AFL star Jordan De Goey claims he acted in self defence when he got into a brawl sparked by a woman stealing his drinks at a New York nightclub.
The Collingwood forward will stay in the US until his court appearance next month after he was charged with assault while partying last weekend.
De Goey, 25, was charged after he allegedly ‘grabbed the buttocks and vagina outside clothing without authority to do so of a 35-year-old female’ at a New York venue, according to a statement from the New York Police Department.
The Magpies forward is then alleged to have assaulted a 37-year-old man who was with the woman.
De Goey claimed in an explanation to Collingwood that he didn’t start the fight and will fight the assault charges on self-defence grounds.
Jordan De Goey forward (pictured right on the night of his arrest) is due to attend a court on New York on December 8
De Goey claimed the woman and her friends stole drinks from him and his co-accused mate, tattoo artist Luke Dyson, the Herald Sun reported
He toldthe club they entering his private VIP roped-off area at the PHD Rooftop Lounge inside Manhattan’s Dream Hotel twice to steal their drinks.
He claims the women and her friends were told to leave the area and but he was challenged by one of the woman’s male friends.
De Goey claimed the man who was with the woman pushed him twice before he retaliated by allegedly punching him.
His co-accused friend Dyson then allegedly hit the man in the head with a glass bottle.
The woman and her male friend were kicked out the club by security before the pair contacted police, claiming De Goey and Dyson groped her – a claim De Goey strenuously denies.
Sources connected to De Goey claim there is footage of the incident, the Age reported.
A forcible touching charge against De Goey has since been withdrawn, but the assault chare stands.
Jordan De Goey (pictured right with a female Collingwood fan in 2020) has told his club that he acted in self defence
The 25-year-old broke his silence when he briefly ‘addressed’ the pending criminal matter in the US in a statement issued on Thursday.
‘On the advice of my counsel, I cannot speak about the incident itself or make comment on the current legal matters that are still ongoing,’ De Goey wrote.
‘At this stage I will not be making any further comment on this matter.’
In the same statement, De Goey’s lawyer Jacob Kaplan said his client will ‘vigorously defend himself in court of December 8 against the unwarranted charges’.
‘Despite the original media reports otherwise, Mr De Goey has not been charged with forcible touching or any sexual assault crimes against a woman,’ he said.
‘There are no current restrictions on his travel and he plans on using the next few months to continue preparing for the upcoming AFL season.’
Collingwood stood De Goey down with pay indefinitely until his latest legal saga is resolved.
High profile lawyer Benjamin Brafman is representing De Goey and assigned Mr Kaplan to the case.
New York Police said in a statement the parties involved in the incident did not previously know each other and were all intoxicated.
De Goey was granted an exemption to leave Australia before the international orders recently opened due to his sponsorship with the Monster Energy soft drink company.
De Goey pictured left. A New York Police Department statement alleges he grabbed a woman’s ‘buttocks and vagina outside clothing without permission or authority to do so’
Collingwood is understood to not aware of the brawl until it was reported in New York.
If there is an integrity incident involving police, AFL players are expected to immediately contact their club about it.
De Goey was originally due to return to Melbourne next week but had his US stay extended because of his upcoming court appearance.
He is training for next season in Los Angeles.
Two months ago, De Goey was slammed by a judge after he was fined more than $2,000 for driving offences.
The Collingwood forward avoided conviction and having his licence suspended, despite pleading guilty to driving offences dating back to 2019.
These included driving without displaying P plates, driving while suspended, using a mobile phone while being the driver of a stationary vehicle, failure to take licence to a specified place, speeding, and driving a prohibited vehicle for a probationary licence.
Collingwood player Jordan De Goey prepares for a night out in New York. He was later arrested and charged after allegedly groping a woman at a nightclub
‘He pleads guilty, which is indicative of remorse and insight into his offending,’ the magistrate noted.
‘If Mr de Goey drove safely in the first place, he would not had accumulated enough demerit points to see his licence suspended on 20 March 2019 for a three-month period.’
The magistrate also warned De Goey will have his licence suspended again if further driving breaches occur, NewsWire NCA reported.
The charges were from four incidents, including two from 2019 and another in February 2020 before De Goey was caught speeding at 93km/h in an 80km/h zone on the Nepean Highway in Melbourne’s south-east last December.
The court heard police found the P-plater wasn’t permitted to be driving the sports car and didn’t have his P-plates displayed.
De Goey told police the car was not his and that P-plates were on his other vehicle, the court heard.
The AFL star was previously caught texting on his mobile phone while stationary at traffic lights in South Yarra in July 2019 while his licence was suspended due to accrued demerit points.
He was also pulled over in February 2020 for failing to display P-plates while riding a motorcycle.
De Goey played 20 games for the second last-placed Magpies in 2021 after missing much of 2020 due to injury.
He remains contracted to Collingwood until the end of next season.
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