The Manly Sea Eagles staffer claims she has been sacked despite warning the club of a rainbow jersey fiasco
Male staffer Kristie Fulton, who told the club to stay away from the rainbow jersey, was fired from her role and claimed she marched out over the ugly round 20 fiasco.
Fulton, the daughter of Sea Eagles legend Bob, was fired on Friday and reportedly escorted in tears from her office, four months after she told the board she was not a fan of the Pride jersey move.
CEO Tony Mestrov asked about Fulton at his office around midday, where he immediately terminated her contract, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The former Elite Pathways manager expressed her concerns a month before the Pride flick was officially unveiled, telling internal members that player opposition could backfire on the design.
Kristie Fulton (second right) has been sacked by Manly CEO Tony Mestrov with reports she was a bully
The Manly Pride kit wreaked havoc at the club – but Kristie Fulton says the problem could have been solved by heat-sealing pink over the women’s rainbow stripe in the league round
Fulton was involved in a collaboration meeting on June 29 where shirt maker Dynasty held talks with Manly’s marketing team and deputy CEO Gary Wolman.
At the meeting, Fulton said she told the many parties “the club has to be careful about making political and social statements and we should look at that”.
It was her job to understand the beliefs and values of the players, particularly Manly’s Polynesian group as Fulton raised them through juniors.
Kristie Fulton cleans the coffin of Bob Fulton, her late father, during his state funeral in June 2021
When Manly announced the team would don the Pride jersey in Round 20 against the Roosters, seven stars told the club they would not play due to religious beliefs.
Fulton says she urged the club to reverse their decision and seal pink over the rainbow colors to attribute them to the women’s round of the league amid a political media storm.
So she suggested that Manly could step forward and apologize for their impulse failure and work more closely on management and marketing projects.
The famous Fulton family has many allies in the NRL media, such as Fox Sports journalist Paul Kent and Sea Eagles die-hard Peter Peters.
Scott Fulton (L), with mother Anne (C) and Brett Fulton (R) – the two brothers both have key roles at the Manly Club
The decision to fire Kristie could end problems for the other Fulton clan with brother Scott in recruitment and Brett, SG Ball’s coach.
Kristie’s nephew Zac Fulton is expected to remain at Manly on a new two-year deal after making his debut in the Pride shirt fiasco in Round 20.
Fulton was shown the door by CEO Tim Cleary in 2017, but was reinstated after a request for a wrongful dismissal.
There are also reports of bullying allegations that could play a part in this sacking, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
