McSween resigned late Wednesday night  but in his final act as league chief he has initiated an investigation into the alleged unbecoming conduct of club representatives at a league forum on June 13.​

The league chief had requested Western District AFL regional general manager Kate Williamson initiate that investigation as an independent body on Tuesday last week.

He said she indicated she would consider the request but took more than a week to respond.

McSween said Williamson had informed him by email late on Wednesday he could initiate the investigation himself.

He instructed regional administrative centre employee Brad Pole to initiate the investigation by appointing an investigator.

McSween said he had it confirmed by Pole that investigation was to be initiated on Thursday morning.

He then tendered a letter of resignation about 11pm on Wednesday.

It is understood the investigation will focus on the forum, at which there were a number of independent witnesses.

McSween claims he was personally attacked and abused at the forum as some club representatives tried to get him to resign.

One witness said if he had been subjected to such treatment he would have finished up in the corner of the room, curled up in a foetal position and sucking his thumb.

McSween said he had been the subject of extreme bullying and harassing treatment and in his request to the AFL Western District for an investigation he named eight people as having participated in that behaviour.

In a letter of resignation addressed to all WDFNL club members, McSween said in the past few months ​he had endured vocal and social aggression from a select few club representatives​.

He claimed the behaviour at the club forum was "clearly an orchestrated personal attack on myself​"​. 

​"​It is my hope and wish that no future board members would suffer the same​," he said​.

​"​To stay true to my strong principles ​and ethics I can no longer stay in an environment that has eroded my trust in certain people within the organisation. 

​"​I feel that if I went with the proposal of stepping away from my chairperson position​,​ and remained on the board​,​ this still would not have addressed the current issue.

​"​By removing myself I am hoping that this will give some clear air for the board to move forward unimpeded​.”

In the email to McSween, Williamson said: “There is no doubt that any form of abuse of any person is unacceptable.”

“What needs to be explored is exactly what has alleged to have happened, via investigation, and what parts of the league’s bylaws, if any, have been breached by these alleged behaviours.

“An investigation would provide the basis for any charges which would then be heard by the tribunal. These charges would then need to be heard by the independent tribunal.”

Williamson twice confirmed in the email that McSween had the power to initiate the investigation. But she said “our recommendation would be to enter mediation as the first step with the named parties...in order to resolve the matter”.

She warned: “The precedent of the league taking action against club representatives from a league conducted forum will need to be managed carefully.”

Williamson issued a statement.

“It is extremely disappointing to hear that confidential correspondence has been leaked to The Standard almost at the exact time it was sent to the Warrnambool league executive,” she said.

“This is unprofessional and unfair on those accused of inappropriate behaviour and breaks the league constitution.  The chairman is able to launch an investigation as set out in the league's bylaws, and did so. 

“This investigation will run its course with an experienced and independent investigation officer appointed.  There are two sides to every story and an independent investigation will determine if Ken's accusations have any merit. The clubs appear frustrated by a lack of leadership and continued deflection of responsibility. Clubs want a well run league so they are able to focus on community football and netball.”

*This story was updated on October 1, 2018.