Season over for five players as Sydney take action over alleged sexual assault
Sydney have stood down five players from selection for the remainder of the season as the Swans deal with sexual assault allegations that have rocked the club.
Several Swans players are under investigation over an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne in the early hours of Monday morning.
Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, James Jordon and Riley Bice have all assisted police with their initial investigation on Monday.
7NEWS.com.au is not suggesting those four players are being investigated by police, only that they are assisting with enquiries.
The Swans on Wednesday morning revealed the four players, and Nick Blakey, have been stood down for the remainder of the season.
Blakey was among the group of players to stay in Melbourne, but his manager has denied his client has spoken to police.
“Sydney Swans players Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner will not be considered for selection for the remainder of the 2026 AFL season,” the club said in a statement.
“We respect there is an ongoing investigation by Victoria Police and the actions we have taken today are independent of this.”
Sydney stressed the sanctions were independent of the police investigation but said it was “appropriate to take firm action” against the “serious breach of expected club behaviour and standards”.
Sydney’s board held an emergency meeting on Tuesday night to decide the penalties.
The players returned to Sydney on Tuesday after staying back in Melbourne on Monday to assist police with their investigation into the alleged assault.
Victoria Police attended the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne on Monday and said they were investigating a report of sexual assault in the early hours of the morning.
The Swans stayed at the hotel on Sunday night after their 36-point win over Essendon at the MCG. That victory locked in second place on the AFL ladder and a home qualifying final in three weeks.
Sydney chief executive Matthew Pavlich on Monday afternoon confirmed several players had been involved in an “alleged incident”.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on 7news.com.au — the content belongs to 7NEWS Australia.
