Dustin Martin apologises after restaurant altercationJennifer Phelan
afl.com.au
December 7, 2015 RICHMOND'S leaders will meet with "a deeply embarrassed" Dustin Martin this week to decide if the midfielder will be sanctioned for disruptive behaviour that saw him ejected from a Melbourne restaurant on Saturday night.
A female patron of Windsor eatery Mr Miyagi has accused the 24-year-old of threatening to stab her in the face with a chopstick after she told him to settle down.
Martin, who is known to lead a vibrant social life and has been sanctioned before for off-field exploits, was drinking at the restaurant's bar when he became unruly.
He had also been drinking before arriving and had attended the Stereosonic music festival earlier in the day.
Martin was eventually asked to leave Mr Miyagi after the altercation with the female customer, who Channel Seven identified only as "Tracey" on Monday night.
She said she had noticed a "rather inebriated" Martin drinking shots at the bar and going "in and out of the bathroom".
After telling him to reel in his boisterous behaviour, she said the midfielder became aggressive.
"He reacted extremely angrily and was very agitated, he began swearing at me and standing over me physically. It was extremely intimidating," she told Channel Seven.
"He physically stood over me and held a chopstick above my head and threatened to stab me in the face with the chopstick.
"He said, 'Are you going to dob on me?' and I said, 'Well, I will be calling the club on Monday', to which he reacted by slamming his hand next to my head into the wall, which at that point was obviously extremely terrifying."
The Tigers said on Monday afternoon Martin's apology to the woman had since been accepted.
"Regrettably, I was intoxicated and that in itself is completely unacceptable," Martin said.
"I do however take responsibility for my behaviour and I am deeply embarrassed.
"If anything I have said or done has caused anyone to feel threatened then that is totally inappropriate."
Martin, who started summer training late last month after a long off-season spent largely with Collingwood midfielder Dane Swan, will now face the club's leaders over the indiscretion.
It was in the middle of 2012 Martin was suspended for two weeks after missing training in an incident that saw former Tiger Daniel Connors – who had a list of prior off-field issues to his name - sacked.
The two players allegedly consumed sleeping tablets the night before and slept through their alarm.
Martin was fined in August this year for making a lewd gesture to the Collingwood cheer squad during the Tigers' win over the Magpies in round 21.
He had previously been fined for making a handcuffs signal in the Tigers' 2013 elimination final loss to Carlton.
The explosive midfielder was runner up to Alex Rance in the Tigers' best and fairest this season after averaging 26 disposals and kicking 24 goals across every game.
It was the third-straight season in which he finished in the top-three of the Jack Dyer medal count..
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-12-07/dustin-martin-apologises-after-restaurant-altercation
