The fallout from the AFL 'd*** pic' scandal did not stop with Luke Sayers resigning as Carlton chairman, with a club sponsor pulling out of an event organized by the club, and the former executive also stepping down from another. mail.
Sayers resigned from his position with the Blues effective Wednesday, and the announcement came just minutes after the league's Integrity Unit found he was not responsible for sending a graphic sexual image from his X account on Jan. 9. .
An executive at health insurance company Bupa, which is one of Carlton's key sponsors, was tagged in the post, which featured a photo of a penis.
It has now emerged that Bupa has canceled its naming rights for the club's Run for Respect event on February 2, which will be held to raise funds for the Blues' charity.
However, a company spokesperson confirmed that Bupa will continue its relationship with Carltong, adding: “Bupa continues to prioritize the wellbeing, privacy and safety of our employees.”
In addition to stepping down as president of the Blues, Sayers also announced that he will step down as president of his consulting company, Sayers Group.
Luke Sayers (pictured) resigned as Carlton president on Wednesday despite the AFL finding he was in no way responsible for sending a graphic sexual image from his X account.
The high-flying executive (pictured with Carlton star Patrick Cripps last year) also stepped down as chairman of his private company.
Sayers Group CEO and co-founder Sammy Kumar told company employees that the former PWC boss would be “taking an extended break” from his role due to the “need for time with his family” in an email sent on Wednesday, according to Australian Financial Review.
The end of Sayers' 12-year involvement with the club at executive level was revealed in an emotional statement he made on Wednesday afternoon.
“Leading Carlton Football Club has been one of the great honors and privileges of my life,” he said.
“I leave knowing that the club is in great shape and with my deepest gratitude for your understanding and support.
“I am deeply sorry that other people, including my family, friends, colleagues and the football club, have been involved in this matter.
'The last two weeks have been very difficult for everyone who has been affected by an unauthorized social media post.
'I did not post the image, deliberately or accidentally… I am aware of speculation that someone else's name in the post explains why it happened.
“It's not like that, and that narrative is wrong.”
The AFL made the decision after the league's Integrity Unit concluded its investigation, which began last week, noting that Sayers and the Carlton club had assisted with its investigations.
Sayers (pictured, left, with his wife Cate, second from left, and Carlton chief executive Brian Cook and his partner last year) announced he was stepping down in an emotional statement on Wednesday.
“The integrity unit's investigations, which included multiple interviews and review of other evidence, have been concluded and the AFL has discovered, based on available evidence, that access to Mr Sayers' account place the image (i.e., by someone other than Mr. Sayers) and tagging someone else,” the league said in a statement.
Sayers noticed the shocking development after the photo was online for 12 minutes, at which point he quickly deleted the image and apologized to his followers, claiming he had been targeted by cybercriminals.
“Sorry, my account has been hacked, please ignore all posts,” he wrote.
The married father-of-four's account, which had more than 7,300 followers, was deleted, but other X users had already reposted the post and taken a screenshot.
He told Daily Mail Australia he was “outraged” by the alleged attack when the news first broke.
'This is outrageous. “I am investigating and will spare no effort to find out who did this to me and my family,” he said.