RICHMOND says it is unlikely to punish forward Jake King despite the forward defying club orders to end his association with former Bandidos biker club sergeant-at-arms Toby Mitchell.
The possibility of a fine or suspension for King was raised when News Corp on Monday ran a photo of the pair at the weekend sitting in adjacent rows watching lingerie-clad women play American football at AAMI Park.
The article claimed it was at least the second time King, 29, had been seen with Mitchell since the club's warning some months ago.
Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said the club was disappointed with King's actions and would speak to him further on Monday.
Gale said King's explanation was that he had attended AAMI Park with a large group of friends and had simply "bumped into" Mitchell, who has been a family friend of King's for "many, many years".
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"We've had a few chats with Jake about it," Gale told SEN on Monday morning.
"We're particularly mindful with the circumstances this year with the (Australian) Crime Commission report (into links between sporting figures and criminals) and we certainly brought it to Jake's attention and others at the club, like all players at all clubs, (that) they should be mindful of those associations.
"In light of that, we're disappointed to see that in the paper today.
"We've brought it to Jake's attention that he should think long and hard about those sorts of friendships and connections and associations, particularly in light of the events of this year, which is a year in our industry without precedent.
"We don't offer directions and hard-and-fast rules to our players about who they should and shouldn't (associate with); we provide advice (and) guidance, but we expect them to make their own decisions.
"We would expect Jake to make better decisions. He understands that as a Richmond footballer he's a public figure and there's a heightened state of alert, and unfortunately these things have implications."
Asked whether King would be fine or suspended, Gale said: "I don't think so. Certainly we'll have another discussion. These are instructive opportunities to remind all players of the risk involved. We'll have a chat today, there's no doubt about that."
Following the Tigers' round 20 win over the Brisbane Lions at the MCG, Mitchell had been invited into the Richmond rooms by King, prompting the club to tell the player his association with the former biker enforcer was unacceptable.
Richmond went on to warn its entire playing list not to associate with criminals in any way.
The Tigers' reigning club champion, Daniel Jackson, made light of the incident on social media on Monday evening, posting the following:
