Swans supporters have been left disappointed and disenchanted after five players were banned for the rest of the AFL season by the club over their behaviour.
The suspension of Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon on Wednesday relates to the breach of the club’s behavioural standards at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel on Monday morning.
But it is an allegation of sexual assault, which is being investigated by Victoria Police and completely separate to the club penalties, that has some fans particularly shaken.
Former television presenter and longtime Swans fan Brooke Boney said the allegation was particularly hurtful because sexual violence hits close to home for many women.
“First and foremost, my thoughts are with the woman at the centre of these allegations and with anyone else affected by what has happened,” Boney said. “If the Swans’ pride is my pride, then their shame must also be my shame.
“These allegations are especially painful because, for so many women, sexual violence is not an abstract issue. We have experienced it ourselves or watched people we love experience it. In Australia, one in five women has experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
“At a time when violence against women remains devastatingly prevalent and when women are still fighting for equality on and off the field, this conversation has to be bigger than what this means for the rest of the season. It is bigger than football and bigger than the club.”
Karen Bevan, chief executive of Full Stop Australia – one of the country’s leading sexual, domestic and family violence response and recovery services – said it was important to remember that this was a human story first, not a football story.
While there are challenges for reporting these topics, especially when there is a police investigation under way, Bevan said, there is someone at the centre who felt impacted enough to report an incident to police.
“There are victim-survivors of sexual assault everywhere. If it’s not us, it’s our friends, our colleagues, it’s in our community, so we know those victim-survivors are watching, and they’re watching stories be silenced, and it’s hurtful for them,” Bevan said.
“I think it is a really challenging conversation, but it’s not challenging to admit that people are distressed, that they feel harmed, that it impacts the broader community. The central story isn’t a sports story, it’s actually a story of an alleged sexual assault, which is serious, and that has to be treated with respect.”
The investigation into the alleged sexual assault is ongoing. No charges have been laid, and the players have denied wrongdoing, according to a source familiar with the players’ position.
Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham and chief executive Matthew Pavlich apologised at a media conference on Wednesday for the separate behaviour that culminated in the suspension of the five players, before the players themselves issued an apology via a statement.
Pavlich said they were “deeply embarrassed and ashamed” by the choices of the players and “the impact that’s had on the women involved and also the club”.
Australia’s Governor-General, Sam Mostyn, said she was shocked and troubled by the sexual assault allegation while warning that a lack of respect for women across the country remained a problem, particularly in sport.
“At times like this, we are reminded to never take for granted the need for constant vigilance for respectful treatment of women everywhere; across clubs, the AFL, sport, and the community generally,” Mostyn said.
“The most important thing in moments like this is to fully accept responsibility, be accountable and take appropriate action.”
Sydney fan Ellie Wilkes, 26, said the recent sexual assault allegation was among a number of factors that made it difficult to be a female or non-binary AFL fan at times.
“You like to think of your club as having a better culture than the rest, but as women and minorities within the AFL community know too well, it’s never too long before you’re let down once again, by the actions of these insanely privileged men that you put so much of your time and passion into,” she said.
“The Swans standing down the players involved is an important first step, but it is also the bare minimum. How they handle it from here will greatly impact how I support the men’s team going forward.”
Wilkes said it was a good time to focus on the Swans AFLW team, who “need our support now more than ever”.
Sunday marks the first double-header in the Swans’ history, with the AFLW team playing at the SCG ahead of the men.
Boney said she would still attend Sunday’s match to show support to the men’s and women’s players who would take to the field.
“I’ll still be there on Sunday, on what was supposed to be an historic day for the club. But I’ll be there to support the women of the Swans and the AFLW, who I imagine are processing all of this alongside the rest of us,” Boney said.
“Supporting a club doesn’t mean looking away when it fails to live up to its values. It means expecting it to live by them. Culture has to be more than something we celebrate when we’re winning. If there is a gap between the values the club professes and the culture that actually exists, then we need to confront that honestly and be prepared to change it.”
Lifelong Swans fan Karen Hartwick said the image she had of the club she adored had been shattered.
“I still can’t comprehend it,” she said. “After 70 years of loyalty, it’s like something’s died inside me. I honestly don’t know that I even want to have anything to do with the Bloods again … I don’t think the club is going to be the same again.”
AFLW commentator Chyloe Kurdas said she was deeply disappointed to learn the culture in some football clubs had not shifted as much as she had hoped, and called for other players in the team to throw their support behind women and girls.
Billie Eder is a sports reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
Bridget McArthur is a sports affairs reporter at The Age, covering the intersection of sports and politics/business/economy/society.Connect via X or email.