Port Adelaide forward Jeremy Finlayson has been forced to issue a please explain after making further comments regarding his three-match suspension for using a homophobic slur against an unnamed Essendon player.
Finalyson was handed the ban for using a slur during the Power’s 69-point win over the Bombers in round four at Adelaide Oval.
The forward’s words were picked up on an umpire microphone during the game, with Finlayson admitting to his fault at three-quarter time of the match.
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Finlayson and the Power released statements in the days following the incident, before the AFL confirmed his ban on the Wednesday that next week.
In his apology at the time, the 28-year-old said he was “very remorseful”.
“The word I used is very unacceptable in the game of football. We need to stamp it out and I’m very remorseful,” Finlayson said in his first statement.
The AFL later confirmed that Finlayson’s punishment would have been more severe if he hadn’t shown remorse and apologised immediately after the act.
However, the forward has come under fire after joining his wife Kellie Finlayson’s podcast, discussing his “offensive” in a regular segment.
“My ‘offensive’ is it pissed me off that I got a three-week suspension,” Finlayson said on the now deleted Sh!t Talkers podcast.
“That’s it. That’s tipped me over the edge. That’s about it. We’ll leave it there … and move on.”
With the section of the podcast then making the rounds across social media, the Port Adelaide Football Club released a statement on behalf on Finlayson later on Wednesday afternoon.
“I made some comments on my wife Kellie’s Sh!t Talkers podcast yesterday that I need to address,” Finlayson said in the club statement.
Finlayson took it upon himself to clarify his comments, declaring he should have “explained” why he was “pissed off”.
“When re-thinking my comments today, it’s clear that I should have provided more context,” he said.
“On reflection, I should have explained that I was bitterly disappointed that I said what I did during the game, and I am bitterly disappointed that I put myself and the club in the position I did. That is what I am most upset with.
“What I said on the field that night was totally unacceptable. I knew that at the time and I know it now.”
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He went on to clarify that he agrees with his sanction handed down by the league, which he served the first week of during the Power’s round five three-point win over Fremantle.
“I stress, I have no issue with the sanction at all,” Finlayson said.
He will be available for selection in round eight.
