St Kilda rookie Lance Collard has been given a six week ban after the AFL Integrity Unit handed down its punishment for his use of homophobic slurs during a recent game.
Collard joined St Kilda this year making his debut against Geelong in the first round of the season. The Western Australian previously played for the Subiaco Colts in 2023 and is a product of the West Coast Next Generation Academy.
On Saturday Collard played a VFL between Sandringham and Williamstown where he is reported to have made comments to at least two, if not three, players on the opposing team using the gay slur “f******” as many as 10 times over the course of the match.
His six week suspension is the harshest penalty handed out to date for the use of homophonic language as the AFL struggled to address the use of offensive phrases amongst coaches and players.
Channel Nine’s Tom Morris was the first to break the news of the six week suspension for Collard.
The incident with Collard is the fourth occasion the league has had to deal with homophobic language this year.
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson was fined $20,000 and give a two match suspended sentence when he used directed homophobic language towards a player on an opposing team in a pre-season match. He was also ordered to attend Pride in Sport training.
In April Port Adelaide forward Jeremy Finalyson was given a three match ban, and Gold Coast’s Wil Powell was suspended for five games when he used a homophobic slur in May.
