An AFL WAG has been criticised after sharing a “tone deaf” post about her boyfriend amid the alleged sexual assault investigation involving the Sydney Swans.
Paris Tier took to TikTok on Tuesday to share a post in support of her boyfriend Greater Western Sydney Giants player Conor Stone following reports of the alleged incident at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.
Tier uploaded a video of herself hugging Stone after a match saying she was “sick” of AFL players all being labelled negatively.
“I’m so sick of this narrative it’s ‘AFL men’. It’s the person,” she captioned the post.
“I know the man beside me, and I know the respect he has for women. Let’s not let some people’s actions define other people,” she added.
Tier was hit with criticism from her followers who said the post was “tone deaf” and made her sound “out of touch”.
She subsequently took down the post but continued to receive negative comments about the deleted post on her other videos.
“’How make someone else’s SA about myself and my partner’ a bit tone deaf after posting and deleting that post,” one person commented.
“But now that you do understand the seriousness of the situation, why don’t you post a video addressing it? No one is saying your [boyfriend] is a bad person so [I don’t know] why you’re taking is so personally and making it about you and your boyfriend,” another wrote.
Tier later shared an apology in the comments of another TikTok video.
“I want to make it clear that I do not condone what happened and I completely stand with the victims,” she wrote.
“I posted a video last night without properly understanding the severity of the situation. I took it down as soon as I did, but I recognise that I should never have posted it in the first place and I’m sorry.
“I’m taking the time to properly reflect and understand the situation before I address it further.
“I’ve always advocated for women to feel safe in sport and I always will, and I’m sorry that my post did not reflect that.”
In a club statement on Wednesday, the Swans confirmed Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner would “not be considered for selection” for the rest of the season as the police continue to investigate an alleged sexual assault.
Swans chairman Andrew Pridham told media there was “deep disappointment within the club” over the incident and offered a “sincere apology” to the AFL community, fans and corporate partners.
Sydney Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich said: “To say we’re disappointed is an understatement.
“We’re deeply embarrassed and ashamed that 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 that Andrew’s talked about.
“But, as I said, it’s important to understand that this sanction is only as it relates to the players’ behaviours and the standards that we accept and were expecting of them post-game Sunday night and into Monday morning.”
It comes after the Herald Sun reported the suspended Sydney Swans players hired exotic dancers for hotel room lap dances ahead of the sexual assault allegation.
Three women have made statements to detectives and these will form the basis on whether charges will be laid.
Sources close to the investigation have said the players in the room have denied any criminal wrongdoing.
It’s understood one of the women claimed her understanding of what was “off limits” was breached.
Witnesses in the hotel lobby are said to have overheard a visibly upset woman tell staff she had been “inappropriately touched”.
News24.com.au is not suggesting any wrongdoing by the players questioned or that they are under investigation.