{"id":963373,"date":"2026-11-13T20:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T20:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/963373\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T20:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T20:11:08","slug":"the-steps-the-swans-must-now-take-to-put-this-scandal-behind-them-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/963373\/","title":{"rendered":"The steps the Swans must now take to put this scandal behind them"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jake<\/p>\n

November 13, 2026 \u2014 5:35pm<\/p>\n

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The careers of Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, James Jordon and Nick Blakey can resume something approaching normalcy again, following Victoria Police\u2019s decision not to lay any charges<\/a> from the Pullman hotel investigation due to \u201cinsufficient evidence\u201d.<\/p>\n

A number of parties will be relieved, starting with the Sydney hierarchy and the AFL, which does not have to make any difficult calls about stand downs in the event of charges.<\/p>\n

\"AFLAFL players (from left) Chad Warner, James Jordon, Isaac Heeney and Nick Blakey.The Age<\/p>\n

North Melbourne\u2019s leadership had made inquiries about Blakey\u2019s situation before investing close to $12 million over eight years<\/a>, and were satisfied with his version of events, in which the defender claimed he was not a major player in whatever transpired in the hotel room.<\/p>\n

The Kangaroos and their president Sonja Hood, whose board greenlit<\/a> the gargantuan contract, will feel something beyond relief today. Vindication, perhaps.<\/p>\n

But some parties will be displeased by the police verdict, none more than the women making the allegations \u2013 one of whom was described by her lawyer as \u201cdevastated\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Warner said in his statement that he had been \u201calways confident\u201d he would be cleared.<\/p>\n

But the player who has gained the most \u2013 or averted the absolute worst \u2013 from the police finding is surely Heeney, who was reported to be the initial target of police, had seen his hefty personal sponsorships suspended (including a children\u2019s book series<\/a>), and whose role as the angelic face of the club had been scuppered.<\/p>\n

Heeney struck a remorseful note after the police verdict by saying that he was \u201cfully focused on repaying that faith (the club\u2019s) by being the best person and player I can be\u201d.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"AFL<\/a><\/p>\n

Two further steps remain before the Swans and the players can put this scandal behind them.<\/p>\n

One is the potential civil court action that the three women have said they will take. If and when those lawsuits land, the relevant players \u2013 which include ex-player Taylor Adams \u2013 will have to decide whether to contest the claims or reach settlements. No civil court case has yet been filed.<\/p>\n

Even if the lack of criminal charges strengthens their position, the players have to consider whether they and their partners want this unpleasant show to go on.<\/p>\n

The Swans, too, are potential civil targets of the women, whose allegations they were touched inappropriately triggered the police swarming the foyer and launching their investigation. One of the five Swans (as Blakey was then), Riley Bice had been cleared by police and was not a subject of what turned into a three-month investigation.<\/p>\n

\"NickNick Blakey at North Melbourne training on Friday.AFL Photos<\/p>\n

The second step remaining is the Swans\u2019 club-wide review of their culture and practices<\/a>, in which all players and many staff \u2013 plus AFLW players \u2013 are being interviewed.<\/p>\n

The view that something is amiss within the playing group was buttressed by Tom Papley\u2019s roadside positive test for drugs<\/a>, which would see him suspended by the AFL for at least two matches if the B sample confirms the presence of methylamphetamine.<\/p>\n

There will be a section of footy fans and a number in the old-school camp who will contend the Swans were harsh or erred in suspending the players for the finals \u2013 and \u201ctorpedoing\u201d their premiership prospects, as chairman Andrew Pridham put it \u2013 given they have now been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

But the Swans were right to take that strong action, when they might have suspended the players for one or two weeks, given the stunning level of unprofessionalism and poor judgement that the five exercised by bringing the women, topless waitresses\/dancers, back to a hotel room after a night of drinking. The team bus was scheduled to leave at 8.30am and officials were gathering in the lobby.<\/p>\n

Isaac Heeney\u2019s full statement<\/p>\n

\u201cI welcome today\u2019s announcement from Victorian Police.<\/p>\n

The past three months have been incredibly difficult for my family, Steffie and those close to me. Watching my family carry the weight of this has been heartbreaking.<\/p>\n

To my family and friends, your love and loyalty has meant more than words can do justice.<\/p>\n

To those that have never doubted me and stood by my side in solidarity \u2013 thank you. I know it has not been easy in the face of such intense public scrutiny. I will never forget your support.<\/p>\n

To the entire Sydney Swans club \u2013 my teammates, coaches, the board, our sponsors, and our loyal members and fans \u2013 thank you for keeping faith in me.<\/p>\n

The Swans have given me an opportunity to live out a childhood dream and I am fully focused on repaying that faith by being the best person and player I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The AFL certainly wanted the players not to play in the finals series and rather than resist, the Swans eventually concurred. Consider, too, the distraction and the circus that would have ensued had they returned for the preliminary final<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There were three potential lines the players were accused of crossing, as culture and inclusion consultant Rana Hussain astutely put it following the detonation of the scandal.<\/p>\n

First and most consequential was the criminal\/legal line. The players have cleared that line in terms of avoiding charges. The civil legal action could yet cost them money.<\/p>\n

The second line they are alleged to have crossed is cultural \u2013 that even if it wasn\u2019t criminal, their behaviour offends contemporary standards regarding the treatment of women. People\u2019s view on that front will hinge, to a degree, on their social and political values, and how much detail of the events at the Pullman is known.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Tom<\/a><\/p>\n

The third line of transgression was that of professionalism and standards. On that score, there is little debate \u2013 the players displayed a cavalier disregard for their club, team and consequences.<\/p>\n

The Swans were wise to draw a distinction between the criminal investigation \u2013 which was beyond their control \u2013 and the gross unprofessionalism of the players.<\/p>\n

That said, much as they insist those two spheres were not connected, it is doubtful the five would have been suspended for the entire finals series if the police had not launched their investigation. The police involvement escalated public outrage and raised the stakes.<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Close\"JakeJake Niall<\/a> is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"November 13, 2026 \u2014 5:35pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":963374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-963373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=963373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/963374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=963373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=963373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=963373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}