Grant and North Melbourne chief of football Donald McDonald fronted the media to clarify the veteran was forced to sit out the weekend's two-point win over Port Adelaide after carrying over discipline for an off-field incident last year.
It is understood the prior warning came from an altercation at a Lionel Richie concert in December that had Grant subdued with capsicum spray by police.
And the 31-year-old doused speculation that the latest indiscretion was a major incident at last Monday's sponsor golf day.
"I previously had a warning from an incident that happened last year and, as a result of that and being a little bit loud and boisterous at the club supporters and sponsors golf day, the club decided that a suspension was to be put in place," he said.
"I accepted that and pretty much tried to move on from that.
"There was no major incidents. There was no major issues that actually happened from the golf day. It was just a matter of having a previous warning and having a little bit too much to drink on the day.
"The club has a pretty strong players' code of conduct, I'd had a warning from last year and I accepted the club's decision."
The reason for Grant's suspension, announced last Wednesday, was not initially disclosed by North Melbourne and so followed media-generated rumour about the incident that led to the suspension.
"In hindsight, [we] probably could have [confirmed it earlier], but it's happened and as I said earlier, the decision that's been made – I've accepted the club's decision – we had a good win on the weekend and [I] pretty much took time to just look forward at getting back into the side."
Grant also acknowledged the disappointment of being sidelined for the match.
"It's not great when you've played the amount of footy that I have and you're not part of the action, especially considering what a great win it was," he said.
"I hope [I get selected this week]. It's not the ideal preparation or the ideal situation to be in, but ... we're still hoping to play finals footy and I certainly want to contribute and be a part of that."
From a club perspective, McDonald recognised the importance of verifying the situation for its members and sponsors.
"I think we've been pretty happy with the way it's all unfolded," he said. "The media don't dictate terms to our footy club. The people who we're really concerned about ... probably the message we want to get out to our members and sponsors, who are our No. 1 supporters.
"We just wanted to send a message out to them and let them be rest assured that there isn't any big problem at North Melbourne.
"Shannon fell victim to the code of conduct that our leadership group have implemented and that code of conduct's been in place now for 18 months.
"The AFL's been really strong on that -- player behaviour -- and I think that our supporters and sponsors should be proud of the way our leadership group's handled it and, more importantly, the way Shannon's copped it on the chin."
Should Grant play every game from now, his awaited 300-game milestone will fall in round 22.
