Richmond Midfielder Donates To Charity Following Closure Of Nightclub Incident

Richmond’s Shai Bolton and his club will make a $20,000 donation to charity for his involvement in a nightclub incident with teammate Daniel Rioli. 

The joint investigation determined that Bolton had ‘exacerbated’ the nightclub scuffle which occurred after Richmond’s round 8 loss to Geelong.

In conjunction with the AFL, Richmond have decided for Bolton to donate the money to the Tomorrow Man organisation which helps men make better life choices, while Rioli has been cleared of any misconduct.

Bolton has been sidelined since the altercation, having to undergo surgery on his hand as result. Both players claimed the fight occurred due to “inappropriate” behaviour towards Rioli’s partner. 

The Tigers midfielder stepped in to defend his teammate causing a hand injury, he has now apologised for his involvement. 

“Violence is never ok no matter the circumstances, and I want to share that message with everyone. The right choice is to walk away.” Bolton told AFL media.

“When I saw what happened to Daniel, I acted on instinct. I now know that my instincts were wrong and that my actions could have led to a far more serious outcome.”

Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale claimed his players must learn from Bolton’s mistake, and to always “de-escalate” a situation rather than involve themselves. 

“These can be highly volatile situations and Shai has acknowledged his mistake. We all need to learn from it.” Gale said.

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