AFL Players Association Labels Swans Sexual Assault Allegations "Very Serious" as Sponsors Step Back
The AFL Players Association has described the sexual assault allegation against five Sydney Swans players as "very serious," with CEO James Gallagher issuing the statement on Wednesday evening as Victoria's sex crime detectives prepared to travel to Sydney to advance the investigation.
The police probe centres on an allegation of touching without consent, following a complaint about players' behaviour during celebrations at the Pullman East Melbourne Hotel in the early hours of Monday morning. Victorian sex crime detectives were due to travel to Sydney as part of the investigation, according to multiple law-enforcement agencies ABC News. 7NEWS has also reported that illicit drugs were allegedly present in the hotel room that morning 7NEWS.
The five players at the centre of the scandal — Isaac Heeney, Riley Bice, James Jordon, Chad Warner and Nick Blakey — issued a statement saying they were "deeply sorry" and accepted the club's decision to suspend them for the rest of the season. Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham and board member Matthew Pavlich fronted the media to explain the call, with the club citing a failure to meet team standards amid the ongoing police investigation AFL.com.au.
The fallout has spread well beyond the football department. Major sponsors QBE and realestate.com.au both called the allegations "serious" and said they would wait for the outcome of the police investigation before commenting further. Telstra, which holds brand ambassador arrangements with two of the players involved, said those players would not participate in any ambassador activity while the investigation runs, with the arrangements to be reviewed once it concludes. According to reporting from August 19, the players could face up to $600,000 in lost sponsorship SMH.
Governor-General Sam Mostyn — a former Swans board member and the first woman to serve as an AFL commissioner — said she was "shocked and troubled" by the allegations and "devastated" for all women affected by the alleged incident. The Swans' AFLW players issued their own statement earlier in the week, saying the allegations are serious "regardless of who is involved, what time of year it is, or what they may mean for a season" AFL.com.au.
The ripple effects have reached the AFL's end-of-season honours, too. The release of the All-Australian squad — the league's annual best-team-of-the-year selection — was delayed after the alleged incident in Melbourne came to light AFL.com.au.
For the Swans, the suspensions end the season for five listed players and cast a long shadow over a club that has built its identity on culture and standards. The police investigation will determine what comes next.
