Port Adelaide forward Jeremy Finlayson says his three-match ban for a homophobic slur “tipped me over the edge” as he vented his frustrations on his wife Kelly’s podcast in comments which were subsequently removed after a backlash.
Finlayson was given the lengthy ban as part of the AFL making a statement when it comes to such language despite the 28-year-old apologising multiple times for his single word outburst against Essendon in round 4.
In handing down the suspension, the AFL made it clear that he was saved from a longer ban because of his contrition and the next player to utter the same sort of slur would be sidelined for even longer.
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Finlayson, appearing during a regular segment on the Sh!t Talkers podcast with his wife, who is battling cancer, aired his thoughts as part of their “good, bad and offensive” talking points for the week.
“My ‘offensive’ is it pissed me off that I got a three-week suspension,” Finlayson said.
“That’s it. That’s tipped me over the edge. That’s about it. We’ll leave it there and (at) that and move on.”
The podcast episode has since been edited and re-uploaded without that comment from Finlayson after being condemned online by some listeners.
Amid the fallout from Finlayson’s ban, the AFL Players Association boss Paul Marsh called out the league for being “consistently inconsistent” after North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson escaped suspension for a homophobic slur during a pre-season clash with St Kilda.
Marsh also called for an “urgent review of the AFL’s sanctioning framework”.
“We believe the AFL is consistently inconsistent and there are double standards in its approach to dealing with players compared to others on behavioural matters,” Marsh said last week.
“This issue highlights the lack of clarity on how the AFL handles these situations, and we want this to be the catalyst for an urgent review of the sanctioning framework.
“If this type of conduct is a three-week sanction for a player, it should be for everyone involved in the game.”
Finlayson was more contrite in the immediate aftermath, saying via a club statement that he was remorseful and “the word I used has no place in our society or our game”.
