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The AFL has slammed "unacceptable and juvenile" groping incidents between players that have been highlighted in social and traditional media this week. Richmond players Nick Vlastuin and Jayden Short were caught on camera inappropriately touching teammate Mabior Chol. It led to coach Damien Hardwick being questioned about the incidents on Friday during his weekly press conference, which the premiership mentor called to an abrupt halt. More similar incidents, including one between St Kilda teammates Dan Butler and Jade Gresham, have since come to light. On Saturday, the AFL took a stand against the behaviour. "The actions of players touching several teammates inappropriately during post-game celebrations and / or during club theme songs is not in keeping with either club, community or AFL expectations," the league said in a statement. "The behaviour is inappropriate, unacceptable and juvenile. "AFL players are professional athletes and set the example for the hundreds of thousands of kids playing football across the country. "It is the responsibility of each club and the players themselves to ensure this inappropriate behaviour is not repeated." Vlastuin and Short on Friday apologised to Chol and Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale said club officials had checked on the 23-year-old, who said in a statement he had not taken any offence to his teammates' actions. "Several people have (spoken to Chol) on our behalf, just to check in and make sure that he's okay," Gale told 3AW radio. "I mean several people, and just to absolutely emphasise that this is not something we accept or will accept and to make sure that he is okay. "I can understand why people looking at this would feel really confronted. It's a bad look and it's got to stop and it will stop. "But I think the opinion that really matters here is Mabior and, yes, he was surprised (by the groping). It was unexpected. "But for him it's a non-issue and we should take that into account." Hardwick on Saturday said the incidents involving Chol had been dealt with internally. "We condemn the behaviour obviously but support the individual," Hardwick told Fox Footy. "It's all about education from our point of view and it's in the eye of the beholder. "We'll continue to educate our players and continue to learn from it." Butler has apologised for his behaviour and Gresham was not concerned about that incident. St Kilda said "there is no context in which this behaviour is appropriate and we will ensure it is not repeated".
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