The partner of former AFL player Steven May is suing his old club the Melbourne Demons.
May’s partner Sachi Dade is suing the Melbourne Football Club, senior coach Steven King and the club’s football boss Alan Richardson.
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Documents lodged in the Federal Court show Dade filed a miscellaneous application against the Demons on May 22, with a case management hearing set to be heard on Friday morning.
Court documents list the matter under the topic of “privacy”.
The details of the case have not been made public.
Earlier this year the Demons apologised after holding a meeting with senior club figures and players’ partners in which sensitive information was allegedly shared.
Then-CEO Paul Guerra, football department boss Richardson and King held the meeting to introduce themselves to the partners of players and share information about a matter that impacted the football club.
May was on personal leave at the time.
According to Code Sports, Richardson led the meeting and attempted to given an update on the circumstances of an incident in which police were called to May’s house.
No action was taken by police, and the matter was closed.
May, who was contracted for 2026, has signed a contract settlement with the Demons.
The 34-year-old, who won a premiership with the Demons in 2021, retired abruptly on the eve of this season.
He said recently he hung up the boots to give coach King some clear air to rebuild a young side following the departures of the likes of Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver.
“I was really ready to show people that I still have it, did the pre-season, ran a PB in January, up and about, let’s go,” May said.
“Then I had a bit of a mental breakdown and found myself a bit lost and not sure what to do. It came to a point where I had to put the club before myself.
“I was able to retire before the deadline so then they could get another player in and Paddy Cross is playing good footy and Melbourne are flying. All in all it looks like it’s worked well for both parties.”
Originally published as Steven May’s partner launches legal action against his former AFL club