Swans coach Cox and captain Mills to front media as scandal widens
Sydney Swans senior coach Dean Cox and captain Callum Mills are scheduled to face the media at 10:30am outside Swans HQ in Moore Park, as the club continues to grapple with a scandal that has engulfed its season ABC News.
AFLW senior coach Colin O'Riordan and captain Lucy McEvoy will also speak later the same day, with the Swans' men's and women's sides to receive equal billing in a Sunday SCG double-header. The AFLW side faces Essendon in round 2, while the men's team plays North Melbourne to close out the regular season.
The scandal began with a report of sexual assault now being investigated by Victoria Police. The allegation centres on one player allegedly touching a woman without her consent at a Melbourne hotel in the early hours of a Monday morning, after the team's win against Essendon on the preceding Sunday night. Several female adult entertainers are understood to have joined Swans players at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel after being hired in the hours following that match.
ABC reporters Danny Tran and Olivia Jenkins reported on Thursday evening that detectives investigating the alleged assault had been told some players paid extra to consume drugs off the entertainers' bodies. One of the women involved is understood to have been seen leaving the hotel room in a distressed state, with a Triple Zero (000) call made to police soon after.
Five Swans players — vice-captain Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, James Jordon, Riley Bice and Nick Blakey — were suspended for the rest of the season on Wednesday. The club noted the suspensions were for failing to meet club standards and not directly related to the police-investigated allegation. It is not suggested any of the five suspended players are accused of sexual assault, and no-one has been arrested or charged in relation to the alleged incident ABC News.
The fallout has spread well beyond the football field. Major sponsors including Colgate, Volkswagen and Telstra suspended dealings with the stood-down players. Publisher Allen & Unwin paused publication of the third book in Isaac Heeney's Little Isaac Footy Fever children's series, which was due on shelves in November. Retailers Gleebooks, Readings and Big W removed Heeney's books from stores across Australia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking to the ABC's 7.30 on Thursday evening, called the Swans' initial response "completely unacceptable" and said the AFL and the club should "have a good look" at their culture. Governor-General Sam Mostyn also commented publicly on the scandal.
Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich said he was "shocked and disappointed" that the scandal took place and that players found themselves in that situation. Chairman Andrew Pridham and Pavlich faced the media after the five suspensions were handed down, with the AFL publishing a full transcript of their press conference. The AFL released its own statement describing the allegations as "deeply concerning."
Footage also emerged of coach Dean Cox out in Richmond in the early hours of the same Monday morning the alleged assault occurred, adding another layer of scrutiny to the club's leadership. Cox said he was "disappointed" over the allegations when he first spoke publicly after the Victoria Police investigation began.
The Swans issued an apology in response to the alleged incident. Cox and Mills had already spoken to reporters within 24 hours of the investigation becoming public.
For the Swans, the immediate question is how a club that began the season with finals aspirations now navigates its closing match amid the gravest off-field crisis in its recent history. The Sunday double-header at the SCG will place both the men's and women's programs under the brightest of spotlights, with every word from Cox, Mills, O'Riordan and McEvoy certain to be scrutinised.
