Men run the AFL and it is time they fixed its dark underbelly

August 18, 2026 — 1:54pm

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When Sydney Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich addressed the media on Monday about the alleged sexual assault scandal enveloping his club, he said he was “shocked and disappointed” that the players have “found themselves in this situation”.

The “situation” he was referring to was that after their game against Essendon on Sunday, five Swans players had been out drinking to 3am then invited women back to their rooms at the Pullman Hotel, which were paid for by the AFL.

Pavlich’s language bizarrely implies that the players somehow stumbled into a situation not of their making.

At least one woman has since made an allegation of sexual assault about what unfolded in that hotel room. Eight police officers attended the hotel and are investigating. To date, none of the players have been formally interviewed or charged.

We don’t yet know what happened in that hotel room but at a bare minimum, sexual assault allegation aside, by bringing two women back after a night drinking the players involved have apparently shown no regard towards their partners, their teammates, and their AFLW team. It’s staggering professional athletes who have had so much training about acceptable behaviour in their positions as role models to young men, who have access to club welfare and support officers, thought........

© WA Today