Brisbane Lions player Koby Evans is the latest AFL-listed player to be banned for making a homophobic slur in a game, receiving a four-match sanction.<\/p>\n
Evans received the ban for making the comment against an opponent from Coburg in a round six match in the VFL.<\/p>\n
The 18-year-old will not be able to play in either the AFL or VFL from rounds nine to 12, and will also undertake LGBTQI+ inclusion education.<\/p>\n
“My language was totally unacceptable, I’m disappointed in myself, and apologise to the LGBTQI+ community and our club,” Evans said in a statement from the Lions.<\/p>\n
“I knew as soon as it came out of my mouth, that I’d made a bad mistake and this language is unacceptable on or off the field.”<\/p>\n
The AFL released a statement saying that everyone understood that homophobia and homophobic language had “absolutely no place in our game at any level”.<\/p>\n
“Our players have a very clear understanding of what is acceptable on the football field and in society. Koby self-reported this incident and has taken ownership of his mistake both privately and publicly,” AFL chief operating officer Tom Harley said in the statement.<\/p>\n
“It is extremely disappointing to be dealing with another incident of this nature. While we will always examine the individual circumstances, we cannot be more clear that respect and inclusion are not optional in our game \u2014 they are fundamental.”<\/p>\n
The case follows the controversy over St Kilda player Lance Collard’s ban for making a similar slur in a VFL game.<\/p>\n