STEVEN May has apologised to his Melbourne teammates after drinking alcohol at a bar on Sunday afternoon.
The injured defender, who has been sidelined since Round 2 with a groin complaint, fronted the group on Tuesday morning to acknowledge the inappropriate behaviour.
Speaking to the media, General Manager of Football Operations Josh Mahoney said the club was disappointed with the 27-year-old’s choice.
“Steven has been dealing with some personal issues for a period of time now. On top of the frustration of being in rehab and not being able to get on top of his groin injury, he made a poor decision on the weekend,” he said.
“It’s not a good look for him and not in line with what we’re trying to set and the standards we’re trying to set as a footy club.
“It’s something that we speak to our players a lot – people are going through tough times all the time, but alcohol can’t be a coping mechanism.”
While the Demons don’t have a strict ‘no-drinking’ policy, Mahoney said the action was displeasing.
“Our overall approach is we treat our players like adults and the only question we ask them if they’re doing everything possible to maximise their abilities and be the best versions of themselves,” he said.
“We don’t set a lot of rules because we think bad clubs and bad organisations set a lot of rules, so we just go about asking those questions and trusting our players.”
Mahoney ruled out any disorderly behaviour, with the error more around May’s decision.
The recruit is now working with the club to address his issues away from football.
“Drinking alcohol in rehab – you can clearly say that’s not maximising his opportunities and helping him getting back from his injury,” Mahoney said.
“Steven is working with our player development team on getting his off-field settled and will be working as hard as he can in rehab now to try and get back on the field.”
May has played just one game for the Demons, missing the season-opener with suspension and recent weeks with his injury.
Mahoney said the defender’s stint on the sidelines has only contributed to his frustration.
“As a new player traded into the footy club, the one thing you want to do is be out there playing and contributing on the field,” he said.
“It’s been a frustrating start for him from that point of view and then some off-field personal issues had added to that.
“He’s an easy target now and is probably getting smashed externally, particularly around his character. We trust that he’s a good character, he’s a strong person and is going to be a really important contributor for our footy club.”
A three to four-week timeline remains on the defender’s recovery, with Mahoney acknowledging the inconsistency in his return.
“I understand that’s really frustrating for our supporters and for Steven as well – it is one of those injuries that seems to get better and then there’s a little setback, and then it gets better,” he said.
“It has been a long process – we’ve probably been saying ‘three to four weeks’ for three to four weeks – but that’s the reality of the injury.”
