Why Steven May’s partner is suing Melbourne

The Melbourne Football Club is involved in a legal matter with the partner of retired premiership player Steven May.

Sachi Dade has launched legal action against the Demons stemming from a Teams meeting earlier in the year which contained confidential and legally sensitive information.

A whistleblower who was on the call has claimed confidentiality obligations were breached regarding May and Dade’s personal situation, along with the sharing of inappropriate and inaccurate legal information.

SEN’s Tom Morris has explained why this has become a legal matter for the Dees and why Dade is suing the club.

“This stems from Good Friday when we broke the story on SEN that there had been a Teams meeting held between the club and the partners of players to update all of them on the situation on Steven May after police had visited his house with his partner,” Morris said on SEN’s Fireball.

“News broke last Friday that Steve May’s partner, Sachi Dade, is suing Melbourne Football Club, Steven King and Alan Richardson.

“This is the partner of a recently retired player suing the club, the coach and the footy boss that oversaw the flag that her partner played in in 2021.

“I’m chasing some more info on this for Agenda Setters tonight, but what we can bring you this morning is more details on why Sachi was angry with the club following the meeting in early February.

“So yes, she was hurt by what was said in the meeting – particularly from Alan Richardson – and the private nature of those comments. But she was just as frustrated by the club’s decision to not allow her to meet with Paul Guerra, Steven King and Alan Richardson after the call.

“She wanted to meet with those key figures and the club said you can meet with Guerra and an HR professional only, which she rejected.

“That was the first mistake by the Demons to not fully acknowledge it and allow her to meet with the three people who hosted the call.

“She then made a formal complaint to the AFL Players’ Association, met with the PA, and it was escalated to the AFL where Tom Harley became involved as well.

“After all of this broke, the president Steven Smith, who had nothing to do with the Teams call, tried to smooth it over and allay any concerns. He texted her to ask if she wanted to catch up but there was little he could do - the horse had bolted.

“Now it’s a legal matter.

“I think if they had their time again, then Demons, they would have said, ‘Yes, you can meet with Richo, Steven King and Paul Guerra’. They didn’t do that and that’s why it has become a legal matter now which will go through the courts.

“It’s less than ideal for the Melbourne Football Club which doesn’t need these sorts of off-field distractions.”