GWS players banned, fined over ‘completely unacceptable’ dress-up antics

Greater Western Sydney player Josh Fahey has been suspended for four games after dressing up as former NRL player Jarryd Hayne and simulating sex with an inflatable doll at the Giants’ controversial post-season function.

The 20-year-old was one of 13 Giants players punished for their involvement in a “controversial couples”-themed event, which was described by AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon as “completely unacceptable”.

Without naming Hayne, the AFL announced after concluding its investigation that Fahey had dressed as a former NRL player and teammate Jake Riccardi as a taxi driver.

Industry sources had earlier confirmed a GWS player dressed as Hayne, who was convicted of sexual assault offences and sentenced to a prison term in 2023 before the conviction was quashed on appeal and the charges formally dropped.

Hayne took a taxi to the house of the woman who accused him of the offences after the NRL grand final in 2018.

Riccardi was not involved in simulating inappropriate acts on the sex doll.

“Players Toby McMullin and Cooper Hamilton simulated the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre and wore costumes related to that event,” Dillon said.

GWS player Connor Idun.Credit: Kate Geraghty

“Harvey Thomas dressed as a particular professional sportsman and Joe Fonti as a girl, and the pair acted inappropriately during their skit.”

Industry sources had earlier confirmed a player dressed as Australian basketballer Josh Giddey, who faced an NBA investigation for an off-court indiscretion before he was cleared by the NBA.

As this masthead revealed on Thursday, Connor Idun enacted a scene from the Quentin Tarantino movie Django Unchained characterising slavery. Teammate Lachie Whitfield was also part of that skit.

Riccardi, Hamilton, McMullin, Thomas and Fonti received two-match bans.

Idun and Whitfield were fined $5000 each, despite Idun, who was born in London and has Ghanaian heritage, consulting other teammates of colour before dressing up as Jamie Foxx’s character Django, a slave who was freed in the movie by a bounty hunter played by Christoph Waltz.

According to a senior industry source, lobbying by the AFL Players Association resulted in eight of the 13 players’ sanctions being reduced. Fahey’s ban was reduced from six matches to four.

Captain Toby Greene and fellow leaders Tom Green, Sam Taylor, Harry Perryman and Lachie Keeffe were fined $5000 each. They had initially faced bans of $20,000 or $10,000.

The AFLPA has told the league they accept the players had to be sanctioned but were unhappy with what they perceived as a lack of due process.

“As senior players all in attendance failed to display appropriate levels of leadership reasonably expected of each of them in failing to step in to stop the acts continuing,” Dillon said.

Jamie Foxx in character for Django Unchained

Two club sources said that before the event, Idun sought permission from four teammates:Toby Bedford, Callum Brown, Leek Aleer and Harry Rowston. The sources said the four players told Idun they had no problem with Idun going to the event dressed as Django.

“It’s a very complex area,” Dillon said when asked why Idun was punished. “Connor has put in a submission in relation to that [his racial background and that he had consulted teammates] but ultimately the skit that was performed and as I have said before was not appropriate anywhere.”

Bedford and Rowston are Indigenous.

Brown was born in England and was a Gaelic football star in Ireland before being recruited by the Giants. His mother is English and father is Jamaican.

Aleer was born in Kenya to South Sudanese parents and came to Australia as a refugee when he was six.

Asked why the players were banned when the function was in a private room and no members of the public were present Dillon said: “It’s behaviour that’s not acceptable in any place at any time.”

Greene did not participate in any offensive skit – coming to the private function as Olympic breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn.

“We are also very disappointed that none of the leaders sanctioned sought to stop the behaviour,” Dillon said.

“I do want to pay credit to whoever it was who made the anonymous complaint and thank them for refusing to walk past the behaviours.”

“We have spent a lot of time, resource and energy working with staff, players and clubs to build environments of respect – respect for women, respect for people of different cultures, respect for the wider community – but clearly, we still have work to do. And we are committed to doing that work.”

Giants officials had left the function before the skits were performed.

“We conducted a detailed investigation and the findings were that the skits were unacceptable,” Dillon said. “On that basis, it was the players who undertook those skits and the senior players who were there at the time that failed to stop those skits [who were punished].”

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.