Collingwood’s Jack Ginnivan has confessed to taking illicit drugs has been hit with subsequent AFL and club sanctions.
Ginnivan confessed to taking an illicit substance after the club’s training camp in Lorne last month, where he was filmed by a bystander in a toilet cubicle at the Torquay Hotel.
7 News was made aware of the footage, which the network says Ginnivan did not know existed until Thursday.
The AFL has confirmed Ginnivan has been suspended for two games and won't play against Geelong and Port Adelaide. He’ll also miss both of Collingwood’s pre-season practice games, as well as receiving one strike under the AFL’s illicit drugs policy.
He’s also received a $5000 suspended fine. The 20-year-old refused to blame mental health issues, which he revealed last year he had been battling.
“Yeah just utterly disappointed in myself... feel like I’ve let 44 of my best mates down.. the club.. hundreds of thousands of people,” Ginnivan told 7 News.
He added: “Obviously a few drinks... a lack of judgement at the time. I can’t really speak on why I did it, but like I said, a few drinks and a lack of judgement is all I’ve got”.
Ginnivan stressed that his teammates were not involved.
Collingwood says it is “incredibly disappointed” in Ginnivan and will provide continued education.
“As a Club, we are incredibly disappointed to have observed vision showing Jack Ginnivan with an illicit substance,” GM of football Graham Wright said in a club statement.
“The vision was captured by a member of the public following the Club’s pre-season camp in January and was distributed to media in recent days.
“All players and staff are continually educated on appropriate behaviours and we expect everyone at our Club to uphold the highest of standards as representatives of the wider Collingwood community, our Members, supporters and corporate partners.
“We will continue to work closely with Jack, who has owned his behaviour, to provide him with the support and continual education he needs as he continues his journey at Collingwood.”
Young forward Ginnivan on Friday night suffered a leg cut injury in Collingwood’s match simulation and had to be helped from the field, with fans still awaiting an update from the Magpies.
Ginnivan has played 28 AFL games, with 20 of them coming in 2020, a campaign that saw him become a household name across the league and average just shy of two goals per appearance.