Source : the age
Four Swans officials have given statements to police investigating an alleged sexual assault, as AFL boss Andrew Dillon banished the five suspended Sydney players from the Brownlow Medal count and confirmed the league would later conduct its own probe.
The development came as one of the five players, Isaac Heeney, was dumped by a business he helped design that runs football camps for kids – 5th Quarter Camps.
“5th Quarter Camps is aware of a police investigation involving one of its shareholders, Isaac Heeney,” the business said in a statement to this masthead.
“Although the investigation remains ongoing and no charges have been laid, given the circumstances and the seriousness of the matter, we can confirm Isaac Heeney will no longer have any involvement in 5th Quarter Camps.
“5th Quarter Camps takes seriously its responsibility to families, communities and commercial partners. We are committed to providing an environment founded on safety and respect, and doing everything in our power to ensure the wellbeing and experience of every child and family attending our camps remains at the centre of what we do.”
The five Swans players suspended by Sydney for breaching the club’s behavioural standards are Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon. They were stood down for the remainder of the season after drinking, staying out late and inviting women back to the team hotel following their win over Essendon in round 23.
The players’ club-imposed suspensions are separate from a Victoria Police investigation into an allegation of sexual assault in the early hours of last Monday morning at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel.
No charges have been laid and a source with knowledge of the players’ position has said they deny criminal wrongdoing.
This masthead has previously reported that Heeney is a focus of the investigation.
A source with knowledge of the police investigation, speaking anonymously, confirmed Sydney’s senior coach Dean Cox, football boss Leon Cameron, head of player wellbeing and development Brett Kirk and head of media and communications Tom Chadwick had given accounts to police.
The Swans declined to comment, citing the investigation.
The four Sydney staff were not in the hotel room at Pullman East Melbourne when a woman alleges she was sexually assaulted.
Cameron, Kirk and Chadwick accompanied the five Swans players, who have since been handed club-imposed bans for the remainder of the season, in two cars as they drove home to Sydney from Melbourne last Monday afternoon.
No Swans officials are accused of inappropriate behaviour and the club has previously said it had no issue with the conduct of Cox, who returned to the hotel not long after midnight.
At least two men aside from the five suspended players were in the hotel room on the night of the alleged sexual assault.
This masthead revealed on Sunday that at least one fresh allegation of sexual assault and multiple claims of sexual conduct without consent had been made by the three women at the centre of the investigation.
It is not known which men the allegations are about, and to date police have only referenced “a report of a sexual assault”. This masthead is not suggesting any of the men in the room engaged in conduct of a sexual nature without consent, only that it has been alleged.
Dillon said the AFL would not open its own investigation until the police probe was completed.
“Those matters at the moment are under police investigation, so the AFL won’t be conducting any of its own inquiries until after the police investigation is finished,” he said.
“We don’t know where that will go and, at that stage, when that’s completed, the AFL will [undertake] some inquiries. I think what is clear is the Swans are taking action with the support of the AFL based on the information that is at hand now, and there’s been accountability for those players that were involved last week.”
The five players are still eligible to win the award for the AFL’s best and fairest player.
“The invitations to the Brownlow will be going out this week. Those players won’t be invited,” Dillon said. “They are still eligible for the Brownlow but they’re under a club suspension, which goes until the end of the season.”
Dillon said it was a matter for the Swans whether the players should still be allowed to win the club best and fairest.
Dillon did not rule out the players being deregistered.
“Again, I’m not going to go into hypotheticals. We’ve got a police investigation that is underway. Once that’s completed, the AFL will make its own,” he said.
Dillon said he was unaware if there was a recording of the alleged incident.
“Look, I am not aware of that but, again, if there is a tape that’s relevant to the police investigation, it should be forwarded on to the police.”
He denied the league had a wider cultural problem.
“I think the actions of a few don’t take away from the thousands of people involved in football at all different levels who do great things all the time,” he said. “But what we do know is that we can do things better, and we’ll continue to do that, and we’ll continue to learn a bit better.”
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.
