Dee Salmin to Boycott Brownlow Medal Over AFL's Response to Swans Hotel Allegations
Dee Salmin, partner of Collingwood captain Darcy Moore, has announced she will not attend next month's Brownlow Medal ceremony, boycotting the AFL's night of nights over the league's handling of an alleged sexual assault at the Sydney Swans' team hotel.
Salmin, a writer and podcast host who previously broadcast on triple j, made the announcement in her newsletter on 30 August. Her decision targets what she and many others have called an inadequate response from both the Swans and the AFL to the allegations, which centre on an incident at the Melbourne hotel where Sydney players were staying during a road trip in August The Guardian.
Victoria Police are investigating an alleged sexual assault connected to the hotel stay. No one has been arrested or charged. The five Sydney players at the centre of the matter have reportedly denied any criminal wrongdoing.
The Swans banned those five players for the remainder of the season for breaching club standards, including drinking and bringing women back to their hotel rooms. The club's initial response, and the AFL's near-silence in the days that followed, drew sharp public criticism for showing a lack of empathy towards the woman involved The Guardian.
The Brownlow Medal is the AFL's highest individual honour, awarded each year to the fairest and best player as voted by the umpires. The red carpet arrivals — partners alongside players — are a televised event in their own right, and Salmin has been part of that spectacle before. She made her Brownlow debut at the 2023 ceremony, accompanying Moore the same year he captained Collingwood to a premiership ABC News.
Moore's profile makes the boycott land harder. A two-time All-Australian and the son of former Collingwood captain Peter Moore, he took over from Patrick Dangerfield as president of the AFL Players' Association in 2025. That role puts him at the intersection of the league's industrial and cultural power — the man representing every listed player while his own partner publicly withdraws from the league's showcase event.
Salmin and Moore have also appeared together in a social media video for Teach Us Consent, the respectful relationships organisation founded by Chanel Contos The Guardian.
Salmin is no stranger to the uglier side of football's spotlight. After she appeared at the 2024 Brownlows, a social media user called her "a gonad stealing feminist witch." She adopted the phrase for her own profile, turning the insult into a badge The Guardian.
What makes this boycott cut through is the collision of two worlds the AFL prefers to keep separate. The Brownlow is the league's most polished, most sponsor-friendly night — a celebration of individual excellence wrapped in red-carpet glamour. Salmin's absence, and the reason for it, drags the Swans hotel allegations straight onto that carpet. Whether the AFL responds before the ceremony remains an open question. The league has not yet publicly addressed her boycott.
