Wednesday Headlines: 

• Swans board meets to decide on player sanctions over incident that lead to a sexual assault allegation
• NDIS reforms pass senate as Labor strikes deal with Coalition over gambling regulations
• Landmark trial against Meta begins
• Erin Patterson’s appeal begins
• SpaceX rocket splashes down off Christmas Island, Musk called in to remove it

Deep Dive: Several Sydney Swans players are at the centre of a police investigation in Melbourne, over an alleged sexual assault at the team's hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.  
 
The club has confirmed its players were involved, notified the AFL, and says it's cooperating fully. No charges have been laid.   

But alongside the allegations sits a second question - how a story like this gets reported, and why the focus turns so quickly to a finals campaign 'in jeopardy.' 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by journalist and sports creator Lavender Baj to unpack it all - what she made of the Swans' statement, and how a trial by social media can wreck the chance of a fair one in court. 

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