Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Sydney Swans captain Callum Mills says he is “deeply shocked and disappointed” by the events of this week and said the five players who have been suspended for the remainder of the 2026 season have “let us down”.
Fronting the media for the first time since teammates James Jordon, Chad Warner, Isaac Heeney, Riley Bice and Nick Blakey were stood down for breaching club standards amid a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault, Mills on Friday apologised to the AFL community and staff for the “actions of a few within our group”.
The Swans captain, along with coach Dean Cox, would not be drawn on questions about what happened in the hotel room due to the ongoing police investigation.
That includes whether there were Swans staff members in the room at the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne at the time of the alleged incident. This masthead has reported that there were at least two other men who are yet to be publicly identified but are not current players who were also there.
The woman at the centre of the allegations has since spoken to the Herald Sun and said there were nine men in the hotel room.
Mills said the events of this week were cause to “put the mirror [up] to all men within society and all men within the club”.
“I’m deeply shocked and disappointed to be here. I firstly want to apologise to the AFLW players, our female staff, and the women in our lives, our partners, mothers, sisters, and all women within the community,” Mills said.
“We take these allegations extremely seriously, and we hope the women involved are getting all the support they deserve.
“We’re really disappointed at the actions of these five players, and as a playing group, we fully support the club’s decision on the sanctions handed down. We take full responsibility, and we are deeply sorry.”
The Swans captain addressed the club’s AFLW players earlier this week, ahead of a first double-header featuring the two teams at the SCG on Sunday.
The women’s team will play at the SCG at 12.30pm ahead of the men’s game. It will be just the second time they’ll play for competition points at the historic ground.
“I addressed the AFLW players, and I acknowledge their pain, and I deeply apologised for the actions of a few within our group,” Mills said.
Cox also apologised to the women at the club.
“We are extremely disappointed at the actions of the players, and the sanctions imposed by the board show how serious we take these matters. To those women involved, I hope everyone is getting the support they need,” Cox said.
“Our culture isn’t perfect. One thing that we do know is our culture has taken a hit. The thing you need to understand about a culture is how you respond and the actions you take following being here. We’re going to work through, and as hard as we possibly can, to get the trust back from the community to get to the culture where we’re desired to be, where we once have been.”
Swans star Heeney is the focus of the investigation by Victoria Police’s sexual crimes squad. It involves an allegation of touching beyond what was agreed.
Billie Eder is a sports reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
