Ken Hinkley has expressed feelings of being "shamed" and "misused" by the AFL following a controversial incident involving Jack Ginnivan during his time at Port Adelaide. The former coach was handed a $20,000 fine for making a provocative gesture towards Ginnivan and other Hawthorn players after a semi-final win in 2024. This altercation stemmed from Ginnivan’s pre-game social media posts, which suggested that Hawthorn would defeat Port and progress to the preliminary final against Sydney.
Hinkley noted that the AFL later used this confrontation to promote their Gather Round clash between the two clubs, a move he perceived as exploitation of his misstep. In a candid interview on SEN’s Whately, Hinkley delved into the incident and articulated his disappointment with how the AFL handled the situation. "The AFL decided to impose a fine on me and shame me, and I was pretty unforgiving of that to be honest," he stated, highlighting a lack of compassion from the league during this period.
Despite acknowledging his mistake, Hinkley felt that the treatment he received was harsh, given the circumstances. He admitted to feeling exploited while being out of the game allowed him to speak more freely about his experience. "I owned that, I talked about it quite openly straight afterwards and was embarrassed by my own behaviour," he reflected.
The coach shared that, although he understood he deserved some form of discipline, he expected a degree of empathy from the AFL, which he felt was lacking. Hinkley described feeling hurt by the league’s actions, stating, "I didn’t deserve too much, but I deserved some form of care, I thought, and that didn’t come."
The rematch between Hawthorn and Port Adelaide following this incident drew significant attention, culminating in Ginnivan performing an aeroplane celebration after scoring a goal—an echo of the gesture that had sparked the original clash. Hinkley concluded his 12-year tenure with Port Adelaide after coaching 297 games, winning 174 of them, leaving a legacy marked by both achievements and controversies.