Mother of former Collingwood player claims son’s career was ruined after taking drugs at club event

The mother of a former Collingwood player has claimed her son was introduced to drugs at his first club social event.

Collingwood has been hit with a shock drug claim. Picture: Will Russell/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

The mother of a former Collingwood footballer has claimed her son’s career at the Magpies was ruined after he was introduced to cocaine at his first club social event.

In a call to Neil Mitchell’s 3AW program, the woman, referred to only as ‘Mary’, claimed her son had his standing at the club destroyed after sampling drugs at his first social occasion with the club.

She said her son had never touched drugs before the event and he was then “ridiculed” because of his behaviour.

“I have listened to this for years … I have a son who was drafted by Collingwood a couple of years ago,” the caller said.

“He was a fantastic athlete, still is. And within the first social occasion, the private function that he had with the club, he was introduced to cocaine.

A surprise drug claim has been levelled at Collingwood by a purported mother of a former player. Picture: AAP Image/Scott Barbour

“He had never had it, he had never even been drunk by the time that he was 18 and he had cocaine and that ruined his standing within the club because of the way that he behaved under the influence of it when he went back out into the social environment which he was attending.”

3AW told the Herald Sun it had confirmed the identity of the mother prior to putting her to air.

Asked if he used the drugs and was then dumped by the club, the woman said:

“I won’t say it was directly as a result of that one particular instance, but what I’m saying – he went to this function, he was boozed up because it was at a pub and was free,” the woman said.

“Then he consumed something that was offered to him and then went out and made a complete fool of himself in front of the entire team and then was ridiculed for the remainder of his time there about how he said inappropriate things and behaved poorly.”

Collingwood football boss Graham Wright on Sunday denied the club had a drug problem, claiming the Jack Ginnivan episode was an isolated incident.

Wright said the club was confident it did not have a greater problem.

“Absolutely we feel like we are (in a good place). This is an isolated incident and that is the way we are treating it. It is not a pattern of behaviour from him or anyone else at the club,” he said.

“We continually educate our players all the time and our staff around correct behaviours and around drugs. They receive education through the AFLPA.

“There is no shortage of education with players. It’s not good enough and Jack is going to wear that.

“I would hope it wasn’t a major issue but players are part of society and drugs are part of society. We certainly hope our players don’t partake in illicit drugs. I don’t think it’s a big issue in the competition and we certainly don’t think it is here.”

Former Pies CEO Gary Pert warned of “volcanic” drug behaviour across the league in 2012 which is understood to have included drug use at Collingwood, with Pies Sam Murray, Lachie Keeffe and Josh Thomas all subjected to ASADA bans that involved illicit drugs.

Clubs are handed de-identified data from the AFL about the level of drug use across their list so the Pies would be aware of their level of compliance to the AFL illicit drugs code.

The Magpies have been contacted for comment.

Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said he was not aware of the incident.