RICHMOND forward Jake King has been told by the club he is free to mix with whoever he chooses in his own time, after last week meeting with former Bandidos biker club sergeant-at-arms Toby Mitchell.
King was warned about his association with Mitchell last year after inviting the family friend into the Tigers' MCG rooms following their round 20 win over the Brisbane Lions.
However, chief executive Brendon Gale said the club had never issued a ban to King on who he could mix with "away from the workplace or his duties as a footballer".
"Who Jake mixes with in his own time and in his own private capacity, that's up to him and they're the choices he makes," Gale told 3AW on Tuesday night.
"As long as he acts in a lawful way and he doesn't involve other players.
"We're very proud of Jake. From where he's come from to where he is today, we're really proud of him.
"But at the end of the day, they're choices he has to make and he has to live with."
Gale said he understood media and public interest in King's association with Mitchell, given community concerns about organised crime.
He said the Tigers had legal responsibilities as an employer to provide a safe workplace, and that was why Mitchell being invited into the club’s change rooms would "never happen again".
