Retired Melbourne defender Steven May has spoken of the toll that the police investigation into his involvement in an alleged incident in Sorrento in 2024 had on him.
Charges against May and former teammate Dion Prestia have since been dropped, but the former Demon indicated it significantly contributed to his decision to pull the pin on his career in January with one year remaining on his contract.
“The worst part about it was I had just done a pre-season, and I hate pre-seasons. Some people love them but I really hate them,” May said on SEN.
“It was the end of January so I'd finally got through it and ready for a new year, I was injured all last season, had a bad year on the field. I was really ready to show people that I still have it, did the pre-season, ran a PB in January, up and about, let's go.
“Then had a bit of a mental breakdown and found myself a bit lost and not sure what to do. It came to a point where I had to put the club before myself. I was able to retire before the deadline so then they could get another player in and Paddy Cross is playing good footy and Melbourne are flying.
“All in all it looks like it's worked well for both parties.”
Given May's history of indiscretions, conclusions were too quickly drawn by some members of the wider football public which had an impact.
“Your name gets dragged through the media. I know I don't have the greatest name already so that didn't help.
“Especially when you were so innocent in something. You can't really do much or say much because it's a criminal charge.
“I feel for Dion. He's still playing and has got different hurdles he has to get through. It was a huge weight off both of our shoulders.”
May joined local football club East Ringwood in the Eastern Football Netball League (EFNL) shortly after announcing his retirement from the AFL.
