Mr Andrews said about the church’s stance. “I don’t support those views, that kind of intolerance, that kind of hatred, bigotry. It is just wrong.“To dress that up as anything other than bigotry is just obviously false.”
“The Essendon footy club is about more than one person,” he said. “I’d encourage all Essendon members to renew their membership. And I hope we can get ourselves on the back page of the paper a bit more than we’re on the front page.”
Mr Thorburn released a statement late on Tuesday on LinkedIn that while he was saddened by the day's events, he was not willing to compromise his personal beliefs.
"Today it became clear to me that my own personal Christian faith is not tolerated or permitted in the public space, at least by some and perhaps by many," he said. "
I was being required to compromise beyond a level that my conscience allowed."
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