Greg Bird charged and released by Sharks

[Cletus]

For starters, Bird is ALREADY charged. Furthermore, it does not matter whether the victim wants to press charges or not, because of the severity of the crime (grievous bodily harm).

Sure but she's apparently the only person who can say what happened apart from Bird, so it will be hard to prosecute the case if she isn't co-operative.
I hope her family has come over to support her, she must be going through a lot right now.

 

[TITAN1]

" Violence against women. What they get for being f*cking stupid. "

Excellent work,champ.
Take you long to whip that up?

 

[The Gambler]

I bet you that Bird had the courtesy to finish the alcohol in the glass before he allegedly hit her so he didn't get it on the carpet.

 

[TITAN1]

Damn right!
You cant waste good bourbon...

 

[[furrycat]]

Lol bird will not be charged with lying to police or attempting to pervert the course of justice. Hes already on a big charge and theres no point in the cops doing extra paperwork for something that won't affect his sentence or GBH charge... it'll be pointed out in court, but hes not going to be charged for that

 

[[furrycat]]

Sure but she's apparently the only person who can say what happened apart from Bird, so it will be hard to prosecute the case if she isn't co-operative.
I hope her family has come over to support her, she must be going through a lot right now.

If there is enough evidence to suggest he did it, doesn't matter if she claims he didn't because of the severity of the offence. Crown V Brown defined in Australian law that you cannot submit to serious assault, and the police have the right to proceed with charges even if you say no.

 

[God-King Dean]

Excellent work,champ.
Take you long to whip that up?

3 days.

 

[myanonymoususername]

I highly doubt the sharks would sack him if he is found not guilty. I doubt the NRL would sack him either if it comes out his hands are "clean". I mean the NRL had stood by people who have had their name dragged through the mud with sexual assaults, physical assaults, the hoppa incident and other allegations. Why would they kick Bird out if the victim says it was a acident and does not want to press charges.

If it comes out Greg did not do it or it was a accident and she does not want to go through with it then I would assume Greg stays.

Now I could see him going overseas due to media pressure/allegations but I doubt the league or my club would tap him on the shoulder if he is not guilty.

I don't necessarily see the connection between the criminal proceedings and his employment status. I would hope most employers expect their employees to behave somewhere above criminal. Criminal behaviour is a baseline set by society - it is a low bar, it is not expected avoiding criminal prosecution is the standard to aspire to.

Even if the criminal case goes away for some reason, he's still open to civil action by his girlfriend (or parents quite possibly) - there is a lower standard of proof needed for civil action to proceed. Even if he avoids going to gaol, this is going to cost him hundreds of thousands.

Cronulla would be well within their rights to cut him loose based on damage to their reputation, sponsorship damage, bad character, etc etc. As would the NRL. These are separate to criminal matters.

Not to mention if the Cronulla coach and players had any decency they would refuse to have anything to do with a merkin who assaults women and tries to put his mate in deep sh*t to cover up for himself (all this allegedly of course). They should be the ones telling the club they don't want a bar of him.

 

[Cletus]

But they still have to prove who did it, which will be a lot harder if she doesn't provide a statement.

 

[TITAN1]

As an aside,how would the AVO work if one of the parties involved is his flatmate?
I guess one of them is moving out...

 

[spider]

afaik, it's now a criminal matter, and it doesn't matter whether she wants to drop the charges or not. Its now in the hands of the police. Even if she says it was an accident, then there is providing false information to the police, them saying someone else did it, going from that to "greg did it but it was an accident", surely won't go down well.

if she decides not to press charges, or provide a statement of such, they have no case

they have no witnesses

nothing but a woman saying it was an accident

would a judge sentence a person on that evidence

 

[TITAN1]

Sorry,but how do you accidently poke someone in the face with a glass?

 

[spider]

sorry, but how do you convict someone without evidence and that it was intentional

 

[TITAN1]

You misunderstood my question..how does a glass end up in someones face,from another person?

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0,27074,24246708-5016549,00.html

Greg Bird finished at Sharks

By Paul Kent Chief Sports Writer | August 26, 2008 12:00am

GREG Bird has played his last game at Cronulla. The outpouring of public anger after the Test five-eighth was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on his girlfriend has left the Sharks with no choice but to sack him.

Sponsors have contacted the club seeking answers about the incident, which has resulted in Bird being stood down indefinitely.

The Sharks' decision to sack Bird will put pressure on the NRL to deregister him and prevent him going to rival clubs, effectively ending his NRL career.

This could become irrelevant as Bird faces a possible jail term if convicted.

Sharks chief executive Tony Zappia was cautious last night given the pending legal action but confirmed there were community concerns.

"It is a very difficult decision based on Cronulla being such a close-knit community," he said. "(Terminating his contract) is certainly something that will be strongly considered."

Chairman Barry Pierce was also cautious about revealing the Sharks' intentions, but addressed the leagues club board on where the club stood.

"He is suspended indefinitely and, on legal advice, we can't do another thing," Pierce said. "I think it is the only thing we could do."

Pierce said Bird's future at the club would be decided after a board meeting and in consultation with Zappia and the coaching staff after the case had been legally resolved.

"That will be discussed when the time arrives," Pierce said.

"That will be discussed when the time arrives," Pierce said.

"We will look at it at the time and as a board, and take advice. Sorry, I can't say much more about it but that is where we are at."

It is clear Bird's position at the club is untenable.

The club was inundated with emails from fans, the reaction overwhelmingly in favour of sacking him.

The wider reaction from the rugby league community has been similar, a fact the Sharks are aware of.

Significantly, club sponsors are also concerned at the damaging publicity.

"They are pretty keen to see some action is taken," Zappia said.

"The club has a responsibilty to sponsors, supporters, management staff and the players.

"It is important that the values of society are upheld at every opportunity."

The Sharks have shifted skipper Paul Gallen to lock to replace Bird for Friday night's match against Wests Tigers, with Fraser Anderson moving to the forwards and Brett Kearney brought back to play fullback.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/new...fter-bird-drama/2008/08/26/1219516471444.html

Sponsors won't fly the coop after Bird drama

Brad Walter and Andrew Webster | August 27, 2008

CRONULLA'S sponsors have backed the club's handling of the Greg Bird affair as the parents of the American girlfriend he is alleged to have glassed flew out from the US to be by her bedside.

After learning on Monday morning that Bird had been charged with two counts of assault over the incident in his Cronulla unit that left Katie Milligan with a fractured eye socket, a number of concerned sponsors contacted the Sharks to ask how the club intended to deal with the situation.

The previous evening the club had issued a statement denying Bird was involved. But Cronulla chief executive Tony Zappia said the sponsors were satisfied by the club's decision to stand down Bird indefinitely from playing and training.

"That didn't have any influence on our decision but some of our sponsors were keen to know what stance the club was going to take," Zappia said. "I think they were satisfied by how we have handled it."

The Sharks held a scheduled board meeting last night at which directors were updated on the case but no further action is expected until after Bird's next appearance in court on October 8. The 24-year-old has been released on bail following the alleged incident.

However, coach Ricky Stuart and his players will attempt to escape the glare of the Sutherland Shire by relocating to the other side of the Harbour Bridge.

Zappia confirmed that Stuart has taken the extraordinary step of moving his side to a North Sydney hotel in preparation for Friday night's match against Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval.

Meanwhile, Rugby League Accredited Player Agent Committee operations manager Paul Osborne said no complaint had been made against Bird's manager, Gavin Orr.

Sutherland Local Court heard on Monday that Bird allegedly sent friend Brent Watson a text message while he was being interviewed by police that said: "My manager is helping us sort this sh*t out."

Orr has only been accredited since September last year and had been previously denied following the allegation he had forged the signature of Eels forward Fuifui Moimoi on a contract with the Melbourne Storm when the player was already signed to Parramatta. Osborne said: "We're watching the situation."

 

[Genius Freak]

Meh, if you read beyond the headline it says nothing new except that he's been stood down and that a sacking has been considered, and is not out of the question.


It's a filler article, which banks on the fact that 80% of people don't read newspaper articles past the first two lines.

 

[The Gambler]

Well this is huge considering he still claims innocence. What are the ramifications if he if the charges are dropped? Or he is found not-guilty?

 

[El Diablo]

looks like Kent's article is far from truthful re sponsors and sacking

you wouldn't expect the truth from news ltd though. it doesn't sell papers

 

[spider]

You misunderstood my question..how does a glass end up in someones face,from another person?

no, you misunderstood my point

if she declines to press charges or make a statement, then everything they have is circumstantial

how would they convict without her statement

imo, he is guilty, but thats not the point im debating here

i am attempting to look at this from a legal perspective - and the law sometimes works in mysterious ways, which it has to when protecting the innocent in other cases

imo, i think she will refrain from providing a statement which will cease any further action being taken against him