AFL great Wayne Carey has quietly dropped his legal action against Crown Perth after he was evicted from the casino in September 2022 over a white powder scandal which ended his media career.
Carey, who had been in Perth commentating on the AFL finals series, was asked to leave the gaming floor after a packet of powdered substance fell onto a gaming table.
Wayne Carey has quietly dropped his legal action against Crown.Credit:Marta Pascual Juanola
Once the incident became public days later, the retired footballer said the bag contained a legal painkiller, branded Aleve, which he took crushed up during dinner to manage neck and shoulder injuries from his decorated football career.
In October, Carey’s legal team said he was considering whether to pursue a discrimination claim against Crown Perth over its handling of the incident, claiming the venue incorrectly ejected Carey under the assumption the bag contained an illegal drug.
A representative for Carey confirmed on Wednesday that he would no longer pursue the action.
“Wayne is overseas at the moment. He’s enjoying being out of the media spotlight and wants to look forward, not behind, and so he has decided not to pursue this matter further,” he said.
Crown Perth declined to comment on the matter.
At the time of the incident, security escorted Carey from the casino and later his hotel room, but police were not called until after the incident made headlines.
Crown policy stated casino staff could eject someone if they believed they were engaging in inappropriate or illicit behaviour, but staff were not required to contact police.
Carey, a dual North Melbourne premiership player and one of the greatest footballers of his generation, stood down from his media commitments pending the police investigation and Crown banned him from its venues for two years.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch previously told Radio 6PR an investigation would be limited due to Crown not immediately notifying police.
“If there was any suspicion by any person that there were drugs possessed or drugs obtained or in the possession of authorities down at Crown I would have expected a phone call to police to manage that matter, that is a police matter if it was in fact drugs, and I can’t make that conclusion because we don’t have the drugs in our possession, neither do Crown,” he said.
Police have since confirmed they will not be pursuing charges against Carey.
