Hird, responding to an article written today by AFL national community manager Jason Mifsud, said he was answering a question about the future of the game.
""I don't think we made any comment about indigenous players. I answered a question about the two-and-two rule and where it is going and I think my base for those comments had nothing to do with race,"" Hird said.
""I answered them as honestly as possible and I don't apologise for answering those questions honestly.""
Speaking on Fox Footy's On the Couch program on February 20, Paul Roos suggested new interchange bench rules could prevent players who lacked athletic endurance from being picked up by AFL clubs.
He then said that could lead directly to less indigenous players being recruited, making the suggestion they tended to be more explosive and quick in short bursts, rather than over the course of a game.
