Isaac Heeney’s third consecutive Bob Skilton Medal has sparked backlash, with the Sydney Swans facing renewed scrutiny over their handling of sexual assault allegations involving women who attended a post-match gathering.
Heeney did not attend Thursday night’s awards ceremony at Sydney Town Hall after seeking permission to miss the event. He was nevertheless named the Swans’ best-performing player for the third year in a row.
Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice were also absent. All five players served club-imposed suspensions during the finals after a night involving strippers at Melbourne’s Pullman East hotel on August 17.
Three dancers subsequently made police complaints alleging they had been sexually assaulted. Police laid no charges, and the women have since instructed civil lawyers.
The Mail is not suggesting that Heeney or any of the other named players is personally under investigation. Their suspensions concerned alleged breaches of the Swans’ code of conduct, including drinking and bringing women into hotel rooms, and were separate from the police inquiry.
Instead of attending in person, Heeney appeared in a pre-recorded video lasting about two minutes. He told the audience it was the first time he had “felt positive about the future for a long time”, drawing a standing ovation from many guests.
Sherele Moody, an anti-violence campaigner and founder of Australian Femicide Watch, said the contrast between Heeney receiving the award and the serious allegations involving some Swans players was stark.
“Giving Heeney this award in a week where women are still reeling from the gang rape at Cornell University is really a self-own for the Swans,” Ms Moody said on Friday.
Isaac Heeney won the Sydney Swans’ Bob Skilton Medal but missed Thursday’s awards ceremony after being suspended for breaching the club’s standards
Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice were suspended by the club
The suspensions followed an event at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel on August 16, where three women had been hired as exotic dancers to entertain the players
“Apparently the club separates behaviour on-field from behaviour off-field and this is how Heeney managed to get the Bob Skilton Medal.”
The Swans also altered the award’s traditional title, changing it from Best and Fairest to “Most Valuable Player”.
“To be fair, they did rename the award to ‘Most Valuable Player’ — probably because handing a ‘best and fairest’ gong to Heeney might have been a little troublesome for the club.”
Ms Moody’s remarks followed a detailed explanation from Swans chairman Andrew Pridham.
“The medals awarded tonight acknowledge on-field performance across the season.
“Erasing a season of football after the fact would, in our opinion, be inappropriate and in excess of a sanction.”
The decision to honour Heeney has also prompted an “awkward” moment on the Swans’ social media accounts. Comments appeared to be disabled on the post announcing his win, while comment sections remained open on other posts.
“Turn the comments back on… so we can congratulate you for setting a great example for women and front teeth right around Australia,” one Swans fan wrote.
Another described the decision as “disgraceful”, adding: “If clubs want young men to understand that respect for women and responsible behaviour are part of what it means to be an elite athlete, those values need to have consequences in what the club celebrates — not merely in what it punishes.”
One Swans fan, who said she felt sick hearing reports of Heeney’s win, is now unsure how she’s going to keep supporting the club.
Swans captain Callum Mills accepted the award for Heeney on Thursday night
Swans coach Dean Cox (left) and assistant Leon Cameron arrived early and appeared tense
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‘They easily could have disqualified him for this award and should have done so,’ she said.
‘It says a lot about the club and what their actual priority is relaunching his career that they allowed this to happen.’
The Daily Mail has contacted the Sydney Swans for comment.
– READ MORE: Sydney Swans star Isaac Heeney dumped by fiancée Steffie Waters
– READ MORE: Update on investigation into Sydney Swans hotel sexual assault allegations given by Victorian police