St Kilda youngster Lance Collard is under investigation after allegedly making homophobic comments to multiple opponents during a VFL game on the weekend.
According to the Herald Sun, Collard, who has played three games for the Saints this year after being taken with pick 28 in the 2023 draft, allegedly abused two Williamstown players while playing for Sandringham in their match on Saturday.
If found guilty, it will be the third instance of an AFL-listed player being caught using homophobic slurs this year, with Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson suspended for three weeks for comments made against Essendon during Gather Round, while Gold Coast’s Wil Powell copped a five-week ban a few weeks later after an incident against Brisbane.
With the league desperate to stamp a growing issue out and dealing out escalating suspensions, Collard seems likely to cop the harshest penalty yet if found guilty.
“We foreshadowed both publicly and privately that after what transpired at Gather Round if a similar incident was to happen there would be further consequence,” AFL legal boss Stephen Meade said after Powell’s suspension.
“There could be no clearer message – homophobia has no place in our game, nor in society. We want all people in the community to feel welcomed in our game and comments such as Powell’s only takes away from this.
“As a code, as a community, we all must be better.”
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