Wayne Carey’s speaking engagement at the annual St Kevin’s Old Boys grand final luncheon was reportedly cancelled at the last minute as the fallout from his infamous white powder saga continues.
Earlier this month, the 51-year-old was escorted out of Crown Perth when a small bag containing a powdered substance fell out of his pocket.
The dual-premiership North Melbourne captain said the powder was “crushed up anti-inflammatories” used to treat football injuries.
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Carey maintains he offered to hand the bag to staff after dropping it at a gaming table.
An investigation from WA Police is ongoing.
According to a report from The Herald Sun, Carey’s speaking engagement at the SKOB lunch was axed following unease in the room at his attendance.
“There was concern in the room about Wayne being there which we listened to and a decision was made to remove him from speaking at the event,” SKOB president Patrick Mount told the News Corp publication.
“Wayne then left. He acted in an extremely professional and courteous manner the entire time.”
Speaking to media outside the Wagga Wagga RSL in regional NSW last week, Carey claimed Crown staff had two opportunities “40 minutes apart” to call police on the night and he was “really disappointed” they hadn’t.
“If what was alleged had happened, then the police would have been called straight away,” he said.
“They then had another opportunity, when I went up to my room, to call the police and they never called the police.
“I want to know why. Because if they had called the police, I wouldn’t be here standing here talking to you about this.”
But Crown Resorts chief executive Ciaran Carruthers has said Carey’s version of events contradicts that of casino staff.
“That’s in contradiction to the statements that we’ve received from our own staff and from witnesses who were there at the time,” he told 6PR radio last week.
According to Mr Carruthers, casino staff and witnesses claimed Carey did not offer the bag of powder to security after it fell onto a gaming table.
He claimed Carey also told staff that he was not a guest at the hotel.
“Our team approached him in his room and advised him that he needed to vacate,” Crown Resorts chief executive Ciaran Carruthers said.
“He co-operated, he asked for some time to collect his belongings, which we gave him, he then removed himself from the property,” he said.
Mr Carruthers conceded that police should have been called.
Last week, it was revealed that Carey had retained lawyer Josh Bornstein to investigate a possible disability discrimination claim against Perth’s Crown Casino.
— with NCA NewsWire
