Lockyer accused of lifting bar owner
Jamie Pandaram and Marissa Calligeros | September 18, 2008
A BRISBANE nightclub owner who claims he was tackled by Broncos skipper Darren Lockyer during a team drinking session two weeks ago believes there is a culture of fear among the city's business owners to publicly condemn players, claiming a string of incidents have gone unreported.
Casablanca Bar owner/operator Terry De Gunten described his extreme fear when he was lifted in the air after confronting Broncos players who had walked out of his establishment with unopened bottles of alcohol on Saturday, September 6.
The revelation comes amid a police investigation into claims of sexual assault involving a 24-year-old woman and three Broncos players last Saturday night. Karmichael Hunt, Darius Boyd and Sam Thaiday have spoken to police in connection with the allegation.
"When [Lockyer] tackled me I was in fear," De Gunten told the Herald last night. "I didn't want to act in an aggressive manner because I was surrounded by six or seven guys, so I just acted as if it was a joke and laughed and lay down so they'd leave me alone.
"They had reached behind the bar where there was a display bin with RTDs [pre-mixed drinks]. They threw cash behind the bar and walked out with eight bottles before the girl even had a chance to count the money. They walked onto the street with unopened bottles, which is against the liquor laws - we can be fined for that. So I went after them and that's when he tackled me."
The Broncos were celebrating their win over Newcastle the night before. De Gunten added this was not the first time his club had had trouble with Broncos players.
"A few years ago we had players throwing pizza all over our windows," he said. "We have been told by everyone that it is not worth raising issues with the Broncos because they are very well connected and it would not be worth it. It has always been a motto here in Brisbane - if you react against them, you could get yourself into trouble. The attitude is not to go against those guys."
The Casablanca club released security camera footage of the incident to media last night, although it is difficult to identify the men involved. De Gunten, however, was adamant the Australian captain was the man in the video shouldering his midsection and lifting him slightly off the ground.
"I didn't realise who it was straight away, I don't follow football, but afterwards I realised it was him," De Gunten said.
The Broncos refused to comment on the incident. Before the revelation came to light yesterday, Lockyer had fronted the media before a training session at Suncorp Stadium, denying reports he had raised concerns about his teammates' drinking habits.
The veteran did his best to deflect questions regarding the sexual-assault allegation, saying: "Am I disappointed in the players? I'm here to talk about footy guys."
But he did admit: "After things such as this happen, you have regrets. There's always a lesson to be learned. I'm sure there was. Obviously, it's a big story but at this stage they're innocent, so I'm not going to buy into talking about the whole issue."
Meanwhile, it has emerged that one of the Broncos trio interviewed by police in connection with the alleged sexual assault in the male toilets of a Fortitude Valley nightclub was evicted from two other premises in the hours after the alleged incident.
A staff member at the Normanby Hotel confirmed an intoxicated Boyd, a key member of the Broncos' back line, was asked to leave the premises just after 11.30pm on Saturday. An hour later, Boyd was also asked to leave the GPO nightclub in Fortitude Valley.
The Normanby Hotel staff member, who did not wish to be named, confirmed allegations made by fellow patrons that Boyd and another Broncos player had behaved in an unruly fashion in the taxi line outside the hotel.
"Yeah, they [Boyd and another Broncos player] were here on Saturday night … they did jump the queue and were really mucking up in the line and they did manage to get in [to the hotel], but they were kicked out pretty quick," the staff member said.
A GPO patron told brisbanetimes.com.au that at 12.30am, Boyd was removed from the premises because of drunkenness - despite the protests of Thaiday, who "was pleading with the security guard to let him stay".
GPO venue manager Dustin Osborn confirmed Boyd, Hunt, Thaiday and a fourth player were at the premises on Saturday night.
"We did knock back one of the boys from coming in, although the others still came in. I definitely saw one player refused entry … he was just too blind," Osborn said. "They were here for a while. No major incident involving the boys occurred on Saturday, but … one player may have been asked to leave."
:lol:
