In the eye of another storm, what has Jordan De Goey done wrong?

Not for the first time in his colourful career, Collingwood star Jordan De Goey finds himself at the centre of an off-field media firestorm.

On this occasion, De Goey caused unwanted headlines for merely going to Bali on a club-approved holiday during his mid-season break and partying hard with someone who looked like his girlfriend.

He was even filmed making supposedly “rude” gestures which, apparently, these days is a hangable offence.

In the past, De Goey has rightfully copped his right whack for unacceptable incidents such as when he lied about breaking his hand in a bar fight (he told the club it was done playing with his dog) and more recently his well-publicised New York misadventure in the last off-season.

He was arrested in the Big Apple for a drunken nightclub incident, and eventually plead guilty to the downgraded charge of harassment, which saw him avoid a jail sentence.

But what heinous crime has he committed on this occasion? Has he actually done anything wrong?

The only issue which had the potential to, and ultimately did, cause problems for De Goey was the cringeworthy vision of what is believed to be his hand tugging on the woman's top in an attempt to expose her breast.

It made for some uncomfortable viewing, and yes, on the face of it, it is inappropriate conduct and led to De Goey being slapped with a suspended fine of $25,000 which will be hanging over his head until the end of the season.

But as always in life, context is crucial.

Not only did Remy Jackson, the female in the video, not seem bothered by it one iota, and was even laughing as it was happening, but she later took to social media to defend De Goey, saying: “Hey everyone, I can't believe the backlash towards Jordy & Myself over here in Bali … nothing to see here.”

Shouldn't that have been case closed? Not by a long shot. Collingwood, like so many others, ignored her statement and continued to be outraged on her behalf on Tuesday.

“The Collingwood Football Club strongly condemns the disrespectful conduct of player Jordan De Goey shown in footage taken in Bali where he chose to spend the mid-season bye period,” a club statement read.

“Collingwood CEO Mark Anderson said the club is extremely disappointed in Jordan's behaviour which demonstrated disrespect towards women.”

Disrespect? Who was he disrespecting? Jackson, the subject of the supposed disrespect, insisted she had no issue with what took place.

If De Goey had done that to a strange woman he had just met, that would've been outrageous and wildly disrespectful and a severe punishment would have been justified. No doubt about that.

It certainly wasn't the most civilised behaviour, but clearly, the pair are in a consensual relationship and are having an absolute blast with each other on the Indonesian holiday island, which is what most young adults do when they're in Bali.

However, some of the commentary surrounding De Goey's conduct over the past couple of days has been extraordinarily over-the-top and disproportionate.

He is being hanged, drawn and quartered just for having a good time on his break away from footy.

But after lashing out on the weekend at the “persecution” he was receiving from the media, De Goey was pulled back into line on Tuesday by the club, and made to apologise for his Bali trip.

“I unreservedly apologise to the Collingwood Football Club, its members, supporters and the wider community for my conduct in Bali and I accept full responsibility for my actions,” De Goey said.

“The actions shown in the video footage are disrespectful and I accept that I have betrayed the trust the club showed in me by allowing me to take my mid-season break overseas.”

On Monday, The Age reported that Collingwood had withdrawn their four-year offer (two years, plus the potential for a two-year trigger) to De Goey because of his antics while on holiday.

The 26-year-old was in Bali. What did Collingwood expect of him while he was over there? For him to sit in his hotel room the entire time and meditate?

It's akin to getting mad with someone for going to Egypt and then visiting the pyramids. Partying and Bali go hand in hand.

It's not as if he ducked over to Bali without Collingwood's permission. He was given the green light to head over.

Was it the most sensible idea given what he had just experienced in New York a matter of months ago? Probably not. But, surprisingly, it was ticked off consultatively.

Is he exhibiting the behaviours of a professional footballer hellbent on extracting the absolute most of his abundant natural talent to join the ranks of the elite? Definitely not. But that's his choice, and he seems to be content with being a solid-to-good player. Good luck to him. He certainly won't be the first player that fails to live up to his full potential, and won't be the last.

The timing wasn't great for De Goey, either, given he's coming out of contract. The best thing for him to do was probably lay low.

But it appears as though, more than anything, that the chickens have come home to roost and De Goey is now largely paying the price for his reputation and his track record.

De Goey has been far from a saint throughout his AFL career, and has been justifiably criticised and punished for past indiscretions, but this latest episode falls well short of the threshold for the kind of media frenzy that has been generated.

And if Collingwood want to be mad with anyone, they should get a giant-sized mirror and take a good, long, hard look at themselves for allowing their star to head to Bali in the first place.