Crows call in police, AFL after ‘disgusting’ message sent to Jordan Dawson

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗
Cite

Ward, R. (2026, September 13). Crows call in police, AFL after ‘disgusting’ message sent to Jordan Dawson. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/afl/crows-call-in-police-afl-after-disgusting-message-sent-to-jordan-dawson-20260913-p60wz7.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-09-13 · by Roy Ward

Quick Summary

Adelaide Crows captain Jordan Dawson reported receiving a threatening message on Instagram after his team's loss to the Brisbane Lions in a semi-final game. The message referenced self-harm towards Dawson, prompting him and the club to report it to South Australian Police and the AFL integrity unit. The incident highlights ongoing issues of online abuse in sports, with Crows CEO Tim Silvers emphasizing that such behavior is unacceptable and must be addressed by authorities.
Written by AI on 2026-09-13, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Sunday, Jordan Dawson, captain of the Adelaide Crows in the AFL, received a disturbing direct message on his Instagram account referencing self-harm following his team's semi-final loss to the Brisbane Lions. The Crows reported this "disgusting" message to both South Australian Police and the AFL integrity unit. Dawson addressed mental health at an awards night last month after winning the AFLPA’s Robert Rose Most Courageous Player Award, inspired by the tragic death of his brother Jaryd in April. The team emphasized support for Dawson following online abuse and trolls.

Written for “Crows Player Threatened” on 2026-10-28, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Crows Player Threatened
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-13 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5352 article(s) · 13 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 13 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Roy Ward
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
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Topics

AFL Adelaide Crows Crows SA Police South Australian

Subjects

Dawson PERSON · 5× Crows ORG · 3× AFL ORG · 2× SA Police ORG · 2× Adelaide Crows ORG · 1× Instagram ORG · 1× Jordan Dawson PERSON · 1× Police ORG · 1× South Australian NORP · 1× the Brisbane Lions ORG · 1×

Narrative

“The mental health space is something that’s pretty new and pretty raw to me at the moment, but it’s definitely something that I want to learn a bit more about,” Dawson said on the night. “I just want to wish anyone who’s struggling with mental health to know that you are definitely loved and the world is a better place with you in it. “You are enough, and we all love you, and you have beautiful family and friends around you.” The Age has chosen not to show the name of the account or repeat the message.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-13
🔮 “We will provide Jordan and Cal with the appropriate support, as is the case when any of our people are subjected to online attacks and abuse.
2026-09-13 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Crows call in police, AFL after ‘disgusting’ message sent to Jordan Dawson · assertive framing

Claims (13 extracted, 0 hedged)

Adelaide Crows have reported a “disgusting” troll attack on captain Jordan Dawson to South Australian Police and the AFL integrity unit. asserted
Crows → report → Police
On Sunday, Dawson took to social media, calling out a direct message sent to his Instagram account that had made a self-harm reference towards him following the Crows’ loss to the Brisbane Lions in a semi-final at the Gabba on Saturday night. “There is absolutely no place for this in the world, be better,” Dawson wrote. asserted
Dawson → take → world
The Crows skipper last month won the AFLPA’s Robert Rose Most Courageous Player Award after playing out the season following the tragic death of his eldest brother Jaryd in April. asserted
skipper → win → April
SA Police said at the time that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the 35-year-old’s death. asserted
Police → say → death
An emotional Dawson, who was also named vice captain of the All-Australian team, made an inspiring address about mental health at the awards night. asserted
who → name → night
“The mental health space is something that’s pretty new and pretty raw to me at the moment, but it’s definitely something that I want to learn a bit more about,” Dawson said on the night. “I just want to wish anyone who’s struggling with mental health to know that you are definitely loved and the world is a better place with you in it. “You are enough, and we all love you, and you have beautiful family and friends around you.” The Age has chosen not to show the name of the account or repeat the message. asserted
Age → ’ → message
The account was set as private on Sunday night. asserted
account → set → night
Crows chief executive Tim Silvers spoke up for Dawson and teammate Callum Ah Chee, who also faced post-game abuse on social media. asserted
who → speak → media
“Unfortunately, this disgusting and disturbing behaviour is becoming more common,” Silvers said on Sunday. asserted
Silvers → become → Sunday
“It’s simply not good enough, and it has to stop. asserted
it → ’ → ?
“We will provide Jordan and Cal with the appropriate support, as is the case when any of our people are subjected to online attacks and abuse. asserted
any → provide → attacks
“We will also be reporting these latest incidents to SA Police and the AFL’s integrity unit.” asserted
We → report → Police
If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. asserted
you → know → 636
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