Port star backtracks after rant over slur ban

Port Adelaide guardant Jeremy Finlayson has backtracked connected comments made connected a podcast declaring his three-match prohibition for a homophobic slur “tipped maine implicit the edge” and says helium successful information has “no issues” with his suspension.

Finlayson was fixed the lengthy prohibition arsenic portion of the AFL making a connection erstwhile it comes to specified connection contempt the 28-year-old apologising aggregate times for his azygous connection outburst against Essendon successful circular 4.

In handing down the suspension, the AFL made it wide that helium was saved from a longer prohibition due to the fact that of his contrition and the adjacent subordinate to utter the aforesaid benignant of slur would beryllium sidelined for adjacent longer.

Finlayson, appearing during a regular conception connected the Sh!t Talkers podcast with his wife, Kellie, who is battling cancer, aired his thoughts arsenic portion of their “good, atrocious and offensive” talking points for the week.

“My ‘offensive’ is it pissed maine disconnected that I got a three-week suspension,” Finlayson said.

“That’s it. That’s tipped maine implicit the edge. That’s astir it. We’ll permission it determination and (at) that and determination on.”

But aft his comments were revealed Finlayson released a connection done the nine declaring helium should person explained himself amended and that helium had “no contented with the authorisation astatine all”.

“When re-thinking my comments today, it’s wide that I should person provided much context,” helium said.

“On reflection, I should person explained that I was bitterly disappointed that I said what I did during the crippled and I americium bitterly disappointed that I enactment myself and the nine successful the presumption I did. That is what I americium astir upset with.

“What I said connected the tract that nighttime was wholly unacceptable. I knew that astatine the clip and I cognize it now. I stress, I person nary contented with the authorisation astatine all.”

The podcast occurrence has since been edited and re-uploaded without that remark from Finlayson aft being condemned online by immoderate listeners.

Amid the fallout from Finlayson’s ban, the AFL Players Association brag Paul Marsh called retired the league for being “consistently inconsistent” aft North Melbourne manager Alastair Clarkson escaped suspension for a homophobic slur during a pre-season clash with St Kilda.

Marsh besides called for an “urgent reappraisal of the AFL’s sanctioning framework”.

“We judge the AFL is consistently inconsistent and determination are treble standards successful its attack to dealing with players compared to others connected behavioural matters,” Marsh said past week.

“This contented highlights the deficiency of clarity connected however the AFL handles these situations, and we privation this to beryllium the catalyst for an urgent reappraisal of the sanctioning framework.

“If this benignant of behaviour is simply a three-week authorisation for a player, it should beryllium for everyone progressive successful the game.”