North Melbourne have moved quickly to quell speculation behind the suspension of exciting rookie Majak Daw.
Daw was suspended indefinitely by North on Wednesday for breaching team rehabilitation protocols and behaving in a manner unbefitting of the club's culture and expectations, but further information revealed the 20-year-old lied to coach Brad Scott.
"Let me be clear, Majak was suspended for two reasons only in that he breached rehab protocol by going out when he should have been resting his knee and because he lied to me about going out," Scott said in a statement released by North on Wednesday night.
"Any other player would have been treated the same and until he complies with our standards and expectations, he won't be welcome back into the group."
"I've been in constant dialogue with Majak and he is extremely remorseful. I know at heart, he is a terrific young guy and that's why we will support him. We are not interested in hanging him out to dry. With a player of his profile, we can't suspend him from the football club without people knowing, so we made the decision to release that information in the interests of being up front."
"Unfortunately, there is an element out there that want to bring Majak down and have seen fit to spread rumours about him."
It was also revealed that Daw owes a team-mate at the club money and is dating an ex-girlfriend of a former player, but Scott said these matters were not relevant to the suspension.
"The other issues that have been raised, have absolutely nothing to do with his suspension and I have known about them for some time. He owes a player money, he is working to repay that player. It's less than a thousand dollars and is a trivial matter. Majak's conduct is completely above board and he has done nothing wrong in seeing the ex-girlfriend of a former player," Scott said.
"There are some media organisations which want to hang him out to dry. He's had to deal with some things which are unfair. He's been racially abused at a VFL game. He's had to deal with things that men of his age shouldn't have to deal with and we also have to take into account his unique background having come to Australia from Sudan."