Dee Salmin will boycott the upcoming Brownlow Medal ceremony after deciding she could no longer attend an AFL showcase while publicly calling for change in the sport’s treatment of women.
The writer and podcast host, who is the partner of Collingwood captain and AFL Players’ Association president Darcy Moore, announced the decision amid scrutiny surrounding Sydney’s response to allegations connected to its team hotel in Melbourne.
Salmin stressed that she did not expect her absence to transform the event or attract significant attention.
However, she said attending would be incompatible with the principles she has encouraged other people to examine in their own lives.
“I just don’t feel comfortable being at an event that doesn’t align with mine,” Salmin said in her newsletter, according to The Guardian.
Salmin Calls for “Serious Change”
Salmin said she had spent recent weeks considering the conversations surrounding women and AFL culture before examining her own participation in the sport’s institutions.
She acknowledged that she loves and respects people within football, including Moore, but argued those personal relationships did not place the broader culture beyond criticism.
Salmin said the AFL’s approach to women and gender-based violence required “some serious change”.
Her decision carries additional weight because the Brownlow has become considerably more than a football awards ceremony.
The red carpet is one of the AFL’s most heavily promoted social events, with players’ partners frequently receiving extensive coverage for their fashion choices. Salmin has previously used the occasion to highlight designers, artists and upcycled clothing.
Walking away therefore means surrendering a platform she genuinely enjoyed rather than avoiding an event in which she had no interest.
That makes the protest more meaningful.
Boycott Follows Scrutiny of Swans and AFL Responses
Salmin’s announcement follows an extraordinary period for Sydney after five players were suspended for the remainder of the 2026 season, including the finals.
Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner were sanctioned after the Swans determined they had breached the club’s behavioural standards.
Sydney chief executive Matthew Pavlich said those breaches involved remaining out late, drinking, continuing the night and bringing women back to the team hotel.
The players accepted the sanctions and apologised for falling below the standards expected by the club.
However, those punishments must not be presented as findings that any player committed a sexual offence.
Victoria Police is separately investigating an alleged sexual assault connected to the Melbourne hotel. At the time of Salmin’s announcement, nobody had been arrested or charged, and the five players had reportedly denied criminal wrongdoing.
The AFL’s official report explicitly recorded Pavlich’s distinction between the internal disciplinary process and the police investigation.
That distinction remains essential regardless of the public anger surrounding the case.
Criticism Extends Beyond the Allegations
Salmin’s decision appears directed at more than the unresolved allegation itself.
Sydney and the AFL were heavily criticised over their initial public responses, particularly over whether enough concern and empathy had been expressed for the woman who reported the matter to police.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon later described the allegations as deeply concerning and said the woman was entitled to privacy and care.
The Swans also expressed concern for the women involved while imposing season-ending penalties that significantly damaged their premiership campaign.
Sydney has since issued another official statement, saying its internal inquiries indicated the five suspended players were the only club representatives in the room central to the police investigation.
The club rejected reports suggesting other representatives were present and said it was considering its legal position regarding alleged misinformation.
None of that determines what occurred inside the hotel room. That remains a matter for investigators and potentially the courts.
The cultural debate is different.
The AFL can respect the presumption of innocence while still examining how clubs discuss women, respond to serious allegations and communicate care for people who make reports to police.
Salmin’s boycott is aimed at that broader responsibility.
Darcy Moore Has Previously Challenged Football’s Male Culture
Moore has not been accused of any involvement in the Sydney incident, and Salmin’s announcement does not confirm whether he will attend the Brownlow without her.
It would also be wrong to assume that every part of her statement automatically represents Moore’s personal position.
However, the Collingwood captain has previously spoken publicly about harmful behaviour within male environments.
Moore and Salmin appeared together in a Teach Us Consent campaign discussing respectful relationships and the pressures placed upon men to behave in particular ways.
The defender argued that harmful male culture was failing men while causing profound damage to women.
Those comments are especially relevant now that Moore serves as AFLPA president.
That position requires him to represent the rights and interests of players, including the right to procedural fairness. It also gives him a prominent role in conversations about the behavioural expectations placed upon AFL footballers.
Those responsibilities are not mutually exclusive.
Supporting a proper investigative process does not require silence about cultural problems, just as demanding cultural reform does not permit allegations to be reported as established facts.
Brownlow Absence Is Symbolic but Difficult to Ignore
Salmin has been careful not to exaggerate the practical effect of her decision.
One missing guest will not determine the police investigation, rewrite AFL policy or prevent the Brownlow Medal from proceeding.
Yet symbolic actions matter because major sporting organisations depend heavily upon image, ceremony and participation.
The Brownlow is designed to present the AFL at its most glamorous. It celebrates individual excellence while attracting sponsors, broadcasters, celebrities and extensive fashion coverage.
Salmin is arguing that the celebration cannot be separated entirely from the institution hosting it.
Her absence will be particularly noticeable because she is connected to one of the competition’s most prominent captains and has previously embraced the red carpet.
That does not make her argument definitive. People can share her concerns while reaching a different conclusion about attending the event.
It does make the AFL’s cultural challenge harder to dismiss as criticism coming exclusively from outside football.
AFL Must Respond With More Than Public Relations
The league cannot resolve this debate by commenting on an active police investigation or attempting to determine guilt before authorities complete their work.
It can examine its own behaviour.
That includes the language used when allegations emerge, the support offered to people affected, the consistency of club standards and the education provided to players about consent and respectful relationships.
Sydney has already imposed severe football penalties for the conduct it established through its internal process. Whether that response was sufficient, excessive or correctly targeted can be debated independently of the criminal investigation.
Salmin’s criticism concerns the environment surrounding those decisions.
Her boycott does not prove that the entire AFL culture is hostile to women. It does demonstrate that someone closely connected to its leadership no longer feels comfortable participating in its most prestigious social occasion.
For the AFL, that should be considerably more confronting than one empty seat.
