I must ask that this email be please forwarded on directly to all current Board members, and especially to our Chairman Tony Kelly.

My name is JT

(Personal membership details of my family). We collectively have poured many thousands of dollars into the Club over the past 12+ years on memberships, tickets to games, endless merchandise, special Club memorabilia, donations, etc.

We feel shattered by what the Club is doing in relation to the new Logo, especially the possible changes to our jumpers as confirmed by Jonathon Brown and by various sources inside the Club. The current Lion on our jumpers has been connected to our Club since 1965. It means a lot to Fitzroy supporters - one of the few things we have left. But importantly it also means a hell of a lot to almost all Brisbane Lions supporters. We created history with that Lion on our jumper as possibly the greatest team of all time, winning three Premierships in a jumper that should never be forgotten (or substantially altered).

I can't understand why the Club would contemplate such a move. You are being wilfully led astray by marketeers who are surely being handsomely rewarded financially. A new logo on merchandise is one thing that perhaps we could live with. But to contemplate changing our jumpers in any significant fashion is ludicrous. It will not benefit the Club financially. In fact it will do the opposite. It is already significantly alienating existing members without creating any clear pull for new members. Ongoing support and membership of AFL clubs is not built on gimmicks. It is built on loyalty, history, tradition, enjoyment, camaraderie, and passion. Without these things the Club is nothing but a bunch of talented guys playing football.

I think the following image nicely illustrates what I am talking about, even if it is about a commercial product:

What is also upsetting is the Club's wanton disregard for the spirit of the merger agreement. Regardless of the legal technicalities of that agreement, the Club seems to continuously uncaringly erode the spirit of that agreement on a number of fronts, with the potential change to the jumper being the most significant. The Club should not see that agreement as having ended (again regardless of the legal technicalities); the Club should feel honour-bound to protect the spirit of that agreement. In that vain it is here I note that there is no objective in the Club's Constitution (nor in our vision / mission statement) dealing with the protection of the Club's Fitzroy, Brisbane Bears, and Brisbane Lions history and culture. I can't help but feel that this fact has led the Club astray.

The Club's administration and Board has behaved in an ignorant and arrogant manner. The trust of the Club's passionate members has been broken. It is now up to the Club to rectify the situation. The Club says that its members couldn't have been widely consulted / that it is not like a government. I find such an argument contemptuous to say the least. How long have the Club been doing post-season surveys of its members? There is absolutely no reason why we couldn't be asked. WE, THE MEMBERS, ARE THE CLUB. The Club's administration and Board is in fact a lot like a government. We the members put our trust in you to keep safe all that we hold dear. If you don't do that, then there will be consequences - the Board and the administration's tenure is put in grave danger, just like the Australian Government would be if they decided to unilaterally change the Australian Flag.

It is therefore now necessary for full members to contemplate extraordinary measures to ensure the things they hold so dear, remain that way. I am talking of measures such as gathering the support necessary to call a (extraordinary) General Meeting of the Club to vote on resolutions on our Jumpers (including possibly enshrining them in the Club's Constitution), a vote of no confidence in the administration, and possibly even a spill of the Board. It is also possible we could put forward member's resolutions / special resolutions for the upcoming AGM, as well as organising a protest vote against the Directors who are up for re-election this year. If you doubt the ability of supporters to undertake such measures, then you seriously underestimate the passion of our supporters as well as the usefulness for which the internet can be put. I know you are aware that the website www.saveourjumper.com.au is up and running. Harnessing that website and using the legal expertise of the Fitzroy Football Club (who I am also in contact with), I am very confident that we can secure the number of full members legally necessary to invoke these measures and to ensure they are put to a vote.

Of course none of this needs to happen. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and the Club needs to realise there are serious consequences for making extremely poor decisions. I therefore call on the Club to reverse its decision, specifically in relation to our jumpers. If necessary the Club could even put the issue to a vote at the upcoming AGM.

In any event, the Club needs to take a good look at itself and fully explain its actions to its members.

Regards, JT