Woman at centre of Swans scandal speaks

Source: ABC Sport/ Facebook
Some players at the centre of the Sydney Swans scandal paid female adult entertainers so they could take drugs off the women’s bodies, it has been alleged.
The ABC said several police sources confirmed some players allegedly paid extra to consume the drugs, reportedly cocaine, from the women’s breasts and buttocks.
9News Sydney reporter Gus Macdonald also alleged that “detectives were told players paid women inside the Pullman Hotel to ingest illicit substances off their bodies”.
It was not known how many or which of the players took part.
The shocking revelations come as the woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by one of the players spoke out for the first time.
The woman told the Herald Sun newspaper there were actually nine players in the room at Melbourne’s Pullman Hotel — not just five.
She further claimed that she gave them a discount because they said they were carpenters and could not afford to pay the full rate.
“We did the show for less money than normal because we thought they were carpenters,” she said.
“They told us they were carpenters.”
Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon have been suspended for the rest of the season for “breaching club standards” during the alleged incident very early on Monday morning.
The woman said she would not go into details about what happened inside the hotel room.
“I don’t want money. All I care about is justice,” she told the newspaper.
“I’m going to stand up for what is right. And I’m never going to let this happen to anyone else. Justice will be served.
“I care about women’s rights and what’s right, because this happens too often to women and they get away with it.”
The woman, who lives interstate, said nothing like that had happened to her previously and the ordeal had left her fearing for her safety.
She told the Herald Sun she did not follow AFL and did not recognise any of the men as Swans players.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese branded the AFL’s initial response to the scandal “completely unacceptable” as a police investigation into a sexual assault allegation continues.
It was a decision club chairman Andrew Pridham said would “torpedo” the second-placed Swans’ premiership hopes, with just one home-and-away round left to play before the finals.
Independent of the AFL-endorsed club bans, the five suspended players are linked to the police investigation into sexual assault.
Victoria Police Sex Crimes Squad detectives have flown to Sydney to continue the investigation.
No charges have been laid and The New Daily is not suggesting any wrongdoing.
The Prime Minister weighed in on ABC’s 7.30 on Thursday night, lashing the AFL and the Swans over their handling of the scandal.
“It’s extraordinary that this has occurred,” he said.
“The idea that this is occurring is completely untenable, and the initial response as well was, I think, completely unacceptable.
“The NRL have a no-fault stand down clause for issues like this, but the first thoughts should have been always about women and their safety.
“I don’t think that occurred at this time. The AFL certainly needs to do better.”
A no-fault stand down policy similar to the NRL’s would not have been implemented in the Swans case because no police charges have been laid.
Swans coach Dean Cox briefly addressed media on Tuesday, saying he was “extremely disappointed with what’s happened”, but has not spoken publicly since the players’ suspensions were handed out.
That will change on Friday morning, when Cox and club captain Callum Mills take questions at a press conference.
Cox will also be quizzed on his own behaviour, having come under fire for not returning to the team hotel until after midnight on Monday morning.
Both Pridham and Swans chief executive Matthew Pavlich have emphatically backed the second-year senior coach, saying it “wasn’t inappropriate” that some coaches and staff members went out after a pre-planned dinner on Sunday night.
Sydney AFLW coach Colin O’Riordan and captain Lucy McEvoy will hold a press conference following their AFL counterparts on Friday afternoon, amid concerns over the impact of the scandal on the Swans women’s team.
Warner’s younger brother Corey was among the eight inclusions in an extended 26-player Sydney squad named to take on North Melbourne at the SCG on Sunday.
The five suspended players are the only changes to the team that comfortably beat bottom side Essendon last Sunday.
Pavlich and Pridham faced media on Wednesday soon after the club suspensions were confirmed.
Pavlich said the club was “deeply embarrassed and ashamed at 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.”
On Thursday, former co-captain Kieren Jack said Sydney’s famed “Bloods culture” felt “broken” in the wake of the allegations.
Jack said he was “devastated, disappointed and very troubled” by the alleged actions and a lack of respect for women could not be tolerated.
“‘Bloods culture’ is spoken about. This was built and maintained through a core pillar of respect,” Jack wrote on an Instagram story.
“Respect for each other, respect for the club, your family, the opponent, supporters and importantly, community.
“Right now this feels broken.”
-with AAP
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