Matthew Johns sex scandal in 2002

[El Diablo]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25491151-421,00.html

Former Sharks player Daniel Ninness admits role in Matthew Johns group sex incident

The Daily Telegraph

May 16, 2009 12:01am

TWO more players have emerged in the Sharks group sex scandal, with former player Daniel Ninness revealing he went home with the woman after the incident but at no stage had sex with her.

"We were gathered as a team in an establishment in Christchurch. After we left the establishment I returned to my motel," he said.

"I saw a light on in one of my fellow player's rooms and went to see them. I entered the room. I saw the woman in question in the room. I did not see any sexual acts.

"I left the room. We were gathered outside the room and chatting. The woman who was in the hotel room approached me and invited me back to her home. She drove me to her home.

"I did not have sex with this woman. After a short period of time, the woman drove me back to the motel."

Ninness, who now plays for Helensburgh in the Illawarra competition, never played first grade in the NRL but was a promising junior, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Ninness was close friends at the time with former halfback Brett Firman, who along with Johns has been identified as having sex with the then 19-year-old woman.

The Nine Network last night named a second player who the woman reportedly rejected in favour of requesting a "second turn" with Johns, which Johns said he declined.

The player, who now plays in England, was reportedly the butt of jokes by Sharks players in the week following the sordid hotel incident.

Ex-workmates at the Racecourse Hotel, where the woman worked, have said the teenager boasted of having sex with two local rugby players in the toilets of a nightclub the night before she met with the Cronulla players.

Former Racecourse hotel owner John Butterfield said she "gloated to staff about the great night she had and how she got them into the men's toilets and had a bit of fun with them."

He said the woman spoke for four days about the night she had with members of the Cronulla team.

"She just did nothing but tell all the staff about the great night she had and to put it crudely, had the whole team in bed with her," Mr Butterfield said.

The family of the girl reportedly learned of her involvement for the first time yesterday after being contacted by the Nine network.

Paul Gallen had also walked into the room after numerous players had had sex with the woman but did not take part himself.

Preston Campbell, who was on tour with the Cronulla Sharks during the now infamous tour, said he was not in the room when the sex took place. He said he did not believe players coming forward would help the situation.

 

[El Diablo]

The family of the girl reportedly learned of her involvement for the first time yesterday after being contacted by the Nine network.

so she has been traumatised by this for 7 years and her family have only just found out :?

 

[Kiki]

I saw a light on in one of my fellow player's rooms and went to see them. I entered the room

hahahahahaa...yeh right.

 

[deluded pom?]

Niness went back to her house and nothing happened! Yeah right. He must be the sensitive type.

 

[Non Terminator]

Worth a shot. :lol:

 

[8Ball]

Matthew Johns support group on Facebook has over 95000 members. Even Jaquelin Magnay has said in a audio link on smh website the the pendulum of support is swinging towards Matty. I'm surprised that Ch7 has actually put on the story regarding the latest claims about sex with union players earlier.

In the world we live in today, there is little difference between men and women with regards to empowerment. The fight has been ongoing over several decades now to empower women to make decisions and express their sexuality as they see fit without fear. And now we've finally arrived at that point, where women feel confident and empowered enough to make their own decision to engage in group sex, and suddenly the consensus from the moral crusaders is that women are incapable of making that decision. Apparently, the men should know better. In this day and age, we should each be responsible for our own decisions, regardless of whether you're male of female.

If a women engages in group sex to satisfy a fantasy, and enjoys it to the point that she's looking forward to the next time, is it still degrading to the woman? Or is it a sign that feminism has kicked a goal.

WHAT?! Responsibility of one's actions regardless of gender? Don't be silly.

I wonder what the response would have been if that woman was a 19 year old male. Would there have been the same amount of moral outrage? The double standards sicken me. I'm a 21 year old male and if I make a mistake I sure as hell would expect to be held accountable for my actions.

Hell, if i agreed to be humiliated by a dominatrix, and regretted it later, would I expect the woman to be accountable? f**k no.

I realize that last scenario sounded in jest, but I thought it highlighted the point nicely.

Interestingly most women on that matt johns support group you mentioned believe the woman was at least partially at fault for putting herself in such a position. Makes me have some faith in the world.

*Awaits feminist flaming*

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/lhqnews/exshark-denies-any-role-in-scandal/2009/05/15/1242335881322.html

Ex-Shark gives his version of events

Jacquelin Magnay | May 16, 2009

FORMER Cronulla prop Daniel Ninness has come forward and made claims that raise fresh doubts about the degree of initial distress suffered by "Clare", the woman at the centre of the Christchurch affair.

Ninness, 27, said the woman involved approached him and invited him back to her home late on the night in question in 2002.

He said the approach happened after Four Corners claimed at least 12 players and staff entered the hotel room, with six of them having sex with Clare. Ninness said he went back with the woman to her house but he did not have sex with her.

Matthew Johns has been stood down indefinitely from Channel Nine and the Melbourne Storm after being named as being involved in the earlier incident at the hotel. In a signed and written statement of events sent to major news outlets from a Glebe Officeworks store, Ninness said: "I was present towards the end of the evening on the matter under discussion seven years ago.

"I did not see any of the events said to have occurred and did not participate in any of the events said to have occurred."

Ninness said he became aware the media was preparing to name him and he wanted to get the correct information out to all media outlets at once.

He did not provide contact details to verify the accuracy of the release. "We were gathered as a team in an establishment in Christchurch. After we left the establishment, I returned to my motel," he said.

"I saw a light on in one of my fellow players' rooms and went to see them. I entered the room, there were several other players in the room. I saw the woman in question in the room. I did not see any sexual acts taking place, I left the room. We were gathered outside the room and chatting.

"The woman who was in the hotel room approached me and invited me back to her home. She drove me to her home. I did not have sex with this woman. After a short period of time, the woman drove me back to the motel."

Ninness said he didn't want to make any further comment and threatened legal action if his name was associated with any defamatory imputations.

"I stopped pursuing my professional rugby league career in 2005 in order to pursue another career outside of football, and I value my personal privacy and life out of the public eye," he said.

Another former Cronulla player, Preston Campbell, now with the Titans, told reporters on the Gold Coast he could see no benefit in having others coming forward.

"I don't think so. I don't think it is going to help the matter at all," Campbell said.

"Whether it is going to help Matty at all, I don't know. It is totally up to them to come forward.

"But I am not sure whether they have to."

Meanwhile, Brisbane Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen said clubs had to adopt a transparent culture to satisfy community expectations about the behaviour of players.

In a swift move to help counter the backlash against rugby league players, and with nervous sponsors across the code, clubs are looking at ways to enhance their community profile.

Cullen told the Herald that the practice of standing a player aside for a relatively minor misdemeanour and then publicly - and falsely - declaring that that player had a hamstring injury, was now firmly cast aside at the Brisbane club.

He said clubs had to be more open to fans about player misbehaviour and the sanctions that are then applied. He said the clubs have to be credible. "We no longer give out the excuse of a hamstring injury, when in reality the player has been reprimanded and stood down," Cullen said.

He said if he was in the situation of Cronulla-Sutherland chairman Barry Pierce - who is under increasing pressure to identify the players who were in the hotel room in Christchurch - he would name names.

"I would … but only if I was satisfied that the names were correct," Cullen said. "This is a new era."

 

[herbert henry1908]

Public support grows for Johns
By Todd Balym
May 15, 2009
Matthew Johns's supporters hope public opinion will allow him to follow his younger brother Andrew's path back into a career on television.

Less than 48 hours after Johns's emotional interview on A Current Affair and apology for his role in a sex scandal in 2002, there was hope the 37-year-old could return to normal life sooner rather than later with public support growing for the former Test star.
League legend Andrew Johns rebuilt his post-footy career after making a stunning and emotional admission to recreational drug use on The Footy Show in mid-2007.
By the start of the 2008, Andrew had resumed his commentary duties with the Nine Network and remains one of the game's most respected expert commentators.
Until Matthew gave his version of events and apology on television on Wednesday night, public support had been heavily against the 37-year-old.
But now opinion appears split, or slightly in his favour, with website polls showing strong support for Johns.
John Fordham, who manages both Andrew and Matthew Johns, says his company and Channel Nine have received overwhelming support for Matthew to return to television.
"I think the first steps in terms of him and his family being able to get on with their life positively are there,'' Fordham said.
"But it's not over and it hasn't really started yet, but there are some very positive signs there. I think the ultimate goal is to restore his credibility.''
Fordham said the only similarity between the two brothers' situations was that both had decided to deal with the matter head on, openly and quickly.
"I've always believed that the correct way to attend to these matters is to get them out there into the public arena as quickly as possible.''
Fordham said statements from former colleagues of the New Zealand woman, who claim she woman boasted of the sexual encounter, supported the account of events provided by Johns.
Fordham said his office has had less than one per-cent negative emails from over 500 and has been told Channel Nine has received over 90 per-cent support for Johns from thousands of viewers.
Network website Facebook is filled with groups set up to support Johns - with in excess of 115,000 people joining pro-Johns groups and just 713 people registered against him.
"I'm told that the approval rate for Matt Johns is somewhere in the very high 90s. I got told by Nine it was above 90 per cent and you're talking thousands of people,'' said Fordham.
"The majority of these emails are saying, get him back on television.
''(But) he needed to have a break, not only from Nine but from all the other interests he had.''

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/print/0,22451,25489664-23214,00.html

 

[MsStorm]

*high five* You, me and Shorty, the three evil wenches of LU. :roll:
Meanwhile many other females on this board have become suddenly silent. Hrrmm. Disappointing.


Amen. I have no idea what's going on anymore and it's doing my head in!

I haven't made any comments on this whole saga except one small post on the Melbourne Storm forum.
When I initially saw the 4 corners program my heart went out to the girl, but something about that program didn't sit right with me...
I had a gut feeling that more news would come to light about this whole story, and my feelings were correct. I wanted to sit back and wait to see what unfolded before making judgement.

What those sharks players did to that girl was disgusting, but I can also see that there are some girls out there that enjoy chasing footy players and have sex with them...some like to brag about, lie about it and cheat the system and cry *rape*...

 

[8Ball]

What those sharks players did to that girl was disgusting, but I can also see that there are some girls out there that enjoy chasing footy players and have sex with them...some like to brag about, lie about it and cheat the system and cry *rape*...

Disgusting for some, but if it was entirely consensual(and that seems to be the case here) then it is not for us to comment on.

Matt Johns has one thing to answer for, and thats in committing the ultimate act of disrespect to his wife.

 

[herbert henry1908]

I haven't made any comments on this whole saga except one small post on the Melbourne Storm forum.
When I initially saw the 4 corners program my heart went out to the girl, but something about that program didn't sit right with me...
I had a gut feeling that more news would come to light about this whole story, and my feelings were correct. I wanted to sit back and wait to see what unfolded before making judgement.

What those sharks players did to that girl was disgusting, but I can also see that there are some girls out there that enjoy chasing footy players and have sex with them...some like to brag about, lie about it and cheat the system and cry *rape*...

what did they do to her exaclty?

 

[MsStorm]

Disgusting for some, but if it was entirely consensual(and that seems to be the case here) then it is not for us to comment on.

Matt Johns has one thing to answer for, and thats in committing the ultimate act of disrespect to his wife.

You have answered your own question IF it was all consensual. Only that girl and the sharks players really know.

I really feel for Matty's wife and other wives/partners of the other sharks players.

I also feel for Matty being put thru the wringer for something that happened 7 years ago.

 

[8Ball]

You have answered your own question IF it was all consensual. Only that girl and the sharks players really know.

Well, obviously.....

But as more and more people come forward, the girl's story seems to become less and less credible.

And like all people, Matt Johns deserves a fair trial, even if the girl claimed it wasn't all consensual.

 

[MsStorm]

Well, obviously.....

But as more and more people come forward, the girl's story seems to become less and less credible.

Most definitely, but some of those guys might have stepped over the boundary line at the time...and I do think that happened....

 

[The Tank]

According the DT it's "the most explosive event to have ever rocked rugby league"

 

[Follow Me Up To Carlton]

According the DT it's "the most explosive event to have ever rocked rugby league"

Pfft not a patch on Oasis.

F the Daily Telegraph.

 

[deluded pom?]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/print/0,22451,25489664-23214,00.html

There's also a story in the 'papers about plenty of people pledging to march in support of Johns but only one family and their neighbour turned up. Just trying to say that there's two sides to every coin.

 

[Patorick]

According the DT it's "the most explosive event to have ever rocked rugby league"

 

[Satsok]

Apparently "Clare" didn't know about the interchange rule.

 

[Dr Crane]

Apparently "Clare" didn't know about the interchange rule.

do you really think that you're the cleverest person on the forum and that nobody else may have posted this before? really?