What did Jeremy Finlayson say? Port Adelaide player suspended for making homophobic slur

Jed Wells

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What did Jeremy Finlayson say? Port Adelaide player suspended for making homophobic slur image

Port Adelaide forward Jeremy Finlayson has been suspended by the AFL for three games for making a homophobic slur toward an Essendon player.

The suspension was handed out by the AFL on Wednesday afternoon with the governing body taking into account Finlayson's immediate apology.

During the match, Finlayson was picked up on the umpire's microphone making the slur towards his opposition, with a member of Essendon also calling it out. 

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How long has Jeremy Finlayson been suspended for?

Finlayson has copped a three-game ban for making the homophobic comment, meaning he will miss Port Adelaide's matches against Fremantle, Collingwood and St Kilda.

The Power veteran will also undergo Pride in Sport education at his own expense.

Finlayson reacts to suspension on wife's podcast

The Jeremy Finlayson saga has taken yet another turn, with the Port Adelaide player expressing his frustration over his three-game suspension while speaking on his wife's podcast, Sh!t Talkers.

Finlayson, who was suspended after making a homophobic slur towards an opposing player, said that the ban had "pissed him off", after wife Kellie asked for his 'offensive', something that had upset him. 

"My offensive is it pissed me off that I got a three-week suspension," Finlayson said.

"That’s it. That’s tipped me over the edge. That’s about it. We’ll leave it there and move on."

What did Jeremy Finlayson say?

During Port Adelaide's 69-point win over Essendon, Finlayson was caught on microphone referring to an opposing player by a homophobic slur, which was quickly picked up on. 

A day later, the AFL confirmed that the player was under investigation.

"We are taking this matter extremely seriously," an AFL spokesman said.

"AFLIU [integrity unit] are now investigating and we will provide an update once that investigation is completed."

According to Fox Sports, Finlayson used the word "f-----" – a highly offensive slang term.

"I get that he understands it is wrong but he needs to apologise to the people who it is deeply offensive to," former NRL player and gay rights advocate Ian Roberts told the Herald Sun.

"That word – people don’t say it, they spit it. When I am confronted with things like that, I tell people 'do you know what that word means? Did you have it in your head to degrade straight men?'

"As a gay man, that word isn’t just meant to offend you, it’s meant to cut you. It is almost like the ‘N’ word."

Finlayson had his last meeting with the AFL’s integrity unit on Tuesday and is now awaiting a possible sanction.

Finlayson admits to homophobic slur, issues statement

Finlayson has released a video statement admitting to making a homophobic slur towards an Essendon player.

The player said that he immediately knew his words were wrong, and that he takes full responsibility for his actions. 

"I take full responsibility for what happened Friday night," he said.

"The word I used is very unacceptable in the game of football. We need to stamp it out and I'm very remorseful.

"I knew straight away that it was not acceptable and I take full responsibility.

"I addressed it at the time and … let everyone know what happened, and it's now in the hands of the AFL to investigate.

"I'm continuing to reflect and improve myself, getting all the education I can to make myself better."

Port Adelaide president David Koch downplays incident after Power release statement

Following their win over Essendon, Port Adelaide released a statement acknowledging Finlayson's slur and said that they would wait for the AFL's findings.

"Port Adelaide forward Jeremy Finlayson has admitted to making a homophobic slur against an Essendon opponent during the third quarter of last night’s game at Adelaide Oval," the team said.

"A contrite Finlayson made the club aware during the three-quarter time break and apologised to the victim on field after the final siren last night.

"Finlayson, who will be counselled by club leaders in the coming days, will provide a statement tomorrow.

"The club will now wait for the AFL to complete its investigation."

However, team president and TV personality David 'Kochie' Koch attempted to downplay the incident, appearing on ABC's Insiders, saying that the incident should be compared to North Melbourne coach Alistair Clarkson's homophobic comment incident from earlier this season, rather than Taylor 'Tex' Walker's 2021 racist slur. 

Walker received a six-game ban for his actions, while Clarkson received a $20,000 fine and a suspended two-match ban.

Jed Wells

Jed Wells Photo

Jed is a writer and social media producer, who has a keen interest in the intersection of sports and popular culture, especially basketball.