Collingwood staffer resigns after an interstate camp lap dance prompted investigation
A Collingwood staff member has resigned after performing a lap dance on a female player at a club community camp. See the details of the incident.
A Collingwood staff member has resigned after performing a lap dance on a female player on the final night of the club’s community camp in the Northern Territory.
Rehabilitation manager Dean Filopoulos was among a group which had been drinking and dancing at an Alice Springs bar on the last night of the camp, when he performed the lap dance on a Pies AFLW player who the Herald Sun has chosen not to name.
The AFL does not plan to investigate the incident and has deemed it a Collingwood issue.
The AFL Player’s Association was notified about it and was concerned about the impact on the player but thought Collingwood acted quickly.
It is understood the player is coping well two weeks after the night and the AFLPA has offered ongoing support to her and others who were at the bar.
One source said the performance happened “in front of everyone”.
Another source close to the club said Mr Filopoulos was “incredibly devastated and remorseful over his actions”.
“He immediately regretted his actions and resigned during the investigation by the club,” the source said.
The incident occurred during the club’s recent cultural immersion program, which had begun in Tennant Creek.
It was attended by a number of AFL and AFLW players and staff, as well as board members though they were not present on the final night.
Pictures from the camp were posted by the Magpies last week.
Mr Filopoulos led the Magpies players through training on the third day of the camp and the conditioning part of the session was described by Magpie recruit Jack Buller as “extremely difficult in the weather conditions”.
The camp participants then drove from Tennant Creek to Alice Springs that night, before the visit to the bar.
Mr Filopoulos came to Collingwood in 2012 as VFL high performance manager and moved up to become rehabilitation manager.
In a 2021 episode of the podcast Prepare Like a Pro, Mr Filopoulos said one of his strengths was communicating with players and making them a key part of “rehabbing” their own injuries.
“It is more of sitting down and being engaged with them, we write down goals, we get specific with what we want to develop and it starts from there,” he said.
“At the end of the day I think the rehab program is theirs so I want to make sure they have some ownership and they master what they want to do in the next four, five, six weeks.”
The Magpies said in a statement on Thursday: “Collingwood can confirm that an incident occurred during recent interstate travel that required investigation by the club.
“As soon as the club became aware of the incident, it moved quickly to address the matter and during this process, the employee involved tendered their resignation, which the club accepted.
“Our focus remains on supporting all team members and ensuring our environments remain professional and consistent with the values we stand for.”
The club promotes the program as “fostering meaningful connections with the local community” adding that it is “part of the club’s ongoing commitment to cultural learning and community engagement”.
Originally published as Collingwood staffer resigns after an interstate camp lap dance prompted investigation
