SYDNEY chairman Andrew Pridham has thrown his support behind the five players stood down late in the season, emphasising that care, kindness, and the "presumption of innocence" must extend to everyone involved.
Addressing the audience at the 2026 Sydney Swans Awards on Thursday night, Pridham made it clear that while the club took firm action over off-field conduct, it will not abandon the players as they look to heal and move forward together.
In the club's first public statement on the group's legal stance, Pridham confirmed the players "strenuously deny the allegations" currently under police investigation.
He reinforced that while the club acted swiftly on a separate breach of internal standards of behaviour, the players must still be afforded the presumption of innocence as the broader matter plays out.
>> READ THE SPEECH TRANSCRIPT BELOW
The five players - vice-captain Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice - remained eligible for the club awards, but chose not to attend the event.
"When our heroes disappoint us, it's a reminder that our players can make mistakes, as we all know. All of us, in that spirit, have made mistakes at times in our lives, and we must remember that," Pridham told the room.
"As we know, the players have strenuously denied the allegations. We respect that those in our club and the wider community can be distressed by these things. Likewise, we must also acknowledge -and I've seen it up close and personal - that our five players and their families are also hurting, and our thoughts must also be with them.
"Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reminded that care and kindness should not be selective. Care and kindness should be, and must be, inclusive.
"These players are not here tonight - I want to stress - not because we did not want them to attend, nor because they did not want to be here. They were very keen to be here.
"Rather, they made it clear that they did not want their attendance to detract from the evening, and especially the awards for others later in the evening, given the likely press interest if they were to be here."
Pridham said the club had carefully considered whether the five players should remain eligible for the best and fairest award, ultimately deciding their on-field performance should be judged separately from the conduct that led to their suspension.
"Their eligibility in tonight's count is not an endorsement of what happened. Our reasoning to include them in tonight's awards comes down to two main principles," Pridham said.
"The Integrity of the Count: Our coaches take it very seriously and cast votes after every game throughout the season. Under the rules of the medal, the five remain eligible, just as they were for the Brownlow Medal. We do not believe it would have been appropriate to retrospectively alter those votes after they had already been cast, owing to a subsequent incident," Pridham said.
"Conduct and Performance are Separate Matters: The sanction that stood them down dealt with their conduct. The medals awarded tonight acknowledge on-field performance across the whole season. Erasing a season of football after the fact would, in our opinion, be an inappropriate and excessive sanction.
While defending the club's stance, Pridham stressed that the decision did not diminish the seriousness of the situation or the impact on those affected.
He reiterated that Sydney will continue to support the players throughout the process while allowing the legal investigation to run its course.
"But let me be equally clear that the decision to allow the players to remain eligible does not diminish our concern and respect for everyone affected. Likewise, the players deserve to have us continue to apply the basic right of the presumption of innocence until fully proven otherwise," Pridham said.
"As we all know, I feel very strongly that a player's contribution to our club over many years cannot be erased in a moment like this. As this matter plays out, we will ensure that the players are supported by the club, treated with fairness, and we will mete out punishment where appropriate.
"But we must begin the process now of healing, and we're looking forward to positively engaging with them all again soon in the period between now and the pre-season."
Andrew Pridham speaking at the Sydney Swans Awards
Good evening and welcome, everybody, here this evening for the 2026 Sydney Swans Awards, and especially Auntie Barb, thank you for that very warm welcome. You always do a fantastic job.
Most of tonight, as we all know, belongs to our players and their achievements. But first, I want to begin by saying a few words about August. Six weeks ago, as we all know, the club stood down five players for breaching the standards we expect of everyone at the Sydney Swans. And they missed the last three games of the season, including two finals. We knew this decision would weaken our on-field prospects, but we believed this was the right decision, as we have a responsibility to use our privileged position of influence to demonstrate to the millions of people who look up to and support our players - and many in the room tonight - that this behaviour was not acceptable. This was especially the case for the men, women, and children who were distressed by these actions.
When our heroes disappoint us, it's a reminder that our players can make mistakes, as we all know. All of us, in that spirit, have made mistakes at times in our lives, and we must remember that. However, as we said at the time, this decision reflected only on their breach of standards and behaviour; at no time have we made any judgment on the allegations, current or police. This is a separate matter. As we know, the players have strenuously denied the allegations. We respect that those in our club and the wider community can be distressed by these things. Likewise, we must also acknowledge—and I've seen it up close and personal—that our five players and their families are also hurting, and our thoughts must also be with them.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reminded that care and kindness should not be selective. Care and kindness should be, and must be, inclusive. These players are not here tonight - I want to stress - not because we did not want them to attend, nor because they did not want to be here. They were very keen to be here. Rather, they made it clear that they did not want their attendance to detract from the evening, and especially the awards for others later in the evening, given the likely press interest if they were to be here.
Tonight, we award the Peter Bedford, Adam Goodes and Bob Skilton medals. These awards recognize performance across the whole season, as voted on by our coaches after every game. The winners of all of these awards tonight will be thoroughly deserving. But I want to speak directly about the eligibility of the five players the club stood down.
Firstly, their eligibility in tonight's count is not an endorsement of what happened. Our reasoning to include them in tonight's awards comes down to two main principles:
The integrity of the count: Our coaches take it very seriously and cast votes after every game throughout the season. Under the rules of the medal, the five remain eligible, just as they were for the Brownlow Medal. We do not believe it would have been appropriate to retrospectively alter those votes after they had already been cast, owing to a subsequent incident.
Conduct and performance are separate matters: The sanction that stood them down dealt with their conduct. The medals awarded tonight acknowledge on-field performance across the whole season. Erasing a season of football after the fact would, in our opinion, be an inappropriate and excessive sanction.
I can assure you that we did not make any of the decisions we have made in recent times lightly. We have had to make many very, very difficult calls, and I can assure you that it was done after balancing many varying considerations. And for those who texted me abuse - thank you very much, I'll get back to you eventually!
We listen to a range of opinions across the club and in the football community, and I genuinely mean that I respect that some people in this room and beyond may not agree with where we landed tonight, or where we landed on attending decisions. It has been very, very difficult. But let me be equally clear that the decision to allow the players to remain eligible does not diminish our concern and respect for everyone affected. Likewise, the players deserve to have us continue to apply the basic right of the presumption of innocence until fully proven otherwise.
As we all know, I feel very strongly that a player's contribution to our club over many years cannot be erased in a moment like this. As this matter plays out, we will ensure that the players are supported by the club, treated with fairness, and we will mete out punishment where appropriate. But we must begin the process now of healing, and we're looking forward to positively engaging with them all again soon in the period between now and the preseason. We are well into the process to understand how and why this happened, and we'll continue to have important conversations internally, all in the pursuit of a strong, healthy, and united club. I am confident that our culture will endure - stronger, wiser, and more united, something of which we should all be justifiably proud.
Over the past few weeks, I've constantly been encouraged by the many positive messages, kind messages, and words of support—and I know there are other club leaders that have experienced the same - from many people throughout our community and in the industry regarding our management of the situation. I thank those people. It has been a very difficult time for us all to navigate, and that support has been warmly received.