AFL take the moral high ground

[El Diablo]

http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/br...-reminder-on-behaviour-afl-20090513-b370.html

Johns drama a reminder on behaviour: AFL
Daniel Brettig
May 13, 2009 - 7:14PM

The storm surrounding the NRL following the latest revelations about the game's culture serves as a cautionary tale about the need to remain vigilant on issues of player behaviour, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou says.

Watching his NRL counterpart David Gallop deal with the fall-out from the ABC's Four Corners expose on the mistreatment of women - with former player and Channel Nine personality Matthew Johns caught right in the middle of it - Demetriou acknowledged the need for constant education on how to behave.

The AFL unveiled a respect and responsibility policy in 2007 to educate on and off-field staff at all clubs about the appropriate treatment of women, in order to rule a definitive line under a trickle of incidents that had shown a plainly unacceptable attitude towards women among some AFL players and staff.

Two years on and there is still much work to be done - as evidenced by the North Melbourne "chicken video" affair - but there has clearly been a cultural shift in the correct direction.

"A lot of that was to do with trying to shift the culture and the attitude of everyone involved in our industry," Demetriou said on Wednesday.

"We've made huge progress but you need to remain vigilant and you need to continue to educate people about making right choices.

"I thought David Gallop yesterday spoke very well on this issue because I think he genuinely understands how important it is to be vigilant and we share those views because all of us are in the public eye, whether we're administrators, players or coaches, and understand our responsibilities, and we'll continue to educate people about making right choices."

Demetriou said he had not spoken with the NRL about the league's progress since releasing their policy.

 

[El Diablo]

so why is the clown playing?

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/03/13/58691_gold-coast-news.html

Lions player accused in glassing

Leah Fineran

March 13th, 2009

BRISBANE Lions player Albert Proud hung his head as a Gold Coast court was told how a night of drinking in Surfers Paradise ended in bloodshed.

The AFL professional faced the Southport Magistrates Court yesterday, charged with assault causing bodily harm after allegedly throwing a glass at a woman's face on January 31.

The court was told the 23-year-old woman from northern New South Wales suffered a laceration on her eyelid requiring four stitches.

Police prosecutor Rosanna Doolan told the court the woman was at Cocktails and Dreams Nightclub on Orchid Avenue on the Saturday night. About 1am Mr Proud poured a drink on her friend.

In her statement to police, read to the court, the woman said she went to confront him and was 2m away when she saw him raise his right hand which held a glass.

She told police she felt a 'hot, sharp pain' in her left eye and her vision became blurry.

She was taken to hospital with a 5cm cut on her eyelid and a lump over her eye.

Defence lawyer Simon Francis Miotti said Mr Proud's recollection was not clear that night as he had been drinking alcohol since 6.30pm.

But he said the woman confronted his client by trying to throw liquid from her glass over him.

Mr Miotti said Mr Proud attempted to block her and that was where the sequence of events became confused.

Mr Miotti said the woman had not seen if it was Mr Proud's glass that hit her in the face. If it was a glass, it was unclear whether Mr Proud had knocked her glass out of her hand and into her face or if he had thrown his own glass at her, he said.

He denied Mr Proud had deliberately smashed a glass into her face.

"(Her injury) was bad but it's not a gashing wound that would have come from hard glass penetration," he said.

"If a glass slipped from his hand or her hand then that is more consistent with a shallow cut to the eye."

Mr Miotti told the court the exact sequence of events might never become clear as no video surveillance footage was available from the club.

Magistrate Brian Kilmartin said too many key facts were in dispute and ordered an adjournment until April 14.

"There is an enormous difference between losing grip on a glass or deliberately smashing it into someone's face and the penalties are oceans apart," he said.

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Didnt we introduce a similar policy a few years before the AFL?

 

[Flapper]

It's a bit rich for the AFL to be preaching when they've been just as guilty as anyone.

 

[Big Mick]

Sam Newman...enough said

 

[El Diablo]

Adelaide Crows defender Nathan Bock charged with assault

By Steve Larkin
April 05, 2009

All Australian AFL defender Nathan Bock has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend at an Adelaide hotel.

 

[Cloud9]

AFL: the code of silence.

 

[El Diablo]

funny how he only mentions the chicken video

wouldn't of sounded as good if he'd mentioned assaults on women

 

[JW]

The culture to despise.

 

[El Diablo]

and now this


Swans show NRL how to treat ladies

the agenda continues

ignore anything bad in the AFL and make them out as the good guys

and people say we shouldn't compare AFL incidents to NRL incidents

 

[typicalfan]

We just keep giving them ammunition too which is a great shame, looks like another allegation with 5 Balmain Ryde boys has surfaced.

It isn't like the AFL are the angels they make themselves out to be either. The boys culture in both codes are similar except the NRL is in the limelight when it comes to controversy.

 

[El Diablo]

i wonder if O'Loughlin was there?

 

[typicalfan]

Well that Albert Proud from the Lions did exactly what Greg Bird did if not worse as more than one woman has come forward.

 

[Cloud9]

Maybe people just don't care about AFL, thats why these incidents don't make the headlines.

 

[typicalfan]

Well I would half agree with that. Sydney is the nations captial as far as sensationalist news reporting and in particular swelling controversies. The NRL being the number one winter sport in Sydney is only naturally going to generate more interest than any other sport.

However I don't think that is the case, there have been investigations before suggesting the AFL pay money to tone down reporting and influence in other ways as well.


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25475784-7583,00.html

That link is a story half for Johns and half for a Melbourne based talkback host who seems to have been sacked for negative reporting.

 

[Perth Red]

A "trickle" of incidents? He's having a laugh isn't he? We have had at least oneor two a year for a few years just in perth!

 

[Kiki]

holy jesus this article makes me actually want to kill myself

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0,27074,25476273-14823,00.html

HOW CAN THEY WRITE THIS CRAP??

seriously. i have no words. i'm a woman and i would rather gnaw off my own arm than ever support the AFL or anything AFL related. print that one Walshaw.

 

[Ray Mosters]

Hmmm, so Four Corners runs a damning expose about group sex and the degradation of women in the NRL in the exact same week as the "Swans Womens Lunch"

Interesting timing that one.

And i see Demetriou is wearing the same smirk that Gallup wore for the 12 months Demetriou spent repeating the words "Ben Cousins"

 

[Brutus]

Hmmm, so Four Corners runs a damning expose about group sex and the degradation of women in the NRL in the exact same week as the "Swans Womens Lunch"

Interesting timing that one.

And i see Demetriou is wearing the same smirk that Gallup wore for the 12 months Demetriou spent repeating the words "Ben Cousins"

What you mean this bloke?

TICKY FULLERTON: Paul Rofe told Four Corners he considered his conversations with the victim and her family confidential, and that at the time he had determined he did not have a conflict of interest.
Peter Burgoyne is still playing for Port Adelaide. The club fined him a reported $5,000, but would not answer questions on this, referring Four Corners to the AFL.
ANDREW DEMETRIOU, AFL CHIEF EXECUTIVE: You'd have to direct those questions to the Port Adelaide Football club.
TICKY FULLERTON: They've directed us to you.
ANDREW DEMETRIOU: Yeah, but again you've mentioned a word there which is ALLEGED assault. Why Port Adelaide chose to fine Peter Burgoyne for being out at night and being in an inappropriate place is a matter between Port Adelaide and the player. Again, I'm not privy to why they fine them, other than I know there was a $5,000 fine.
TICKY FULLERTON: Could it have been because he was associating with Adam Heuskes?
ANDREW DEMETRIOU: I don't know. Again, I'm not privy to that information.

ANDREW DEMETRIOU, AFL CHIEF EXECUTIVE: The Sydney Swans Football Club acted absolutely appropriately in coming forward to assure everyone and protect Michael O'Loughlin as an individual by saying that he wasn't involved in an alleged sexual assault. I see no issue with that, and whether they've taken a line out of the confidentiality agreement to protect Michael O'Loughlin, I think the Sydney Swans have acted appropriately.
TICKY FULLERTON: But as you say, the message seems to be that he wasn't involved in the alleged assault at all, and that is not what the woman has alleged.
ANDREW DEMETRIOU: Well, again, um...that matter was investigated.
TICKY FULLERTON: Jane's cousins are outraged at this message that O'Loughlin was not involved in the alleged assault.

The 'I know nothing' defence has worked well for the AFL in the past it seems.

 

[Big Time]

Unfortunately we need to ignore other codes and concentrate on cleaning up ours. There is a problem and thats all we should worry about. The more the AFL try and promote a clean image the worse they look when an incident occurs or is exposed (which it will). Those who live in glass house should not throw stones.

Cannot expect to clean things up fully, but the hope would be to minimise them. NRL appear to be doing a good job in education programmes and just need to continue along those lines.