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Houston, then a Port Adelaide player, concussed Rankine in a Showdown late last season and received a five-match ban. He never played for the Power again, moving to Collingwood in the off-season.<\/p>\n
McRae didn\u2019t buy in to the Houston exchange.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to have \u2018he said, she said\u2019 stuff,\u201d McRae said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is we\u2019re all really comfortable with what we want our workplace to look like, and these things step over the boundary line.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Crows are considering their options and are expected to respond to the AFL on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are having ongoing discussions with the AFL as part of the due process,\u201d an Adelaide spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
The Crows made a submission as part of the league\u2019s investigation, hoping to minimise any sanction for using the word \u201cf—-t\u201d during the match, a fact two sources confirmed. The submission included reference to the byplay between Rankine and Collingwood players before the incident<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite the fact Rankine did not self-report, the club argued he was contrite and rang the Collingwood player whom the slur was directed at to apologise on Sunday. The club also argued it followed proper processes and did not attempt to defend the player\u2019s action publicly or privately during the investigation.<\/p>\n Eddie McGuire reported on Footy Classified on Tuesday night that Rankine had been offered a five-match ban.<\/p>\n Adelaide could appeal the ban if they are unhappy with the league\u2019s decision. There is the potential for the Crows to argue the penalty is excessive given a five-match ban would rule Rankine out of the finals. Other bans for using a homophobic slur have been served in the home-and-away season.<\/p>\n Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks was scheduled to face the media in his weekly press conference on Wednesday, but that has been pushed back to Friday.<\/p>\n