Former Sydney player Tony Armstrong has labelled the reaction to the Swans' alleged sexual assault scandal as "disappointing", declaring the football impact "pales in significance" to the effect this story will have on the alleged victim.
Armstrong - who played 15 games for the Swans over two years and has become a prominent media personality since retiring from the AFL - challenged how the media responded to the news.
“I think for me, the thing that's been most disappointing is the way that the conversation has kind of left talking about alleged victims and this conversation has become, what does this mean for the Swans season?” Armstrong said on KIIS' Will & Woody.
“I mean, that pales in significance into what is alleged has happened.
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“... I just hope that we get to the truth, and whatever that truth is, it's dealt with in the right manner, with fallout for a football club and a competition a distant second to the priority of making sure that if there is the victim that has been alleged, then making sure that they get what they need.”
Sydney is expected to hand down sanctions on Wednesday following the incident on Sunday, which took place at the Pullman hotel following the club's 36-point win over Essendon at the MCG.
The Swans have been running an investigation separate from Victoria Police, which has been supported by the AFL.
“It shocked me, and that's probably naive, to be honest,” Armstrong added.
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“That's probably me thinking with like glass half-full or blue-sky thinking because we look at the statistics on violence against women and all that kind of stuff this year in particular and it's been shocking, so I shouldn't be surprised.
“It's really disappointing, and I just hope that the alleged victim's OK.
“All we hope is that they get to the bottom of this alleged incident and justice prevails, basically. That's all we can hope for.”
Clearly, the football implications pale in significance compared with the alleged sexual assault and the impact on the alleged victim. I don’t think anyone reasonable would argue otherwise.
But that doesn’t mean the football aspect can’t or shouldn’t be discussed, particularly by people working in football media. A football analyst discussing what this could mean for the Swans doesn’t diminish the seriousness of the allegations they’re simply speaking within their area of expertise.
Not every football commentator is qualified to provide meaningful commentary on a police investigation or the broader issues surrounding sexual assault. Those aspects should absolutely be reported on and taken seriously, but there’s nothing wrong with football journalists discussing the football consequences as well.
There can be more than one conversation happening at the same time. The police can investigate the allegations, appropriate journalists and experts can report on the wider issues, and football media can discuss the impact on the club and competition. One doesn’t have to diminish the importance of the other.
Tony seems like an expert on all things in the world, but for the rest of us mere mortals we let football experts talk about the football implications and the police talk about the police implications