Essendon CEO Andrew Thorburn has stepped down from his role after just one day on the job.
Thorburn’s hiring met with widespread backlash after views of his church were highlighted.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews set fire to the Essendon Football Club over his appointment of Thorburn.
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Thorburn, 57, is president of the City on a Hill church, which has previously condemned homosexuality and has divisive views on abortion.
Almost a day after being announced as the leader, Thorburn had officially stepped down to keep his role as church president.
“The Essendon Football Club board has accepted the resignation of Andrew Thorburn as chief executive,” a club statement read.
“As soon as comments regarding a 2013 sermon by a pastor at the Hill City Church this morning came to light, we acted immediately to clarify the publicly held views on the official website of the organization, which are in direct contradiction with our values as a club.
“The Board made it clear that while these were not views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally and were also made before he took up his role as chairman, he could not continue in his dual roles at Essendon Football Club and as President of City on the Hill.
“The Board respects Andrew’s decision.”
Thorburn released a statement shortly after news of his departure broke, blaming today’s culture for not accepting his faith, ultimately costing him the role.
“Yesterday was one of the proudest days of my life. To be offered the role of chief executive of the Essendon Football Club – who I have followed since I was a child – was a profound honour,” Thorburn wrote.
“However, today it became clear to me that my personal Christian faith is not tolerated or allowed in the public square, at least by some and perhaps by many. I am being asked to compromise beyond the level that my conscience would allow. People must be able to hold different points of view on complex personal and moral issues, and be able to live and work together, even with these differences, and always with respect. Behavior is the key. All of this is an important part of a tolerant and diverse society.
“Despite my own leadership record, within hours of my appointment being announced, the media and leaders in our community had spoken. They made it clear that my Christian faith and association with a Church are unacceptable in our culture if you want to occupy a leadership position in society.
“This hurts me a lot, although not only for me, but for our society in general. I think we are poorer for the loss of our great freedoms of thought, conscience and belief that created a truly diverse community , fair and respectful.
“I am saddened by these events. I wish the Club every success and thank Dave Barham in particular for the opportunity he gave me. I hope the external review will lead to great change. I am very sorry that I will not be able to work with the whole team at Essendon , and with Brad Scott and Josh Mahoney in particular.”
The 57-year-old former NAB chief executive defended the church on Tuesday, insisting that “different opinions” in the community should be respected, while noting that he did not share all of his church’s beliefs.
The church has an article on its website from 2013 titled “Surviving Same-Sex Attraction as a Christian.”
Thorburn distanced himself from those views, saying he anticipated the public backlash after “little firestorms” surrounding his faith in his previous work.
Responding to the revelations, Thorburn said it was “very important” he was allowed to express his church’s strong views on abortion and homosexuality in Australian society, but asked the Fire Department to judge him solely on his leadership and not because of their faith.
Daniel Andrews, an Essendon supporter, said the decision to appoint a chief executive ultimately rested with the club’s board and he would remain a member of the club.
But he also said there were “plenty of reasons to be a bit of a disappointed Essendon supporter”.
“These sights are absolutely appalling. I cannot stand these views, this kind of intolerance, this kind of hatred, bigotry. It’s wrong,” Andrews said.
“Masquerading it as anything other than bigotry is obviously false.”
Essendon has gone from one disaster to another on and off the field this year with the club at breaking point after board member and club icon Kevin Sheedy’s extraordinary decision to hit his own club for appoint Brad Scott as the new senior coach last week, bypassing. club legend James Hird.