PORT ADELAIDE forward Jack Watts has admitted a video of him snorting a legal substance during Oktoberfest was a “shocking look”, saying the pain he had caused the club hurt him the most.
The video, which was taken at Oktoberfest in Munich last October, shows Watts inhaling a substance known as “Wiesn Pulver”, a legal substance made up of menthol, sugar and glucose.
The 27-year-old, who joined the Power from Melbourne during the 2017 Trade Period, spoke briefly to the media on his way into training at Alberton Oval on Monday morning, saying he had made positive changes to his life since the video was taken.
“It’s been a pretty shocking 24 hours,” Watts said.
“I’m trying to keep some sort of perspective in the situation in the fact that I wasn’t doing anything illegal.
“I’ve made a lot of changes since the video, in my life, for the positive, and I look forward to continuing that.”
The video shows Watts snorting the substance from a woman’s chest in the middle of the Oktoberfest celebrations.
It has been widely circulated across social platforms.
“It’s a pretty shocking look. I’m really disappointed with myself,” Watts said.
“You can imagine having my parents and my sisters watching a video like that and it’s not a great feeling.
“The pain and the burden I’ve caused for the club, the supporters, my teammates and coaches – that’s probably what hurts me the most.”
Watts knows who filmed the incident and said it had been recorded and distributed without his consent.
“Absolutely not with my consent and of course I feel upset that someone feels the need to video something like that at a festival over in Germany and then feels the need to send it on,” he explained.
“But that’s the world we live in and I need to realise that.”
Port Adelaide Chairman David Koch expressed his disappointment in Watts’ actions.
He indicated the club would continue to investigate the matter, and had notified the AFL.
“As a club we are bitterly disappointed with the video content that appeared yesterday of Jack Watts at Oktoberfest in Munich last October,” Mr Koch said.
“It’s not a good look and Jack should have known better than to put himself in that situation. He is aware of that and has publicly apologised for his actions this morning.
“At the moment we accept Jack’s explanation on face value that the substance in the video was indeed legal, but we will still investigate the matter further.
“We have made the AFL aware and they can investigate further also if they choose to.
“Let’s be very clear. Port Adelaide takes a zero-tolerance approach to illicit drugs. We do not want them at our club or people who use them in our club. End of story.”
