Sydney Swans vow to support Elijah Taylor and ex-girlfriend Lekahni Pearce during investigation
Sydney has vowed to support Elijah Taylor and his ex-girlfriend Lekahni Pearce, but will not be part of any investigation into allegations levelled at the young forward on social media.
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Sydney says it will remove itself from any aspect of the investigation into Elijah Taylor’s domestic dispute with former partner Lekahni Pearce to avoid a conflict of interest.
Swans chief executive Tom Harley said the league’s own respect and responsibility code meant any complaints were automatically referred to police.
He said the club took any allegations of violence seriously as he denied the club had spoken to Pearce and told her not to make any further comment.
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The league’s integrity team will speak to Taylor and Pearce over the accusations which she made in an Instagram post on Saturday night.
It is believed the alleged incident took place in NSW before the Sydney Swans left for their AFL hub in Western Australia.
A spokeswoman for NSW Police confirmed on Monday that no complaint has yet been made about Elijah Taylor.
Without a formal complaint, NSW Police will not investigate the matter, despite the nature of the social media post and the fact the AFL integrity unit is undertaking its own investigation.
“We are a club that has respect at the core of our values and we condemn any violence and women and violence of any nature,” Harley said.
“These are very serious allegations. We are running a very proper process with the AFL and we will continue to do that. ‘very serious’
“Obviously the welfare of both Elijah and Lekahni is paramount. We are dealing with two young people here. I won’t go into the specific details but there is support on both sides as we work through what is a very specific situation.
“They are extremely serious allegations and our process is to notify the AFL integrity department and then it’s the AFL integrity department’s responsibility as part of the respect and responsibility police to follow through with relevant authorities. I am told the AFL have been in touch with the police about this matter.
“One of the key tenets of the respect and responsibility policy is to take a lead in these situations and remove clubs from a perceived conflict
“I am very confident in the AFL’s integrity department.”
Harley said the Swans had not told Pearce not to talk further about the incident.
“That’s certainly not my interpretation at this point in time. So that’ll be news to me,” he said.
Taylor has been suspended by the AFL until the end of the season over a COVID breach.
Harley said remaining in Perth with his family instead of joining his teammates in a Cairns hub had been deemed as the best course despite the lack of one-on-one support in a tough time.
“That is a good question, when the situation regarding the quarantine breach presented itself, which was a serious breach of the AFL’s social licence to keep the game going in WA, once the 14 day quarantine was complete, we as club in consultation with Elijah and family and his management given he was suspended for balance of the season discussed where the best place would be and it was determined with family in WA is that place.
“Clearly it’s challenging regardless but we are supporting Elijah in the best way we can remotely.”
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Originally published as Sydney Swans vow to support Elijah Taylor and ex-girlfriend Lekahni Pearce during investigation