How US media covered Jordan De Goey arrest

AFL players might struggle to head out in Melbourne without being recognised, but it was a different story for Jordan De Goey in New York, with one news outlet referring to him as a rugby player.

When New York press first broke the news of Jordan De Goey’s arrest at a Manhattan nightclub, some were still unclear on who he was.

AFL players struggle to head out in Melbourne without being recognised, but it was a different story in America where the Collingwood player is an unknown Australian who won’t get any special treatment.

While the online article from the New York Daily — one of the first to report the arrest — refers to him as a footballer, a close look at the article’s URL reveals they first called him a rugby player.

America’s justice system isn’t known for its leniency, and the press coverage of De Goey — who has since pleaded not guilty — didn’t hold back either.

His arrest made page three of the New York Daily News, whose reporter Thomas Tracy led with a previous accusation of indecent assault against De Goey under the headline “Aussie gets pawsie in Chelsea, and is arrested, police say”.

Screenshot of New York Daily News article on De Goey allegations. Page 3 article headline reads 'Aussie gets pawsie in Chelsea and is arrested, police say. Picture: Supplied

“An Australian football star once accused of indecent assault in Melbourne was kicked into a Manhattan holding cell early Saturday for groping a woman and attacking the woman’s friend at a nightclub atop a Chelsea hotel, police sources said,” the article begins.

De Goey was charged by Victorian police in 2020 with indecent assault — but this charge was dropped the following year by prosecutors, who were ordered to pay his legal fees.

De Goey always maintained his innocence over the 2015 incident.

The New York Daily News article, after referencing the dismissed case, went on to allege “two blond, 6-foot plus Aussies” — referring to De Goey and his friend Luke Dyson — “pounded on the man” who pushed them away from the woman.

The New York Post also reported on the story, under the print headline “Aussie athlete in NY ‘grope’ arrest” on page 28 of their Halloween edition.

Their online story alleged De Goey and Dyson “crept up on (the woman) as she danced at a rooftop bar at the Dream Hotel on West 16th Street around 2:20 a.m”.

De Goey can’t expect any special treatment from the New York Post as a AFL player either, with the article filed under the tag ‘rugby’.

The Daily Beast’s online coverage was critical as well, with their Breaking News Intern Corbin Bolies’ article “Australian Footballer’s Night Out in NYC Ends in a Jail Cell” filed under the subheading “Bad Play”.

The allegations were also picked up by radio, with local station 1010 Wins reporting on the arrest on their online offering.

De Goey pleaded not guilty and has been released on bail. He will reappear in court at a later date.

Originally published as How US media covered Jordan De Goey arrest