Broad banned over scandal
RICHMOND premiership player Nathan Broad has been suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season after taking full responsibility for the nude photo scandal.
An image of a bare- breasted woman with a premiership medal draped around her neck went public after the grand final.
The woman was told the photograph had been deleted.
Broad admitted yesterday he had lied and deserved to be punished.
The announcement of the sanction, which has been backed by the AFL, puts an end to the league integrity unit’s investigation into the matter.
“I take full responsibility for what I have done. I sent a very private picture without this young woman’s consent,” Broad said in a prepared statement.
“I’m ashamed and I’m embarrassed and I made a very bad drunken decision.
“Not only have I let down my family, my friends and the Richmond Football Club but most of all I let down a young woman who I cared about. A young woman who I spent time with before the grand final, a young woman who I like and respected.
“I am deeply sorry for the heartache I have caused this young woman and her family, it was never my intention to hurt her or her family.”
Broad, who spoke alongside club president Peggy O’Neal, read only from a prepared statement and did not answer questions.
Ms O’Neal said the club co- operated with Victoria Police and the AFL during the police investigation, which has since been dropped, and had banned Broad for three games.
She said the club is committed to “gender equity” and could not let Broad’s behaviour “go unpunished”.