Double standards and hypocrisy abound in the Sydney Swans' sex scandal

There has been extensive commentary by politicians, activists, and others condemning the Swans footballers' behaviour in a Pullman Hotel room around 4 AM on 17 August in Melbourne. What is quite extraordinary is that so much posturing took place during days when almost nothing was known about what the footballers had actually done or who the alleged female victims were. Innuendo hinted at privileged male players guilty of vile sexual assaults and violence against innocent unconsenting women.

Information is only slowly coming to light in what increasingly comes across as ideologically inspired male-bashing, that ignores the contribution by the women concerned to outcomes they clearly facilitated.

Even now, nearly two weeks after the event, the footballers are reportedly yet to be interviewed by police, and there is a growing consensus that they will never be charged with any criminal offence. What is, however, certain is that lawyers are now involved, and the AFL can be expected to pay big dollars to complicit "victims" to make the scandal disappear from public view.

The entire affair needs to be seen within the context of Australian sports and political culture.

Australians see their country as a sporting nation, despite active sports participants constituting a declining proportion of the population compared with (say) the 1950s and 1960s. Many fans these days are mere sedentary spectators of sport. A "we won" mentality is now standard amongst enthusiastic supporters, who personalise victories by "their" team.

Sports stars (especially in AFL, Rugby and cricket) have become idolised to the point of being amongst the greatest celebrities in the nation. Their fanbase includes a solid following of "groupie" female fans, some of whom (figuratively speaking) throw their knickers at the elite players. Football awards nights also are regularly characterised by displays of flesh by the female partners, who compete to see who can exhibit the most leg, midriff, and bosom.

It gets even more extreme. The major sporting codes have evolved into politically correct multi-billion-dollar family entertainment businesses, awash with revenue especially from TV rights. The NRL in 2026 is reported to have signed a $5 billion-plus broadcast rights deal over seven years, while the AFL signed a for $4.5 billion deal in 2025. The revenue stream of sporting codes is also awash with sponsorship, ticketing, and other money.

Not only are the big sporting codes flooded with their own revenue, but politicians bestow them with even more money, and individual politicians fall over themselves to be identified with particular teams. The heavily indebted Tasmanian Government is currently committed to building a new AFL stadium now expected to cost $1.13 billion. The AFL is contributing a paltry $15 million to the project while the Commonwealth is providing $240 million for the entire Macquarie Point precinct.

This all follows billions in public money being spent on other stadiums in places like Townsville and Sydney, and billions more on facilities for the Sydney and Brisbane Olympic games (and nearly $600 million in cancellation fees for the aborted Commonwealth games). Despite claims of facilities being a lasting asset, the Sydney Olympic Stadium had been set for demolition and replacement after only 30 years use. After an outcry, that decision was reversed.

With all the largesse bestowed on major sporting codes, even less celebrated footballers are now routinely paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year (running into seven figures for major stars). No wonder that, as a group, football players are widely regarded as spoilt, overpaid and over-sexed, even though many of the experienced mature players are level-headed. Alcohol, drug and gambling problems are not uncommon amongst sports stars, some of whom are unable to manage money.

I have zero sympathy for the five players that have been punished by the AFL for breaching club standards. In my opinion they were guilty of ill-discipline and commercial vandalism, and the cost to their club and their football code was very substantial. They have been stood down for reasons of team discipline and public relations, which has diminished the Swans' finals prospects. The players are supposed to be mature adults, with partners and children in many cases, and should have known better. Worse still, they did all this at the business-end of the year, when they were supposed to be preparing for the finals.

That said, I believe that most commentators who attacked the players went off half-cocked without knowing clearly what had transpired (and probably caring less).