Shock Revelation: Exo-tic Dancer at Cen-tre of Sydney Swans Hotel S-can-dal Breaks Her Silence as Coach and Captain Respond
Sydney Swans senior coach Dean Cox and captain Callum Mills faced the media this morning as the team prepares to finish out its AFL season in the wake of an alleged sexual assault that has plagued the club this week.
Isaac Heeney and teammates Chad Warner, Riley Bice, Nick Blakey and James Jordon have been stood down for the remainder of the 2026 AFL season after the club found the players had breached its standards by staying out late, drinking and bringing women back to the Pullman East Melbourne hotel early Monday morning.
The suspensions are separate from a Victoria Police investigation into an alleged sexual assault at the hotel. No charges have been laid, and all players have denied wrongdoing.
It comes as the exotic dancer at the centre of the scandal broke her silence to the Daily Mail, revealing the fallout after fans leaked her name and that the players allegedly pretended to be carpenters so they could get a discounted rate.
The lawyer representing two of the women involved has also spoken out, claiming there were more than five men in the Pullman East Melbourne hotel room and alleging the group included ‘leaders’ from the Sydney Swans.
Carbone Lawyers personal injury head John Karantzis made the claims on Friday.
‘With what has been alleged, these women were subject to the most disgusting actions and behaviour I have ever heard about in my 28 years as a lawyer,’ Mr Karantzis told 3AW’s Tom Elliott.
‘These women already have a difficult job and what they were subjected to is alleged, demeaning, abhorrent, and simply not moral or acceptable.’

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Sydney Swans coach Dean Cox was questioned about explosive claims made by a lawyer representing two of the women involved in the alleged hotel incident

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Isaac Heeney, who was stood down for bringing exotic dancers back to the hotel, is pictured with his fiancée, Steffie Waters
Asked how many men were allegedly in the room and who they were, Mr Karantzis said the full story was yet to emerge.
‘It’s more than five (men in the room), that’s for sure,’ he said.
‘More than five men and it’s alleged that there were even a few leaders in that room.’
When Elliott asked whether he meant coaches, Mr Karantzis said: ‘I can’t say in concern to that, that is for the Sydney Swans to say.’
Cox was later asked about the lawyer’s claims and his description of the alleged behaviour and confirmed he wasn’t in the room.
‘Dean, a lawyer for two of the women spoke this morning and described the behaviour as disgusting, abhorrent, the worst he has ever heard of a woman being subjected to in his 28 years of being a lawyer,’ a journalist said.
‘How do you respond to that?’
‘I respond to – the utmost, the highest level about respecting women. I have always been like that,’ Cox said.
‘I can’t comment on what a lawyer says about something other than, you know, we’ll work through our process and my stance on respect for women is of the highest order.’
The Swans have since issued a blunt statement denying club ‘leaders’ were in the hotel room with the five suspended players.
In a statement posted to their website an hour after the press conference, the Swans said the claims were false and they were considering their ‘legal position’ on the matter.
‘The Sydney Swans can confirm that all investigations carried out by the Club have consistently indicated that the only representatives of the Club in the room central to the police investigation were the five players who have been stood down,’ the statement said.
‘We have every reason to consider that reports to the contrary are simply false.
‘We are respecting the process with the relevant authorities and will refrain from commenting on Police matters.
‘We would also like to take this opportunity to condemn some of the misinformation being reported and are now considering our legal position on those matters.’
Swans coach Dean Cox responds to lawyer’s explosive claim women were subjected to ‘most disgusting actions and behaviour’ he’d heard of in 28 years
Swans issue blunt statement amid claim that club ‘leaders’ were in hotel room
Swans skipper downcast as he leaves press conference