Steven Callanan’s grieving parents want authorities to investigate the drug culture in Victorian footy clubs

The devastated parents of an aspiring AFL player who committed suicide are desperate for authorities to investigate the level of drug taking among local footy clubs.

Paul and Lyn Callinan are seeking answers after their 21-year-old son Steven committed suicide. Picture: Jason Edwards

The heartbroken parents of an aspiring AFL player who took his own life want Victorian authorities to investigate the drug culture in local football.

Steven Callanan, 21, was found dead by his parents Paul Call­anan and Evelyn Brown in the back yard of his Gladstone Park home on March 26, 2023.

The couple are seeking answers about what preceded Steven’s death and how a drug culture they fear is rife in football has been allowed to fester.

Steven had been out celebrating with new teammates from Wallan Football Club the night before he took his life.

Steven Callanan, 21, was found dead by his parents in March 2023.

He had been partying with Wallan Football Club teammates the night before he took his own life.

Mr Callanan and Ms Brown told the Herald Sun that Steven had an adoring girlfriend, was months away from finishing his plumbing certification and had hopes of buying an apartment.

His decision to play for the high-level “feeder” club, in the hopes of one day being drafted into the AFL, was something Mr Callanan and Ms Brown could not have supported more.

“He got paid $500 upfront when he signed because they really wanted him,” Mr Callanan said.

In his first game for the club, a pre-season away match in Torquay on March 25, Steven produced a best-on-ground performance, kicking several goals.

Evelyn Brown holding Steven’s best and fairest medal. Picture: Jason Edwards

Steven had hoped of one day being drafted. Picture: Jason Edwards

The team, including Steven, and members of the Wallan FC hierarchy, celebrated the end of the trip at a local pub before some players went to an Airbnb in the early hours of March 26.

A Coronial Inquest into Steven’s death found that he consumed cocaine at some point during the night.

The next morning, a friend and teammate who drove Steven home noted that he appeared “a bit down” and kept his head in his hands as they travelled back to his house in Gladstone Park.

After dropping him off at about 11.30am, Steven’s teammate sensed something was wrong and sent him a text checking on him, with Steven saying he was all right.

This was the last time Steven was known to be alive.

After calls and messages went unanswered, Mr Callanan and Ms Brown went to his home later that night.

They discovered Steven in the back yard and tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Mr Callanan said: “You lose days, weeks … you just can’t cope with what happened.

“It’s very scary … you visualise things that have happened and you live something very bad over and over again.”

About 1000 people attended Steven’s funeral, with mates from his former clubs West Preston and Westmeadows standing proudly in their colours.

The support from friends and the wider community since has also been immense, including a fundraising walk in honour of Steven organised by Westmeadows.

But Mr Callanan said he only received one text from Wallan FC president Stuart Broomfield after Steven’s death and claims the club has avoided contact with the bereaved parents.

“They didn’t even ring up and (ask) ‘are you OK?’” Ms Brown said.

Since Steven’s death, Mr Callanan said the family had fought hard to have its concerns about a “drug culture” at Wallan FC investigated by the coroner.

Deputy State Coroner Paresa Antoniadis Spanos noted in her findings that the family had raised concerns, but ultimately found no evidence to suggest the club had played a part in Steven’s decision to take his own life.

But Coroner Spanos invited the club to promote a culture that would encourage young players like Steven “to feel supported enough to openly discuss their mental health”.

Weeks after her findings were released, Mr Callanan said the investigation into the club’s alleged drug culture was “rubbish”.

“This was a young man, prime of his life, goes and plays one game with the Wallan Football Club and ends up dead the next day,” he said.

“People need to be aware that what happened to Steven could have happened to anybody.”

He said he had warned other parents to be vigilant and check the culture of a club before having their kids join.

“I said to them ‘if your kid is coming from juniors to seniors, you’ve really got to go to every game … you want to go to training, you want to keep an eye on (them),’ ” Mr Callanan said.

“There’s people out there that’ll go ‘I know you haven’t tried it, come round to my place and we’ll do it together.’ They lure you in.”

Originally published as Steven Callanan’s grieving parents want authorities to investigate the drug culture in Victorian footy clubs