Swans coach Dean Cox and captain Callum Mills are fronting the media for the first time since five players were stood down for the rest of the 2026 AFL season for breaching club standards amid a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault.
The five players – James Jordon, Chad Warner, Isaac Heeney, Riley Bice and Nick Blakey – along with an ex-AFL player and a mystery man were partying in a hotel room in Melbourne’s east in the early hours of Monday morning when the alleged assault took place.
The woman at the centre of the allegations has since reportedly spoken to the Herald Sun and said: “I don’t want money. All I care about is justice.”
The alleged victim also reportedly said she could not go into detail about the incident, but that it had left her fearing for her safety. She told the Herald Sun there were nine men in the hotel room.
Swans star Heeney is the focus of the investigation by Victoria Police’s sexual crimes squad. It involves an allegation of touching beyond what was agreed.
Two sources familiar with the police investigation, but not authorised to speak publicly, confirmed drugs were involved in the early morning incident. However, both said the Swans teammates had denied being responsible for the drugs being there or taking them.
Cox and Mills have both been stopped by the media this week while arriving at Swans headquarters and training ground at Moore Park, but have not yet formally answered questions.
When questioned outside Swans HQ on Tuesday, Mills said he wasn’t in a position to comment as “it’s an ongoing investigation, and we don’t have the facts yet.”
Cox has answered brief questions when arriving at the Moore Park precinct, and said he was “extremely disappointed with what’s happened”. When asked again on Thursday if there was anything he would do differently, Cox said he would “answer questions tomorrow”.
The Swans play North Melbourne at 3.20pm at the SCG on Sunday in a double-header with the women’s team, who play Essendon at 12.30pm. It will be the second time the women’s team has played for competition points at the historic Sydney ground.
More to come.
Billie Eder is a sports reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
