Brooke Boney 'ashamed to be a Sydney Swans supporter' amid police probe into alleged sexual assault involving five players

Former Today show star Brooke Boney says she feels ashamed to be a Sydney Swans supporter amid a police probe into an alleged sexual assault involving five of the club's players in Melbourne this week. 

The 39-year-old said that, as a devoted fan of the Swans, she shares the disgrace felt by the club over the alleged behaviour of its players. 

'First and foremost, my thoughts are with the woman at the centre of these allegations and with anyone else affected by what has happened,' Boney told The Sydney Morning Herald.

'If the Swans' pride is my pride, then their shame must also be my shame. These allegations are especially painful because, for so many women, sexual violence is not an abstract issue,' she said.

'We have experienced it ourselves or watched people we love experience it. In Australia, one in five women has experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.' 

She concluded by saying the sexual assault allegations were far more important than any impact on the rest of the AFL season. 

'At a time when violence against women remains prevalent, when women are still fighting for equality on and off the field, this has to be bigger than what this means for the rest of the season. It is bigger than football and bigger than the club,' she said.

Her comment echoes those made by Abbie Chatfield, who this week slammed fans for complaining that the team's season could be affected by the allegations.

Chatfield said she was disturbed by the reaction from some people associated with the AFL, arguing the conversation had focused on the fate of the team and its players rather than the alleged victim.

'The focus that I've seen from people that are attached to the AFL is these men worrying about what this means for the season,' she said.

She added that she was astounded by the 'prioritisation of the impact that this alleged incident will have on the game' rather than the alleged incident itself.

She called for the AFL to publicly condemn violence while making clear that she was not suggesting anyone was guilty.

'There doesn't need to be an outright condemnation or assumption of guilt or declaration of guilt,' she said.

'But we see sportsmen in this country being upheld as gods, as though having a premiership title makes you the moral arbiter of the country.'

Abbie also broadened her criticism to the culture surrounding professional sport.

'There seems to be a real fear for the clubs, for the commentators, for the fans, for them to actually call the negative aspects of footy culture in this country,' she said.

'Because regardless of this particular incident, there are many incidents of misogyny that we have seen in the AFL and the NRL and union teams as well.'

She added: 'There is a cultural issue in the AFL and there is this refusal to acknowledge it, it seems.'

Abbie concluded: 'The way that our country prioritises the deification of sports stars over the safety of those around sports stars... I'm exhausted by it.'

Swans players Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Riley Bice, Nick Blakey and James Jordon have been stood down for the remainder of the 2026 AFL season after the club found they breached its standards by staying out late, drinking and bringing women back to the Pullman East Melbourne hotel early Monday morning. 

Heeney has been revealed as the focus of the police probe.

The suspensions are separate from a Victoria Police investigation into an alleged sexual assault at the hotel. No charges have been laid and all players have denied wrongdoing.

Detectives from Victoria Police's sex crimes squad are expected to travel to Sydney to formally interview the players involved after the woman at the centre of the allegations completed a formal complaint on Tuesday.

It's understood detectives are focusing on the alleged actions of Heeney, who spoke with police on Monday before he returned to Sydney. None of the players have been formally interviewed.

A source told The Age the players were allegedly in a room with naked women, with one performing lap dances, and that Heeney, who was clothed, was the subject of the complaint.

There are also allegations that cocaine and ketamine were used in the players' room

Swans chair Andrew Pridham and chief executive Matthew Pavlich were asked about illicit drug allegations at Wednesday's media conference.

They were also asked if the players had been drug tested, which was quickly shut down.

'That's potentially part of the police matter, which we aren't going to go near,' Pavlich said.

Details emerged on Wednesday that the five Swans players had taken exotic dancers up to one of their hotel rooms at about 4am Monday for 'private lap dances'.

Several hours later, at about 7am, two women were seen in a shared area of the hotel approaching staff and demanding access to guest rooms, according to witnesses.

One of the women was overheard telling hotel staff she had been 'touched' and had felt overwhelmed while surrounded by several men in a room.

Sources claim she may have been locked out of the room, possibly naked, and was protesting that she had been violated, the Herald Sun reported.

It's understood she approached a Swans official in the lobby and made a complaint, asking to retrieve her clothes from the room on a level that had been booked out by the club.

Police were called after one of the women later ran into the hotel toilets crying.

Several high-profile figures have publicly expressed their support for the alleged sexual assault victim, who is understood to have done extensive modelling and has a strong social media following.

Friends of the alleged victim defended the woman online on Wednesday night after a social media account criticised her.

One friend defended the woman for calling out behaviour which 'crossed the line', while slamming the critic for showing no respect.

The Swans issued an apology on behalf of the five suspended players on Wednesday evening.

'We are deeply sorry to everyone involved,' the joint statement read.

'We know that our behaviour has fallen well short of the standards expected of us and the values of our club.

'We know we have let down our partners and families, members, supporters, teammates, the AFLW team, corporate partners and everyone at the club and the wider community.

'We accept the club sanction and apologise for the impact this has had on those involved. Our focus will now be on rebuilding trust with the club and the community.'