Melbourne veteran Jordan Lewis admits there was no excuse for his behind-play hit on Carlton's Patrick Cripps which left the young midfielder with a fractured jaw.
Just weeks into his first season with the Demons, Lewis has accepted a three-game AFL ban for the incident on Sunday at the MCG.
A medical report which showed 22-year-old Cripps had suffered a hairline fracture was part of the evidence assessed by the match review panel before the charge was laid.
Lewis will be joined on the sidelines by young forward Jesse Hogan, who copped a two-game suspension for striking Sam Rowe.
The 30-year-old Lewis addressed his teammates on Monday and said he was disappointed to have let them down.
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"I wasn't sticking up for anyone, so that's probably the most disappointing thing," Lewis told Fox Footy on Tuesday night.
"If I was sticking up for someone and you accidentally hit someone, there's probably a way to justify that.
"There was a bit in the lead-up to that but that doesn't (mean) it's OK to do that, so you've just got to cop it."
The former Hawthorn onballer has a bad tribunal record, which increased his penalty from two to three games.
Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall was among those who criticised Lewis for his latest indiscretion, describing it as "irresponsible".
But Lewis said he wouldn't dwell on being labelled a thug by some opposition supporters.
"Quite honestly it doesn't bother me," he said.
"I know what I stand for, I know what I'm like as a person and what I'm like off the field.
"People can have their opinions."
The behind-play incidents against Carlton followed Bernie Vince being suspended for a similar offence during Melbourne's opening-round win over St Kilda.
"We've spoken to our players about the three of them being involved in three incidents over the last two weeks - three off-the-ball incidents," Melbourne football boss Josh Mahoney said.
"We want to be known as a competitive, contested team and these incidents don't in any way reflect how we want to be viewed."
