A three-week ban from AFL footy for a wild night out in season is probably about right

PORT Adelaide had every right to fight an AFL investigation to ensure the findings of a report into Sam Powell-Pepper were fair.

Sam Powell-Pepper in action for the Magpies against Sturt yesterday in the SANFL Picture MATT TURNER.

PORT Adelaide had every right to fight an AFL investigation to ensure the findings of a report into Sam Powell-Pepper were fair.

And while a three-game ban for an incident in which the police were not involved may seem harsh to some, both the Power and the player have accepted it.

The exact details of what happened in the city nightclub in the early hours of April 8 remain unknown but Port Adelaide and Powell-Pepper acknowledge his behaviour was inappropriate and will put the facts on the table at a Press conference on Monday.

The AFL’s integrity unit deemed he was drunk in public, made inappropriate contact with a female and his behaviour was unbecoming for an AFL player.

Powell-Pepper is a young man, certainly not the first to find himself in hot water after drinking at a nightclub, and he won’t be the last.

As the saying goes, nothing good happens after midnight, or is that 1am?

Or in this case 2am which is the generous curfew Port has given its players this season and which Powell-Pepper broke.

Whether you agree with it or not, the nightclub scene is not the ideal place for a young, high profile footballer.

If that’s unfair and you think they are entitled to have a life and go out drinking like everyone else, then to minimise the risk of trouble, best they go home on time which is the reason curfews exist.

If they don’t want it to happen at all, best they just stay home.

So if for nothing else, a three-week ban from AFL footy for a wild night out in season when your form isn’t great is probably about right.

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