Isaac Heeney removed from promotions as sponsors and bookstores distance themselves after Swans sanctions
Isaac Heeney was removed from promotional materials for his 5th Quarter Camps business and had his Little Isaac Footy Fever books withdrawn from sale on Thursday after the Sydney Swans stood down five players for breaching club standards, the club said this week. Brands tied to the players have suspended or paused relationships and bookshops moved quickly to take the children’s series off shelves.
The Swans ended the season for the five players after they returned late to the team hotel following drinking, a sanction that has triggered commercial fallout for those involved. Victoria police said they are investigating an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne, and none of the players stood down for breaching club standards have been arrested or charged with any offences.
5th Quarter Camps, a company co-owned by Heeney and others including Greater Western Sydney captain Toby Greene, said it was monitoring the investigation and had removed Heeney from active marketing. “We have removed Isaac’s name and image across active promotional materials, and he has been stood down from our upcoming camps, which will still be running as planned,” the company said in a statement.
Retailers Readings and Gleebooks pulled the Little Isaac Footy Fever series on Thursday morning, and publisher Allen & Unwin said it had paused promotion of the books. Allen & Unwin added that a third planned book will not be published until the police investigation had concluded and stated, “We view this matter seriously and believe that the women involved deserve respect and support.”
Commercial partners issued their own responses: Colgate said, “We take these matters very seriously and have suspended our partnership with Mr Heeney pending completion of the investigation.” Telstra, which has a relationship with Heeney and Chad Warner, said it was “deeply concerned by what’s been reported and respect the matter is currently being investigated by police” and that it would not be involved in any ambassador activity while the investigation is ongoing. “We will review their ambassador arrangements once the investigation is complete and will provide an update at that time,” its statement read.
PR founder Britt Prince highlighted contractual clauses that allow sponsors to end deals and predicted brands could sever ties. “I would say absolutely we’ll see contracts being ripped up, though we’ve seen a lot of brands just sit back and wait,” she said. “Telstra’s response was that they will let the legal process play out. Personally, this is just my opinion, but I don’t agree with that. I think that they should be acting with more severity.” Prince also contrasted modern player branding with past scandals: “If you look back at past scandals, other players like Ben Cousins etcetera, these guys weren’t prolific on social media, they didn’t have the personal brands, the personal endorsements, publicist teams behind them, whereas now, in this day and age, they do,” she said. “So a player like Heeney, Warner, they have so much more to lose.” She added that the impact on the club’s commercial revenues, by comparison, may not be as large.
The club has engaged with corporate partners during the episode, with Swans chair Andrew Pridham thanking sponsors when speaking to media and again mentioning them in a letter to fans posted on social media. Longtime sponsor QBE said it “acknowledges the seriousness of the allegations that have been reported” and added: “We have no tolerance for conduct that compromises the safety, dignity or wellbeing of others and we support the club’s position in condemning all forms of abuse and disrespectful behaviour towards women.”
The five stood down players issued a joint apology on Wednesday evening: “We are deeply sorry to everyone involved,” they said. “We know that our behaviour has fallen well short of the standards expected of us and the values of our club.” The AFL confirmed the five stood down players would not be considered for All Australian selection.