Former "Bloods culture" ends as scandal shows respect problem

Topic:AFL

The Swans scandal has thrown AFL culture and policy into the spotlight. (Getty Images/AFL Photos: Robert Cianflone)

The disturbing and potentially criminal events at the Pullman Hotel last Monday morning have triggered the darkest chapter in Sydney Swans' history and spotlighted a sordid AFL underbelly.

The most serious allegation is that one of the players sexually assaulted a woman by touching her without consent.

None have been charged, and while the police investigation is ongoing, these events are creating a greater conversation about the AFL's handling of allegations of violence against women.

The woman who alleges she has been sexually assaulted has said she will fight.

"I am going to stand up for what is right," she told the Herald Sun on Thursday.

Three women at the centre of the Sydney Swans sexual assault scandal are suffering "severe trauma" but are receiving support, their lawyer says.

This latest incident has highlighted the lack of a clear "no-fault stand-down" policy in the AFL — one that has successfully been in place in the NRL.

Looking back at the past 16 years, there have been a number of AFL footballers charged with crimes such as sexual assault, rape and indecent assault, and the league has imposed varying penalties. Not one player has been convicted.

An AFL player had his contract ripped up in 2010 (his rape charges were later dropped).

In 2020, Collingwood superstar Jordan De Goey was charged with indecent assault of a woman. He played on.

In 2021, Victoria Police had to pay legal costs to De Goey after it dropped a historical indecent assault charge against him.

When Geelong star Tanner Bruhn was charged with rape and intentional sexual touching, the AFL stood him down from playing for the entire 2025 season.

Bruhn also sought a suppression order so his name was never public and he sat out Geelong's season with a reported "finger" injury. Those charges against Bruhn were dropped last November, when a key witness admitted to lying.

Previously, the AFL Players Association (AFLPA) has pushed back against a no-fault stand-down policy, which the NRL has used to great effect; it's a rule that means players facing serious charges involving women are automatically barred from playing footy.

After the charges were dropped, a telling moment came in November last year, when the AFLPA issued a firm statement opposing the young footballer Bruhn being stood down from playing for the entire season.

"Tanner was entitled to the presumption of innocence from the outset and throughout. It was clear to us that standing Tanner down would be premature and disproportionate," the AFLPA said in a statement in November last year.

The statement said the AFLPA would like to "resolve" a code of conduct with the AFL "including proper processes and a sanctioning framework".

"We remain committed to this work in the best interests of the players and Australian football," the AFLPA said.

Earlier this year, on the eve of Bruhn's first game in 17 months, Geelong coach Chris Scott was highly supportive of his player.

"It's just fantastic for him to get out there and be able to concentrate on footy after what is one of the most egregious injustices I can think of in the game," Scott said.

Swans chairperson Andrew Pridham claims his players have "complete respect for women", but the week's events call for a reckoning with AFL culture.

When contacted this week, an AFLPA spokesperson said the association had previously opposed a blanket no-fault stand-down policy, but was open to discussing it.

The NRL implemented its no-fault stand-down policy seven years ago and believes it has shifted culture.

That policy automatically removes players from playing if they are charged with a serious criminal offence carrying a maximum prison sentence of 11 years or more.

It was introduced in March 2019 and applies on full pay without prejudging the footballer's guilt.

Just months after the NRL put it in place, Dragons star Jack De Belin, then up on a sexual assault charge, opposed the stand-down policy in the Federal Court and lost.

Federal Court Justice Melissa Perry dismissed de Belin's legal challenge against the Australian Rugby League Commission and the NRL, ruling it a lawful measure to protect the game's reputation.

The NRL chief executive also has the discretionary power to stand down players whose charges involve women or children, regardless of the jail term.

The NRL is proud of this policy, which was driven by key commissioners, including former Queensland premier Peter Beattie, professor Megan Davis and now league chair Peter V'landys.

Insiders say it has been monumental in helping improve culture in the game.

While in AFL there has been the rise of the AFLW competition and more women are commentating the game, and in influential positions in footy clubs than ever before, this week, one prominent woman in the industry called out a festering "horrific misogyny".

Commentator and former player Kate McCarthy said the AFL needed to look deeply at its culture and inclusion of women.

Kate McCarthy has spoken out in reaction to Monday's events. (Getty Images: Hancock)

She told the Herald Sun earlier in the week that language used by Swans chief executive Matthew Pavlich in initially addressing the matter on Monday concerned her.

Pavlich spoke about the Swans players finding "themselves in this situation".

"Is there really any surprise that women within the industry experience such horrific misogyny when the role models or people in positions of power like CEOs of clubs use language saying that the 'players found themselves in this situation,'" McCarthy said.

It's also only two weeks ago AFL Hall of Famer and former Geelong footballer Sam Newman drew outrage for his comments on former AFL player manager Ralph Carr being found guilty of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

"I'm just wondering what sort of evidence they had about him raping her," Newman said on his podcast. "Other than the fact she might have buyer's remorse."

Newman, at last check, maintains his AFL Hall of Fame status. This is despite the AFL stating it takes in "integrity" and "character" when it comes to holding the status.

In June this year, St Kilda great Nicky Winmar was swiftly removed from the AFL Hall of Fame after he was found guilty of three assault charges against a woman.

The sexual assault allegation against the Swans has moved those holding Australia's highest offices to make statements.

The prime minister said the "AFL certainly has to do better" and raised the NRL's leading stand-down policy on 7.30 on Thursday night.

Governor-General Sam Mostyn, a former Swans board member for six seasons, said her thoughts were with the alleged victim and that she was "shocked and troubled" by the allegations involving the team.

Sam Mostyn spent six seasons on the Swans' board. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)

"At times like this, we are reminded to never take for granted the need for constant vigilance for respectful treatment of women everywhere; across clubs, the AFL, sport, and the community generally," she told ABC.

"Sadly, the lack of respect for women across the country remains an issue for us all to be concerned about, particularly in sport."

The governor-general added she believed there should be more women in positions of power and influence not only in the AFL but all sporting codes.

Whether the AFL acts on this week's events, making firm policy and broader change, remains to be seen.

In the meantime, this scandal has raised a disturbing question: has the AFL's inaction in installing a strict policy that ensures that all players are stood down automatically when they are charged with a crime against a woman created an environment where players are not wholly focused on the issue of ensuring respect for women?

Putting the most grave and serious allegation of sexual assault to the side, the reports that players felt comfortable hiring adult entertainers, allegedly doing drugs off the women's bodies and were drinking well into the early hours of Monday two weeks out from finals, have also spotlighted the fact the once-famed "Bloods culture" has run dead.

Former Swans captain Kieran Jack, who led the team to a premiership in 2012, said he felt "devastated" and "very troubled" by players' actions and that Bloods culture "feels broken".

Bloods culture had previously been lauded. (Getty Images: Paul Kane)

He notably said a "lack of respect for women" cannot be tolerated.

'Bloods culture' is often spoken about," Jack wrote on Instagram. "This was built and maintained through a core pillar of respect. Respect for each other, respect for the club, your family, the opponent, supporters and importantly, community. Right now this feels broken. A lack of respect for women cannot be tolerated."

The Bloods culture, which was often spoken about," Jack wrote on Instagram. "This was built and maintained through a core pillar of respect. Respect for each other, respect for the club, your family, the opponent, supporters and importantly, community. Right now this feels broken. A lack of respect for women cannot be tolerated."

The Bloods culture, which was created by club coach Paul Roos and players such as workhorse midfielder Brett Kirk, was founded on humility, discipline, selflessness and hard work.

More than 20 years ago, the Swans established this true team-first culture. If one player in the group broke the team rules, all would pay.

There were secret punishment sessions conducted before sunrise, and they often involved players turning up in the cold to do additional strenuous physical training like push-ups on the asphalt with their bare knuckles. These sessions were player-led and enforced.

There were no individual sponsorships with toothpaste companies. No rock-star midfielders. Players were encouraged "not to go down media street" and do unnecessary publicity.

Heading into the 2005 grand final, the Swans midfield was likened to the basic car brand "Ford Cortinas" coming up against the West Coast Eagles midfield made up of "Lamborghinis". The Swans beat the Eagles by a point and broke a 72-year premiership drought.

As Kirk said after that premiership, it was a group of men who could unequivocally trust one another. "It's hard to put a measure on it, but what you do know is that you have 100 per cent commitment and trust that the guys you're playing with that sacrifice and do anything for you, that they'll never let you down," Kirk said.

But as sources familiar with that period of time remarked this week, the Bloods culture had been betrayed, and some noted their famed unofficial "no dickheads policy" had truly been abandoned.

"We have to stop on occasions believing our own bullshit," one remarked.

John Longmire, who coached the team to the 2012 flag and was at the helm of the club until 2024, said he was saddened by the events and it would take time for the club to climb its way out of the darkness.

John Longmire (file photo) says the Swans will have to rebuild trust. (Getty Images: Morgan Hancock)

"The culture of the footy club has taken a big hit, and it will take time for everyone to rebuild the trust in the football club," he told Fox Footy this week.

Swans chair Andrew Pridham said he was "very proud" of the club culture. However, some believe it has been brutally exposed as having serious cultural issues when it comes to women.

But it is an issue that extends beyond the Swans, one that should trigger deep evaluation and a review. It's absolutely a review that should extend past the Swans' $70 million Moore Park clubrooms into the AFL in general.

As former AFLW player McCarthy expertly put it: "The AFL talks a lot about wanting women and girls to feel that football belongs to them.

"That can't only mean having an AFLW competition or getting more women through the gates.

"It also means examining the culture around men in football, how women are spoken about and treated and how the industry responds when serious allegations involving women arise."

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