So my career was teaching. His first wife died in 1999. He is currently single. The AFL chief executive, whose successor could be named as early as May, has declared a wish to serve out the 2014 football season, demanded and received great loyalty from his staff who became emboldened themselves by a leader they regarded as fearless. He was educated at La Trobe University, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1983 and a Diploma of Education in 1984. My mother, who passed away three years ago, was an incredible woman. He's revolutionised the code's response to illicit drug use; initiated a policy to improve the treatment of women; allowed free movement of uncontracted, end-of-term players between clubs; and supported some of the strongest anti-discrimination policies in international sport. It's not worth it." Jokes about people's mothers hurt people!". He was betraying the sports . [citation needed], In 2008, Demetriou earned an annual salary of $1.4 million, making him the highest paid administrator or player then employed by the AFL. He is presiding over an enterprise whose growth in recent years has been little short of exponential, with rising memberships, ballooning revenues and top ratings underscoring the might of the indigenous code in an era of unprecedented competition, in particular from the round ball behemoth that is The World Game. "We are living in an age of scrutiny that we've never experienced before and it's not just football. Andrew Demetriou: his birthday, what he did before fame, his family life, fun trivia facts, popularity rankings, and more. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. And because of where the new AFL teams are based, who will play in them and how the money will flow, the most serious impacts are almost certain to be felt by AFL's main competitor for fans, players and cash: the National Rugby League. 2 at the AFL, and now CEO of Football Federation Australia (formerly Soccer Australia), remembers Demetriou's player profile at North Melbourne. We've carefully put building blocks along the way to target a time, and the time is right now because if it's not now when (the league) is in a strong position, then when? To many league supporters, it was the defection of top players Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt - both State of Origin and international stars - that made what had been a largely theoretical idea of an 18-team AFL suddenly intensely personal. "But I really can't fault him. He was 24. But, Mrs Demetriou, you're going to have to stop him putting up his hand - he's too smart for his own good.' Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. It's the day before our Lindsay Lohan conversation, and he's leaning back in a dark sofa, one arm hanging over its side. A fourth daughter would be fantastic. When the AFL season begins on Thursday, it will include a new team, the Gold Coast Suns, and in 2012, the Suns will be joined by the Greater Western Sydney Giants (GWS); then, for the first time in its 115-year history, the VFL/AFL will have 18 teams in its top competition. And he dismisses those who have branded the AFL incursion into western Sydney mere bravado or "bigger-than-Jesus hubris", as one Sydney rugby league commentator damned it. He met his second wife, Symone, then a corporate sales executive at the AFL in 2001 and they married a few years later. We're changing people's lives. In 2011, Demetriou was involved in securing a record breaking A$1.25 billion TV rights deal for the period of 20122016. Sydney won the 2012 premiership implementing a style of relentless tackling and attacking play. We've never underestimated them. "That was hard. Andrew finished his tenure with the AFL in June. Aghast, she never went back. She would have been 14 at the time of his most cherished football moment, but by then had jumped onto the bandwagon of the team that would go back-to-back that year, Essendon. [citation needed] North Melbourne Football Club had played three home games there in 2007 and, at the conclusion of that season, Demetriou offered the club $100 million to relocate there permanently. [5], In 2005 he was instrumental in securing a record breaking A$780 million TV rights deal. He'd had one great relationship in his life; that was all anyone could expect. He respected me as somebody in an organisation. "I'm not a reader of books, which is a disgrace when it's all said and done, but I'm a prolific reader of newspapers, back to front," he says. I didn't take things as seriously.". "When I played football," recalls James, "it was brutal, really brutal. "Andrew's not frightened (to take heat) and he encourages us to think long term and make decisions in the long-term interests of the game and not be worried about short term criticisms there's no doubt he came under personal pressure from the Federal Government at that time. "Every time we expand, we grow," says Demetriou. It hurts people. And it was as AFLPA CEO in 1998 that he secured a historic collective-bargaining agreement that delivered a significant pay rise to the competition's 600-odd players. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images Demetriou, who has sat on Crown's board since 2015, told the inquiry that the company's risk management processes were good but that important information was not escalated to the board. He was awarded the University's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009 and a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) in 2015 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to sport management and to Australian society through his leadership and support of important social issues, and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor. "It's impossible for me to answer that, other than the fact that when you're dealing with terminal illness, and you've got a very limited time, you change your perspective on many things. Symone and Andrew Demetriou, expecting their fourth child and partners in a babywear business. Crown Resorts director Andrew Demetriou has resigned from the board of the embattled gaming giant but has vowed to defend his reputation. Demetriou played 103 games for the North Melbourne Football Club between 1981 and 1987, finishing his playing career with a three-game stint for Hawthorn in 1988. Demetriou found himself playing alongside some of North's greats - Keith Greig, Wayne Schimmelbusch, Ross Glendinning, the Krakouer brothers and Malcolm Blight to name a few - but by the time he was in his prime in the mid-'80s that premiership era had passed. "He's telling the truth about that," says Don Watson. Says Demetriou now: "It was an incredibly powerful statement. ", "But it's completely unacceptable today. But there's something about his knees, as if he were once pigeon-toed, or injured in some way, that makes him kick out his feet as he walks. No responsibility for Essendon scandal: Demetriou, No responsibility for Bombers scandal: chief. He seems relaxed but self-possessed, friendly but not confiding. The deal included unprecedented live TV coverage of the AFL competition in all states of Australia through free-to-air, subscription and IP television. But on the advice of medical experts he incorporated a three-strikes policy that puts player welfare ahead of the urge to "name and shame" offenders, and subsequently got belted by political leaders who reckoned it was lax.He doesn't care. That would leave a massive hole at the competitions governing body and the game at the crossroads. "Of that opening remark, Lindsay recalls: "It was a throwaway line, really. ""Our game takes 17-year-olds from completely different backgrounds. In the business-class lounge at 6.30am, top button undone and pale blue tie looped around his neck, the most powerful man in Australian football scours the newspapers for news. This is no doubt true - but not the whole truth. "History will tell.". Even when I said to him, 'Andrew, you know, maybe now you should start to think about moving on how are you feeling? "Expansion is going to make things much tougher for clubs in the short term," says Gale, speaking as Richmond CEO. With his second wife, Symone, Demetriou raised twin daughters, as well as an additional daughter and a son. But no, it didn't.". "It was a case of 'winners are grinners'," she says without a hint of guilt. Part of the secret is planning: he's created a five-person strategy team at the AFL to crunch numbers and model scenarios. The western Sydney move is a brave one; we're all looking at that with great interest.". He speaks with his chin down, dark eyes watchful behind his rimless glasses. I don't know why people are so obsessed by that." "I went to uni, did arts and a dip ed, majored in legal studies and politics, and got a job teaching year 12 politics. Even Demetrious fellow commissioners enjoyed his press conferences - despite the odd misstep - as much as anything and they would not have been disappointed by his first farewell performance on Monday morning at AFL headquarters. "I took a decision very early on that I wanted to see them grow and help my wife," he says. (Kardashian is the star of US reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians.) "He's comfortable in any environment," says author and commentator Don Watson, who's known him since 1995. Having been directed by the commission to groom a successor, Demetriou has achieved that in his deputy Gillon McLachlan, who impressed the AFL board when he took over the reins during Demetrious long service leave of 2012. In 2002 he married his current wife Symone, and they have three daughters and a son. And Andrew's allowed me to express them. "The business is a good business. We manufacture and distribute false teeth. Free market forces might not deem Demetriou's playing career worthy of football's pantheon - a 1985 Scanlen's card of the moustachioed player was selling for $1.99 on eBay last month - though anyone who gets to pull the boots on for more than 100 matches can't be too shabby, a record that would mark a Demetriou boy a potential father-son recruit. "Informality quickly makes way for more formal discussion on those evenings when the four business partners order in. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options await you. he says. According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Mackenzie filed for divorce on Monday . "Our numbers are very impressive in western Sydney," he says, when he says anything at all. So, how much is Andrew Demetriou worth at the age of 61 years old? [6], In 2011, Demetriou was involved in securing a record breaking A$1.25 billion TV rights deal for the period of 20122016. "It's hard at times," admits Symone. Or, as he would put it, giving people options. "You could see, even at that young age, that he was very erudite, well-read, interested in travel.". He also claimed that the Swans would not win a premiership with the way they were playing, and this statement was underlined when the team suffered a 43-point defeat to St Kilda in Round 10. But, you know, that's Andrew defending his patch. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. Demetriou himself rejects the idea of deliberate discrimination in his early life, but it seems more likely that, for an able and confident kid, it did exist and he simply brushed it off. "Andrew is a vigorous defender of his organisation's objectives," is how Buckley diplomatically puts it. "I think anyone who has strong views about things and seeks by dint of their own strength of personality to force things through, always runs the risk of alienating people," observes Sydney Swans president Richard Collis. It was while Demetriou was a student at La Trobe University in 1983 that he met his first wife, historian Jan Bassett. The Demetriou boys regularly drop by and the commitment to family and to one another remains strong. And what about (her step-father) Bruce? I'm very outspoken. As the son of working-class migrants, says sports writer Richard Hinds, "he really taps into the psyche of the left. It's the largest multicultural area in Australia. "Andrew Demetriou was born, the youngest of four boys, in Melbourne to Greek Cypriot parents in 1961. "Demetriou's values were sewn into his very fabric by his humble upbringing, by the work ethic and sacrifice of parents hell-bent on building a life for their children in a new land. When we meet in February, he's about to chair a meeting of the Australian Multicultural Advisory Council; he's off on a weekend retreat with the Climate Change Institute board; and he's just sent an address to the UN Human Rights Council about the AFL's anti-racial vilification policies. Andrew Demetriou gives evidence at the NSW casino inquiry on Tuesday. ", "Even though the commission has always had expansionist aspirations, there's clearly a lot of Andrew in it as well," adds Richmond's Brendon Gale. I always put the players first: Andrew Demetriou. He is from Australian. I've said to my staff and to myself that everyone's got to modify their lifestyle. 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