St Kilda AFL Player Under Investigation For Using Homophobic Slur, Again

In the same week that saw the first openly gay player in the AFL come out publicly, another player is being investigated for using a homophobic slur.

St Kilda forward Lance Collard is under investigation following comments made on Friday night during the VFL.

However this isn’t this first offence for the twenty one year old player.

Another AFL player accused of homophobia

It’s been just two years since Lance Collard was investigated and fined for using a homophobic slur on the field.

In 2024 Collard received the AFL’s longest suspension for using homophobic slurs during a VFL match.

Reports surfaced after the game of Collard uttering the offensive homophobic language as many as 10 times while playing for Sandringham.

After being found guilty Collard apologised and was issued a six match ban for his behaviour as well as being required to attend a Pride in Sport education program.

At the time he said he was “incredibly remorseful” and that “what I did doesn’t represent my values, or the values of the club.”

Now it being alleged that Collard has again used homophobic language during a match against Frankston on Friday.

The heated match saw players in a brawl on the field on the night, with Collard already under fire for his involvement.

In statement this weekend the St Kilda Football club acknowledged there is an investigation underway.

“St Kilda Football Club is aware of an alleged incident involving one of its players during last night’s VFL match against Frankston” they said.

“The club takes matters of this nature extremely seriously and is working closely with the AFL Integrity Unit as it conducts its investigation into the matter.”

“While this process is underway, it would be inappropriate for the club to comment further” they concluded.

News of Collards investigation follows an ongoing series of similar incidents in recent years that have seen players reprimanded for using homophobic language on the field.

This has included West Coast Eagles player Jack Graham who received a four match ban as well as Sydney Swans player Riak Andrew also used a homophobic slur during a game and Izak Rankine who received a five match ban for his use of homophobic language.