Aussie Rules Footballer Threatens to Sue Crown Casino Over Drug Ban

Posted on: September 12, 2022, 08:16h. 

Last updated on: September 12, 2022, 02:18h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Former Australian rules football player Wayne Carey is considering suing the casino for disability discrimination after he was 86’d from the Crown Casino Perth last week after a small bag of white powder fell out of his top pocket onto a gaming table, according to his lawyer.

Wayne Carey
Wayne Carey, above, claims the zip-lock bag that fell onto a Crown Perth gaming table last week contained crushed anti-inflammatory medicine. (Image: The West Australian)

The Australian Football League (AFL) Hall of Famer was banned from all Crown Resorts properties for two years following the incident. He was also relieved of his positions as a pundit for Channel 7 and Triple M.

Carey’s lawyer said his client is being punished because of an “assumption that the bag contained an illegal drug,” which he added was not the case.

Mr. Carey is prescribed anti-inflammatories and pain killing medicine to help manage the significant pain caused by debilitating football injuries – including a shoulder that needs replacing and a neck injury that requires three discs to be replaced,” Carey’s attorney, Josh Bornstein, said in a statement.

Bornstein said he is considering whether Carey is being unlawfully discriminated against because of a “pre-existing disability.”

Questions on Disabilities

The statement raised eyebrows in the Australian media because Carey has never identified as a disabled person.

It’s just so laughable what people will say to get out of a serious offense. I haven’t seen him advocate for disability rights prior to this,” disability rights activist and writer Carly Findlay told News Corp. “When privileged white men … try and get out of bad behavior, it makes it harder for everyone.”

The former player is no stranger to scandal, however, and his history with illegal drugs is well-documented.

In the past, he has admitted to having problems with alcohol and cocaine. He also has a police record for domestic violence, assault, and resisting arrest. In 2012, while attempting to visit Barwon Prison as part of an inmate mentoring program, he was found to have traces of cocaine on his clothing during a routine drug scan.

Lack of Substance

Meanwhile, West Australian Police confirmed they are investigating the incident last week and were critical of how the casino handled the matter – or, more accurately, failed to handle it.

Commissioner Col Blanch said the casino should have confiscated the substance and reported the incident to the police.

“I can’t speak directly to the decisions made at the time that occurred. But if there was any suspicion by any person that there were drugs possessed or drugs obtained, or was in the possession of authorities down at Crown, I would have expected a phone call to police to manage that matter,” Blanch told Perth radio station 6PR. “It will be very difficult without the substance itself to prove whether it was an illicit substance or otherwise.”