Richmond's players are embarrassed by their Mad Monday antics but deny they were mocking Sydney's sexual assault allegations.
Tigers players were filmed at The Garfield Hotel, 80km east of Melbourne, on Monday at an end-of-season function.
One player was filmed feigning shock when spanked on his rear by a teammate and another whips a fellow player on the back with a belt in footage captured by news outlets.
"The club has spoken to the players who have expressed their embarrassment over their behaviour," Richmond said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The players are adamant they were in no way referencing or making light of recent matters."
The footage was a fresh concern for the AFL in the wake of five Sydney players being banned amid sexual assault allegations.
The Swans have suspended Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon for breaching club standards over an incident at a Melbourne hotel eight days ago.
The Sydney players are under police investigation. No charges have been laid.
But the Victorian country pub that hosted Richmond's Mad Monday drinks said the controversy was being blown out of proportion.
EXCLUSIVE: Richmond footy players were filmed engaging in wild behaviour during Mad Monday celebrations in Garfield, a small country town south-east of Melbourne. The footage shows shirtless players whipping each other while drinking alcohol, with one player pulling down his… pic.twitter.com/zB08ySxFzd
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) August 24, 2026
The hotel said it "could not speak more highly" of how players behaved.
"For such a young group, they were extremely respectful and a fun group of boys to deal with," the statement read.
"They enjoyed a few quiet beers to unwind after a long season and we see nothing wrong with that.
"They had booked out the venue for the afternoon, so they were the only patrons on site. They enjoyed their afternoon and moved on."
The Richmond footage emerged hours after AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon made his first public statements regarding the Sydney scandal.
Dillon said the actions of the five suspended Swans players had "fallen well short of the standards our game expects and community deserves".
"While there are players involved, we cannot lose sight of the bigger picture. More importantly, there are women who have made a report to police and they should be shown care and respect," he said.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
