PORT Adelaide forward Jeremy Finlayson has moved to clarify comments he made about his three-match suspension for a homophobic slur, saying he has "no issue" with the AFL-imposed ban.
Finlayson was suspended for three weeks for making a homophobic slur towards an Essendon player during Gather Round and apologised multiple times before he was handed his penalty last week. The League said the 28-year's old contrition was a factor in its finding.
This week, during a regular segment on his wife's podcast, Finlayson was asked to highlight his "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."
On Wednesday, Finlayson released a statement via the club, where he said his comments were in reference to his own behaviour, not the actions of the AFL in banning him.
"When re-thinking my comments today, it's clear that I should have provided more context," he said.
"On reflection, I should have explained that I was bitterly disappointed that I said what I did during the game and I am bitterly disappointed that I put myself and the club in the position I did. That is what I am most upset with.
"What I said on the field that night was totally unacceptable. I knew that at the time and I know it now. I stress, I have no issue with the sanction at all."
Speaking on State of Play on AFL.com.au on Wednesday, AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said Finlayson's remorse in the moments and days after the slur was a factor in the length of the sanction and indicated any future transgressions by players would lead to an even harsher punishment.
"We assessed Jeremy's remorse and the fact he was on the front foot," Dillon said. "We obviously don't want that and I don't think anyone wants that in our game, or really at any time in society.
"We assess each case on its merits. We put a proposal to Jeremy and he came back to us. The three weeks, we decided when taking into account all the circumstances, there's got to be a deterrent for it. We think it's a strong deterrent and it's something we don't want to see. And if we do see it again, I wouldn't be saying that that's the base from where we'd go."
The fact Finlayson was suspended but North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson was fined $20,000 and given a suspended two-match ban for a homophobic slur during the pre-season sparked a call from the AFL Players' Association for a review of the League's processes for what it says are "double standards" when penalising players and officials.
Dillon said he's spoken with AFLPA boss Paul Marsh about the League's processes and insisted that every case is treated separately.
"What I'll say is anything with vilification, we are consistent in taking it very seriously, we investigate them and then make a decision based on all the circumstances," he said.
"We want to stop this behaviour, we don't want it to happen. If we see it again, I think what you'll see is a stronger penalty.
"I spoke to Paul in depth about that ... we'll look to see whether we can bring in a framework. But what is really hard is to get something that works across everywhere. We have rough guidelines that we use when we are sanctioning and we'll work with the PA to see if we can bring in something. I don't think a table like the on-field (Match Review) would work.
"First of all, we don't want the behaviour to happen. If it does, we do want people to understand the consequences if they do transgress."
