Melbourne captain Max Gawn said he is "incredibly upset" that former teammate Angus Brayshaw had his seven-figure concussion insurance claim rejected by club sponsor Zurich, although believes the decision is "technically" correct.
Gawn revealed that he had been in contact with Brayshaw over the past week since the claim had been rejected, with the latter insisting the Demons should continue promoting the club sponsor despite the outcome.
Brayshaw was forced into retirement following a head knock in the 2023 Qualifying Final against Collingwood.
"Look, angry isn't the right word, but I'm incredibly upset that Angus hasn't been successful in his bid to be able to get his insurance money," Gawn said on Triple M.
"I think that (situation) is something that the AFL has to look into. I think they already are, to be fair, so that is something we want to get covered.
"I have Angus' blessing [to continue promoting Zurich]. Angus spoke really clearly to me about that.
"He's incredibly upset that he hasn't been able to get his money, but he also sees the bigger picture in this. He sees that he was just unsuccessful.
"The independent umpire has come in and said no. That's not Zurich, that's not Angus, that's an independent umpire that doesn't have a bias.
"It just feels like this is a situation where Angus just lost a compo claim that we wish he got, but technically, probably shouldn't have got it."
Gawn also touched on how Zurich could pay and make an exception for the former Demon, but understands why they aren't.
"They could, but I'm sure there's millions of cases around the world that are similar. We want as much answers as we can, and that's what the club's trying to provide for us."
Both Nathan Murphy and Paul Seedsman have recently had their insurance claims rejected for being medically retired due to their concussion problems.
