The Australian Football League says it is investigating “very serious allegations” made by Indigenous players who say they were racially abused by a head coach at the Hawthorn Football Club in Melbourne.

A former Hawthorn player has told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) that he was told by the AFL club’s then-coach to terminate his partner’s pregnancy. Three Indigenous families involved at Hawthorn during the same man’s period as coach between 2005-21 have told the ABC they were allegedly bullied and told to choose between their football careers and their families.

The AFL later revealed that Brisbane coach Chris Fagan will take a