Sydney Swans Players Return Following Suspension & Sexual Assault Allegations

The suspended Sydney Swans players will return to Moore Park club for the first time since their suspension.

The players, Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice, and James Jordan, will address the Swan’s playing group “at some point”.

The five players were stood down after breaching the club’s standards at the Pullman Hotel last month.

Separately, Victoria Police’s are investigating sexual assault allegations made by three women, with four of the suspended Sydney Swans players remaining the subject of police investigation.

“Look, it’s a natural thing that the players will come into the club over the next period,” Swans chief executive, Matthew Pavlich said when he spoke to the media on Monday.

Of the player’s address, Pavlich said: “I want them to be themselves. I want them to come in and do what we’d normally do at the end of a season, which is, yeah, player exit meetings.

“If they’ve got something to say to their player group, if they’ve got something to say to the club, then we’ll hear them out then.”

Why the Suspension?

According to official announcements, the suspension was a result of the players breaching the club’s standards by “staying out late”, “drinking”, and “bringing women back to the hotel”.

The decision came after at least four of these players were embroiled in a Victorian police investigation into an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman hotel in the early hours of August 17, the same hotel that hosted the Sydney Swans’ celebratory drinks following the team’s win against Essendon at Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

The police have since cleared Bice of any criminal wrongdoing. The other four players are still under police investigation, though no charges have been made.

The coach of the Sydney Swans, Dean Cox, said of the sexual assault investigation: 

“Obviously, [I’m] extremely disappointed with what’s happened and I understand the questions, and we’ll update as we gather more information,” Cox said. “We’re working our way through everything with the AFL and relevant parties, and we’ll update when we get more information.”