Swimming Australia said in a statement on Monday that it was “extremely disappointed” to hear about Grant Hackett’s involvement in an alleged altercation upon a flight from Adelaide back to his home in Brisbane after last week’s Olympic Trials.

Hackett was questioned by Australian Federal Police over the weekend after being alleged to have physically assaulted another passenger on his flight. The passenger in question was sitting in front of Hackett in business class and reclined his seat, which Hackett took exception to.

The latest reports on the incident are that Hackett reached around, grabbed the man’s chest, and “tweaked his nipple.”

Hackett also released a statement on his actions, confirming his identity in the incident.

“I seriously and genuinely regret my poor behaviour,” he said in a statement. “I have stuffed up more than once and am working on these issues. It is embarrassing to hear and read the consequences of my actions. I apologise unreservedly to the gentleman on the flight. I am trying to make direct contact with him personally. I know I have to front the media and discuss my actions in a more appropriate and accountable way.”

“I just have to sort a few things first so I can be as frank and open as I need to be. I apologise for the inconvenience.”

Swimming Australia says that Hackett’s well-being is their primary concern, and at present time that any other concerns are secondary. This is presumed to include matters of Hackett having been appointed as an official mentor to the 2016 Olympic Team.

The 35-year old Hackett, who made a successful return last year to qualify for Australia’s World Championships team, failed to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games. Hackett is an 8-time Olympic medalist and 18-time World Champion, primarily in the distance freestyle races.

The full statement from Swimming Australia is below:

“Swimming Australia was extremely disappointed to hear the disturbing reports that Grant Hackett was involved in a reported incident on a flight from Adelaide to Melbourne on Sunday April 17.

“Given the reported incident ijaccovolved a member of the general public on a domestic flight, we acknowledge and fully support the role of the police. It is very appropriate that they were immediately involved and continue to investigate this matter. We welcome their involvement and will fully support any findings that they reach as independent and external investigators of the incident.

“The positive week that we witnessed in Adelaide from our team both in and out of the pool is a sign of emerging strong culture. We believe that we have made great progress. With this backdrop we are clearly disappointed that this reported incident has occurred.

“The reported incident was particularly surprising, given the manner in which Grant conducted himself over the duration of the event. This included his interaction with the general public, in and around other swimmers over the competition and his transition into a television commentary role following his last race.

“Swimming President John Bertrand, Chief Executive Officer Mark Anderson, National Head Coach Jacco Verhaeren and General Manager, High Performance, Wayne Lomas have been focused over the past 24 hours to ensure we found out exactly what occurred and to provide the necessary support before making any statements.

“We have been in touch with Grant through his management team and with his family directly.

“Given Grant’s recent experiences, we are concerned for Grant’s welfare and believe that it is very important that we provide Grant with all the support we can provide to ensure his progress as a person remains on track.

“Our main concern at this stage is his welfare. Any other issue or decision remains secondary to his well-being at this point in time. We will address other matters at the appropriate time.

“We have endeavored throughout our cultural development to be very open in our communication and we will continue to do so in relation to this issue and any future decisions that we reach in relation to Grant and his involvement across our sport