The Sydney Swans are under investigation by Victoria Police following a report of an alleged sexual assault at a Melbourne hotel. The club confirmed multiple players were involved in an incident that occurred in the early hours of Monday morning at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel. The AFL Integrity Unit has also launched its own investigation.
Amidst the official inquiries, a series of WhatsApp messages and a graphic photo have circulated online, purporting to detail the events. However, key inconsistencies and debunked elements within these messages cast significant doubt on their veracity. The messages falsely claimed players were in police custody; in reality, they voluntarily spoke with police and returned to Sydney by rental car. A photograph circulating online, claimed to be evidence of an injury, has been identified as a fake taken months prior.
Victoria Police stated that they spoke with a number of people at the hotel, but no arrests have been made, and no one has been formally interviewed at this time. Detectives are seeking CCTV footage from the hotel to help establish the circumstances. The exact nature of the alleged incident remains under investigation, with police noting that circumstances are yet to be established.
Sydney Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich urged patience, stating, "We understand the level of interest in the matter and there is going to be lots of speculation. But given it is a police matter right now, that is all that we can say." Coach Dean Cox expressed his disappointment, acknowledging the club is still piecing together what transpired and is conducting internal inquiries. "We're still piecing together exactly what has transpired here and have our own set of internal enquiries ongoing," Cox said. "But it's safe to say we're extremely shocked and disappointed."
Players Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Riley Bice, James Jordon, and a fifth unnamed player spoke with police before returning to Sydney. The club is also conducting an internal investigation into claims that players were drinking alcohol late into the night, which could lead to sanctions separate from the police investigation. These potential sanctions could affect players' availability for upcoming matches, including the AFL finals.
In the wake of the allegations, partners of some players have made adjustments to their social media accounts. Steffanie Waters, fiancée of Isaac Heeney, has disabled comments on most of her Instagram posts, while Alice Hughes, girlfriend of Chad Warner, has made her Instagram account private. Waters' account remains public, possibly due to her work as an influencer.