Saints CEO says Ross Lyon is ‘running a pretty safe environment’; Pies opt to rest Pendlebury
St Kilda CEO Carl Dilena has defended coach Ross Lyon, stating that a comment Lyon made during training that upset Indigenous players was an innocent oversight and has been resolved internally. Dilena emphasized that the environment at the club is safe, with players comfortable raising concerns directly with Lyon. Meanwhile, Collingwood will rest captain Scott Pendlebury ahead of a milestone game, and AFL players will lose insurance coverage for career-ending head trauma as of Friday.
- ▪St Kilda CEO Carl Dilena said Ross Lyon's comment to Indigenous players was an 'innocent oversight' and had been resolved internally.
- ▪Lyon offered to reconsider his coaching position after realizing his comment upset players, but no further action was taken.
- ▪Collingwood has opted to rest captain Scott Pendlebury before his record-equalling 380th AFL game.
- ▪AFL players will no longer be covered for career-ending head trauma under their insurance from Friday onward.
- ▪The incident became public after journalist Caroline Wilson reported it on Channel Seven’s Agenda Setters.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","dateModified":"2026-04-28T03:39:11Z","datePublished":"2026-04-28T03:39:11Z","description":"When asked if Ross Lyon’s comments constituted casual racism, St Kilda CEO said “you had to look at it through the lens of the person receiving the comment”. Meanwhile, AFL players will no longer be covered for career-ending head trauma in their insurance from Friday.","headline":"CEO backs Lyon’s ‘safe environment’; Pies rest Pendlebury; No more head trauma cover for AFL","keywords":"AFL 2026, St Kilda Saints, Just in Age, Melbourne Demons, Concussion crisis","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Hannah Kennelly","jobTitle":"Sports reporter","url":"/by/hannah-kennelly-p537jw"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Jon Pierik","jobTitle":"Sports journalist…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Sydney Morning Herald.