Port Adelaide CEO Keith Thomas has criticised 7 News Adelaide coverage of claims Sam Powell-Pepper acted inappropriately inside an Adelaide nightclub.
Thomas slammed the use of phrases including “sexual assault” and “sickening”.
“We believe that set the tone for the entire investigation,” he said on Thursday. “The opening line of the journalist concerned continued the narrative.”
“The report from that moment was about sexual assault, groping, sickening turn of events and we believe, in hindsight having viewed the evidence, way over played the incident.
“That meant the investigation was immediately on the back foot. It was dealing with a public perception that was being created…
“When we saw the footage it became crystal clear to us that there was a huge discrepancy between what we saw and what was being reported.
“Sam had no opportunity to defend his position. His name was out there…
“But at no stage was Sam afforded that opportunity.”
Thomas said what happened inside the club was a “long way from sexual assault”.
“We’ve accepted the finding, we accept that inappropriate touching is a matter of personal opinion. I don’t know that it’s respectful to delve into that too greatly…
“The evidence we have seen shows clearly and distinctly that that touching was a long, long way away from sexual assault.
“Sam’s position on this has not changed since day one. Sam can’t recollect a whole lot of what happened on the night… he hasn’t tried to deny that.”
