Jack Crisp scandal: Pies coach refuses to blame the Snapchat scandal for the loss to Brisbane

The scandal involving Jack Crisp wasn’t ideal for Collingwood’s preparation for their biggest test of the season. Hear from coach Craig McRae after the match.

Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

• ‘Little sl*ts’: Crisp investigated over shock video

Collingwood coach Craig McRae refused to use the Jack Crisp saga as an excuse after the Magpies’ unbeaten start to the AFL season came to an end at the Gabba on Thursday night.

Aided by a run of 10 successive goals across the second and third quarters, the Lions won by 33 points in front of more than 33,000 fans.

Former Lions midfielder Crisp played in the game despite the AFL investigating his alleged involvement in a video that has gone viral.

Crisp kicked a goal but was otherwise quiet on a disappointing night for the visitors.

McRae hailed a “really good” Lions side and didn’t blame the loss on the controversy surrounding Crisp.

Jack Crisp wasn’t to blame for the Pies mauling at the hands of the Brisbane Lions. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

“I’m not going to comment on what’s going on with it but in terms of Jack it’s like every player on our list - we love and support them,” McRae said.

“We’ve 100 per cent got their back around them as people and humans.

“There’s lots of stuff that goes on with our players that I’m not going to condone.

“I’m a father, and I don’t always condone the things my kids do, but at the end of the day, we love and support them. That’s not going to change.

“We’re not going to make excuses for anything.

“Brisbane were really good. They’ve beaten Melbourne up here...and we’ve gone down as well.

McRae said the Magpies had learnt a lot about themselves in defeat.

“We had more scoring shots, so we generated enough opportunities but we were chasing our tail for pretty much the second half,” he said.

“The game was won and lost in the second quarter

“We gave away some uncharacteristic free-kicks from our centre bounces not being organised.”

Jack Crisp wasn’t at his usual standards at the Gabba on Thursday night. Picture: Getty Images

EXPLAINED: WHY CRISP WAS ALLOWED TO PLAY LIONS

Jon Ralph

Collingwood football boss Graham Wright said the club had not considered standing Jack Crisp down for the clash against Brisbane, denying the Pies had a cultural problem.

As revealed by the Herald Sun, Crisp is under investigation by the AFL after the leaking of historical images.

In the snapchat images he is seen allegedly referencing drugs with a caption that reads: “Come and drink and have some lines. Just have a bit of a party”.

The AFL’s integrity team will interview Crisp next week about those apparent drug references and probe whether he had taken drugs on that night.

Jack Crisp will take the field against the Lions. Picture: Getty Images

“As soon as we became aware of it we notified the AFL and the AFL integrity department,” Wright said.

“It was deemed today was going to be too quick for Jack to sit with them so that will happen next week when we get back to Melbourne. It was deemed Jack would play tonight. We spoke to the AFL about that and internally here.

“He will play tonight and then talk to the AFL next week. Obviously if he didn’t want to play he wouldn’t have played. He was really keen to play. From a coaching perspective we were keen for him to play and from a club perspective we were keen for him to play as well.”

Wright said he did not believe the club had a cultural problem and said the Snapchat video was taken some time before Jack Ginnivan’s drug episode this summer.

“We are talking about something that is hypothetical and we will go through what or what isn’t in the video. It will be discussed and we will deal with those questions next week with the AFL. It’s an historical video, one from a while ago. Completely separate from Jack Ginnivan. At this stage I don’t believe it is (culturally worrying)”

CRISP AT RISK OF BAN OVER SNAPCHAT IMAGES

Collingwood star Crisp could miss a blockbuster Gather Round clash against St Kilda and Anzac Day if found guilty of conduct unbecoming under an AFL investigation of the leaked Snapchat images.

Crisp does not contest that it is him in the images shown on Snapchat.

But it is not known if he is the person who wrote the captions.

The AFL’s integrity team will conduct an interview with Crisp next week.

Jack Crisp could miss a Gather Round clash with Collingwood. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Under the AFL’s illicit drugs code players who record a positive strike through the AFL’s testing are not identified.

But players like Collingwood’s Jack Ginnivan or then-Adelaide player Brad Crouch have accepted two-week suspensions and $5000 suspended fines after their illicit drug use was made public.

Ginnivan was exposed snorting a white powder while Crouch was searched by South Adelaide police and found in possession of cocaine.

Crisp and his family have been aware of the images for several years.

But Collingwood had no knowledge of the details of those images until being alerted by the Herald Sun on Wednesday.

If he conceded drug use he would likely be hit with a drug strike and a two-week ban consistent with the Ginnivan and Crouch sanctions.

The AFL would give him that drug strike as a notifiable adverse finding.

Crisp, who signed a contract through to 2026 in December, will play his 192nd consecutive match on Thursday night.

The league explains the double standard in its illicit drugs code by stating that players have a responsibility to set community standards.

Jack Crisp with teammate Taylor Adams. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

When Ginnivan was handed a two-week ban this year AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon said: “The AFL wishes to reiterate that AFL Players are well-educated when it comes to the harms associated with the use of illicit substances, and have a responsibility to themselves, their clubs and their professional careers to uphold community expectations.”

The AFLPA and AFL are working through a review of the illicit drugs code, with the player union keen to debate whether the sanctions help under a medical-based model.

But Dillon made clear in recent comments to Nine that the league had to set community standards.

He said there had to be “appropriate accountability” if a player “puts themselves in a position where their conduct doesn’t uphold what is expected of a professional footballer”.

Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said after Ginnivan’s video was revealed he was worried there was a “bounty” on players found on video in compromising positions.

He said he was worried about strategic leaking in the lead-in to games and made clear players did not deserve an illicit drugs strike just because their issues had been made public.

“The AFL drug policy works as a medical policy rather than a punitive policy,” McGuire said.

“I think that they should just (treat) this type of thing the same way as if you self-report.

“If you are caught you get a strike and anonymity - well in this case you probably still won’t get anonymity - but it should be treated the same way. You shouldn’t get a bigger suspension because somebody has taken an illegal photo of you.

“If we are serious that it’s all about mental health and health then it should all be the same, take the heat out of it and I think that will head off unintended consequences down the track.”

Originally published as Jack Crisp scandal: Pies coach refuses to blame the Snapchat scandal for the loss to Brisbane