The wife of former Carlton president Luke Sayers is suing her estranged husband for defamation, following an online scandal involving the posting of a lewd photograph to his X account more than 12 months ago.
The Australian Financial Review reports that Cate Sayers has accused her husband of blaming her for the upload of an explicit photo to his account in January last year, as well as making claims about her mental health.
“We can confirm that proceedings have been commenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria. As the matter is now before the court, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” a spokesperson for Cate Sayers told the publication.
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Wide World of Sports is not suggesting Luke Sayers has blamed Cate Sayers, or that she was responsible for the post, only that an allegation has been made.
Cate and Luke Sayers arrive ahead of the 2024 Brownlow Medal. Getty
The AFL and Carlton investigated the incident, finding Sayers’ account was compromised during the time the post was sent.
“The Integrity Unit’s inquiries, which included multiple interviews and review of other evidence, have now concluded and the AFL has found, based on the available evidence, that access to Mr Sayers’ X account was compromised, resulting in the posting of the image (i.e. by a person not being Mr Sayers) and tagging of another person,” the league said in a statement last January.
“Accordingly, the AFL has determined that Mr Sayers did not breach AFL Rules in connection with the posting of the image.
“Once he was made aware of the post, Mr Sayers immediately acted to have the image removed and to shut down his X account.
“The AFL wishes to thank the executive who was unwittingly tagged in the post — her co-operation and assistance throughout the inquiries have been extremely helpful.”
Sayers stepped down from his role at the Blues less than a week after the post, saying he regretted that “family, friends, colleagues and the football club had been caught up in the matter.”
Former Carlton president Luke Sayers. Getty