New Essendon Chief Executive Andrew Thorburn steps down just one day after appointment

Andrew Thorburn has resigned from his role as incoming Chief Executive of the AFL’s Essendon club as a result of his links to a church that condemns homosexuality and abortion - deemed by the Bombers’ board as being in “direct contradiction” to the values of the club.

The Bombers announced this afternoon that Thorburn, despite reportedly not holding the same personal views as the City on the Hill movement for which he is Chairman, felt he could not serve in both roles and had offered his resignation.

Essendon President, Dave Barham advised in a statement “as soon as the comments relating to a 2013 sermon from a pastor at the City of the Hill church came to light this morning, we acted immediately to clarify the publicly espoused views on the organisation’s official website, which are in direct contradiction to our values as a club.

“Essendon is committed to providing an inclusive, diverse and safe club, where everyone is welcome and respected.

“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. The board respects Andrew’s decision.”

Announced on Monday as the Bombers' successor to Xavier Campbell, immediately after his appointment Thorburn promised to lead an "inclusive" club, advising in his first interview after being appointed to lead Essendon, that he understood some of the church's views "are offensive and upset people".

Thorburn told Melbourne radio station SEN on Tuesday morning “my faith is a very personal thing, and my faith has helped me become a better leader.

"At the centre of my faith is the belief that you should create community, care for people, help people's faith and respect them as humans."

A City on a Hill article from 2013, titled Surviving Same Sex Attraction as a Christian, advises those who “struggle with same-sex attraction” to “speak to a mature Christian whom you trust, so you can receive the support and accountability you will need in the long term to survive these temptations”.

Those views were reiterated in a 2016 sermon stating “practising homosexuality is a sin, but same-sex attraction is not a sin”.

Another sermon, published in 2013 and titled What Should Christians Think About Abortion, stated “whereas today we look back at sadness and disgust over concentration camps, future generations will look back with sadness at the legal murder of hundreds of thousands of human beings every day through medicine and in the name of freedom.”

The church reaffirmed this position in a 2018 sermon stating that “even women who have raised children conceived through their rape have not regretted aborting their child”.

City on a Hill, which has equated abortion with concentration camps and claims “practising homosexuality is a sin”.

Immediately after Thorburn’s appointment, Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, described the Church’s views as “absolutely appalling”, while the Deputy Mayor of the City of Port Phillip, Tim Baxter, said he would rescind his club membership because as “a bisexual man I cannot feel welcome in this club”.

Thorburn, a former National Australia Bank chief executive who resigned in 2019 after his leadership was criticised by the Banking Royal Commission, joined City on a Hill in 2014.

Essendon’s acting Chief Executive, Nick Ryan will continue in the role while the club commences the process of appointing Campbell’s successor.

Image: Andrew Thorburn. Credit: Essendon/Twitter.