Major sponsor suspends partnership with Sydney Swans star Isaac Heeney as stores pull his book from shelves over alleged sexual assault probe

Published: 04:45, 20 August 2026 | Updated: 04:51, 20 August 2026 Sydney Swans star Isaac Heeney has had his deal with Colgate suspended as his children's book is removed from shelves in the wake of the alleged sexual assault investigation. Heeney is among five players who have been banned from playing the remainder of the season for breaching the club's standards by late-night drinking and bringing women back to the Pullman East Melbourne hotel early on Monday morning. Chad Warner, Riley Bice, Nick Blakey and James Jordon were the other players suspended for breaching club standards.  The suspensions are separate from a Victoria Police investigation into an alleged sexual assault at the hotel. No charges have been laid and all players have denied wrongdoing. Heeney has been identified as the focus of the police probe, sparking a massive commercial fallout, with organisations and companies either suspending their partnerships or severing ties with the Sydney Swans player and club. 'We take these matters very seriously and have suspended our partnership with Mr Heeney pending completion of the investigation,' Colgate said in a statement. Heeney recently launched his new children's book series, Little Isaac Footy Fever, with the first two issues, First Bounce and Game On, released on August 4. Readings and Gleebooks told the ABC that Heeney's books, published by Allen and Unwin, would no longer be available from stores companywide. The fallout of the Sydney Swans scandal involving an alleged sexual assault at a Melbourne hotel continues, with bookstores pulling Isaac Heeney's new children's books off its shelves Booktopia, however, said it was still weighing its options and would continue monitoring the situation.  At this stage, the book is still available at other major retailers including Dymocks and BIG W.  Telstra has also sidelined Heeney, along with Warner, from its promotional activities while police investigation runs its course.  A Telstra spokesman said that Heeney and Warner would no longer appear in any of its advertising campaigns until the investigation concludes. 'We are deeply concerned by what's been reported and respect the matter is currently being investigated by police,' he said. 'Players assisting police with their investigation who are also Telstra ambassadors are not participating in any ambassador activity while the investigation is ongoing.  The telco said it would 'review their ambassador arrangements once the investigation is complete' and that it would provide another update at that point. The 2026 Sydney Marathon also took steps to distance itself from the club by changing the name of the Sydney Swans HQ live site in Moore Park. Heeney, 30, was one of the five Swans players stood down for the rest of the AFL season by the club on Wednesday and has been revealed to be in the centre of police investigations The site will now be called the 'SCG Block Party' instead of the 'Swans Block Party'. Its website also removed the words 'perfect for: diehard Sydney Swans supporters' from the site's description. Australian Red Cross Lifeblood has distanced itself from the Sydney Swans, ditching a campaign that encouraged fans to become regular blood donors. Detectives from Victoria Police's sex crimes squad are in currently in Sydney, formally interviewing the players involved after the woman at the centre of the allegations made a formal complaint on Tuesday.  A source told The Age the players were allegedly in a room with naked women, with one performing lap dances and that Heeney, who was clothed, was the subject of the complaint. There are also allegations that cocaine and ketamine were used in the players' room. Swans chair Andrew Pridham and chief executive Matthew Pavlich were asked about illicit drug allegations at Wednesday's media conference. They were also asked if the players had been drug tested, which were quickly shut down. Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Riley Bice, Nick Blakey and James Jordon have been banned from playing the remainder of the season for breaching the club's standards by late-night drinking and bringing women back to the Pullman East Melbourne hotel early on Monday morning  'That's potentially part of the police matter, which we aren't going to go near,' Pavlich said. Details emerged on Wednesday that the five Swans players had taken exotic dancers up to one of their hotel rooms at about 4am Monday for 'private lap dances'. Several hours later, at about 7am, two women were seen in a shared area of the hotel approaching staff and demanding access to guest rooms, according to witnesses. One of the women was overheard telling hotel staff she had been 'touched' and had felt overwhelmed while surrounded by several men in a room. Sources claim she may have been locked out of the room, possibly naked, and was protesting that she had been violated, the Herald Sun reported. It's understood she approached a Swans official in the lobby and made a complaint, asking to retrieve her clothes from the room on a level that had been booked out by the club. Police were called after one of the women later ran into the hotel toilets crying. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.