- 23-year-old was sacked by Kangaroos on February 22
- AFL found he had threatened a woman via direct messages
- Thomas was handed an 18-match ban as a result
Tarryn Thomas is facing a police investigation after allegedly threatening his ex-partner, with the news coming hot on the heels of his sacking by North Melbourne last week.
Police officers from the Prahran Family Violence Investigation Unit have spoken to a 23-year-old man from Ormond in Melbourne’s south-east.
Thomas’s axing by the Kangaroos came after he was handed an 18-game suspension for being found to have threatened a woman via direct messages on multiple occasions.
‘There is no excuse for the behaviour or the hurt he caused a young woman,’ the AFL’s general counsel Stephen Meade said in a statement when the ban was made public.
Thomas (pictured) was on a contract estimated to be worth as much as $700,000 a year when he was sacked by North Melbourne on February 22
The AFL found Thomas had threatened a woman via direct messages on more than one occasion and handed him an 18-game suspension
‘The fact that Tarryn chose to engage in behaviour over direct messages that was, and is, clearly inappropriate, even while he was undertaking education and being counselled for previous breaches, contributed to the length of suspension imposed.’
Thomas’s ban will run until July 22 and he will not be allowed to play footy at any level until then.
North released the following statement after news of the ban broke: ‘North Melbourne has received notification from the AFL that Tarryn Thomas has been found guilty of inappropriate behaviour towards a female.
‘As a result, and in light of previous indiscretions, the club has informed Thomas he will no longer be a North Melbourne player.’
The club’s decision isn’t surprising in light of the string off off-field troubles he’s been in and the extremely poor return they’ve had from his contract, which is estimated to be worth from $600,000 to $700,000 a year.
Thomas has been under investigation since January, when fresh allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a woman were made against him via the AFL’s respect and responsibility portal.
The ex-Kangaroo dodged a criminal conviction for using a carriage service to harass someone when he appeared in court in July 2023
The 23-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the 2024 season, was stood down by the club twice last year, first in February and then March, amid concerns over his behaviour towards women.
He was put through a respect and responsibility education program and spent three weeks in the VFL before later earning a senior recall, ultimately playing 12 AFL games last year.
In July 2023, Thomas walked free from court without a criminal conviction for threatening to distribute intimate videos of his former partner.
He was initially charged with threatening to distribute an intimate image of another person, but this was downgraded by prosecutors to using a carriage service to harass someone.
Thomas was granted a diversion, which meant he escaped a criminal conviction, and was ordered to pay $1000 to charity.
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