The Sydney Swans have issued a wide ranging apology for their players’ apparent failure to maintain the club’s standards during the early hours of Monday, during a period which led to an allegation of sexual assault.
The club stood down players Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner on Wednesday morning for the remainder of the season. None of the men have been arrested or charged, but have been connected to the police investigation into the alleged sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne.
Chief executive Matthew Pavlich addressed the media on Wednesday afternoon alongside chair Andrew Pridham.
“To say we’re disappointed is an understatement,” Pavlich said. “We’re deeply embarrassed and ashamed [of] the poor choices of five of our players, and the impact that’s had on the women involved, and also the club, our supporters, and so many other people.”
The former Fremantle player, who took the Swans top job last year, said the players’ behaviour fell short of the club’s standards.
“It was staying out late, it was drinking, it was continuing their night, it was bringing women back to the hotel, it was a long way short of what we expect from our players and we’re holding them to a really high standard, but they were well short of anything near that standard.”
Pavlich also showed concern for the alleged victim or victims.
“We’re deeply concerned about their welfare and the wellbeing of those women, and we offer as much support as we can. They’re the ones who are impacted severely at the moment, and we are here to acknowledge those allegations.”
Pridham pledged to work to restore people’s trust in the club.
“I want to offer an apology, a sincere apology, to the community, to our many, many fans, our corporate partners who have been amazingly supportive of us understanding that we are attempting to deal with this matter as quickly as we can, as honestly as we can, given the constraints of the police inquiry, and to very much be transparent in our dealings with the media,” he said.
“Our thoughts go out to everybody who’s been impacted by these events, and we know it’s impacted many, many people ranging from the partners of our staff, our players, our women’s programme, our men’s programme.”
The Swans issued a statement on Wednesday morning following a board meeting the previous evening.
“We respect there is an ongoing investigation by Victoria Police and the actions we have taken today are independent of this,” the statement read.
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The club said the AFL “is supportive” of the sanctions.
The Swans on Tuesday said the club believed the players were “in serious breach of expected club behaviour and standards” and promised to take “firm action”.
The group reportedly returned to the hotel in the early hours of Monday after an evening out drinking.
The club secured a home final with a win over Essendon on Sunday.
The immediate reaction from the Swans to the allegation and the police investigation was widely criticised for failing to acknowledge any alleged victim or victims, and for neglecting the prevalence of problematic attitudes towards women in the sport.
The club and the AFL issued statements on Tuesday evening showing empathy for any women involved, condemning abuse and disrespectful behaviour towards women, and recognising the game needed to improve.
