Source : ABC NEWS
The Sydney Swans’ declaration that some players are in “serious breach” of club standards has signalled a tougher approach after days of uncertainty over how the AFL would handle a report of an alleged incident at a Melbourne hotel where Swans players were staying.
Four Swans players — Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, James Jordon and Riley Bice — are understood to be linked to a Victoria Police investigation regarding an alleged sexual assault at an East Melbourne hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.
While few details have been made public beyond the allegation itself, Victorian police are continuing to investigate.
It is not suggested that any of the four players are being accused of sexual assault.
It is not known what breaches of club conduct the club has found.
On Tuesday evening, the Swans issued a statement saying the club would discuss appropriate sanctions and penalties after it finalised interviews with “all players involved”.
“We respect there is an ongoing investigation by Victoria Police and any actions we take are independent of this,” the statement said.
“The club believes the players are in serious breach of expected club behaviour and standards, and it is appropriate to take firm action and highlight that any sanction we impose relates solely to those breaches.
“The Sydney Swans condemn all forms of abuse and disrespectful behaviour towards women.”
Growing pressure on Swans, AFL
Until last night, the club and the league had said relatively little, prompting experts to question whether the AFL’s policy of waiting for a criminal investigation to take place if police are involved is a strong enough position for a league that has publicly condemned violence against women.
Sydney Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich addressed the media on Monday. (ABC News)
Some of the limited comments from AFL leaders had also drawn criticism, including Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich’s mention of the club’s extreme disappointment that its players had “found themselves in this situation”.
Former AFL Women’s star Kate McCarthy was among those who challenged that framing, noting: “Players don’t simply ‘find themselves in situations.”
Others, including Our Watch CEO Patty Kinnersly, observed some media commentary centred on finals season while sidelining the “the alleged sexual assault at the centre of this story”.
“In the coverage to date we’ve seen examples of poor reporting that has centred on on-field consequences ahead of a serious, alleged crime,” she said.
Advocates welcome new statements from Swans, AFL
The alleged sexual assault has raised questions about how the AFL deals with alleged incidents like this, or if the league is doing enough to prevent incidents in the first place.
Last night AFL CEO Andrew Dillon offered the league’s first substantial statement on the alleged sexual assault, labelling the allegations as “serious” and “deeply concerning”.
“While the matter remains under police investigation, it raises broader issues for our game and our responsibilities as a sport,” he said.
“It is important that the police process is allowed to run its course.“
Respect Victoria’s CEO Helen Bolton, who had earlier criticised the league for not coming out strongly enough, welcomed the fresh statements from the Swans and the AFL.
“I think it’s really encouraging that both the club and the AFL have made some really clear and accountable statements about the alleged conduct,” she said.
Respect Victoria CEO Helen Bolton had called for a strong response from the AFL. (ABC News: Steven Schubert)
But she said it was disappointing that those statements took so long.
She also stressed the need for a “parallel process” for the AFL to lead its own response to the allegations while the police process was underway, which she said was no different than any other workplace.
AFL investigations pause when police involved
At a policy level, the AFL’s default position is to let a criminal investigation run its course when police are involved.
The league’s Respect and Responsibility policy outlines that “an AFL investigation will wait until a police investigation has been concluded”.
Dr Catherine Ordway describes the AFL’s approach to allegations as reactive, not proactive. (Supplied)
Lawyer and sports integrity expert, UNSW scholar Catherine Ordway, described that policy approach as “reactive”.
She said it was not in line with best practice across sporting codes, including internationally.
“The AFL waits for the criminal law process to be finalised before taking action against any players or officials,” she said.
Dr Ordway said she thought the players should be stood down while a police or AFL investigation took place.
NRL no-fault stand down rule
Since 2019, the NRL has had a policy that if serious charges are laid against a player, the player is stood down while the process moves through the courts.
“There are some pros and cons of that, but I think in terms of fairness that’s the right decision. There needs to be some strong messaging about how unacceptable violence is against women,” Dr Ordway said.
Australia’s two major football codes have different policies for responding to criminal investigations. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)
Dr Ordway described it as a more “proactive” approach in line with Major League Baseball in the US and the English Cricket Board.
Our Watch, which has delivered educational programs to AFL clubs on gendered violence, said it would support the league adopting a similar rule to the NRL.
“When we’re wanting to focus on creating cultures of safety for women, we would support the no-fault stand down that the NRL has done,” CEO Ms Kinnersly said.
The NRL players association opposed the no-fault stand down policy when it was introduced.
Sydney Swans scheduled to meet overnight
AFL Players Association CEO James Gallagher was asked about the no-fault policy on Tuesday but did not say if any equivalent would be opposed by the players’ union.
“What we’ve got here at the moment is allegations, and so I think part of it is understanding exactly what’s happened. We should take the time with it to properly understand,” he told Triple M.
The Sydney Swans said its board would meet overnight to determine appropriate penalties.
The ABC has contacted the AFL Players Association and the AFL for comment.
