Former Sharks employee Jenny Hall has aired further explosive allegations against embattled Sharks CEO Tony Zappia, claiming he threatened her with the sack if she told anyone about the incident in which he gave her a black eye.
Hall also gave her support to controversial claims from the earlier in the year that sex toys were distributed to players and their partners, and that the club had organised strippers to come into the changerooms.
Zappia stood down on Monday morning, following a report from the Seven Network that revealed secret recording of him offering to be spanked by Hall, the club's former Community Relations Officer.
The respected administrator's been given until Thursday to respond to the board regarding allegations, after Sharks directors held an emergency meeting.
Hall's latest claims, aired in a follow-up report by Seven, suggest Zappia tried to intimidate her into keeping quiet about the incident on August 9 last year, when he punched Hall in the face.
"How dare you tell anyone, you're not to tell a single soul if you want to keep your job," Zappia is alleged to have told Hall following the incident.
New South Wales premier Nathan Rees has even weighed into the scandal, urging the NRL to take whatever steps necessary to stamp out inadequate treatment of women.
"(The NRL) need to bite the bullet, and do the appropriate clean out in order to redress the culture," said Rees.
Zappia was reported in the News Limited press describing the situation as a set up, and that the recording may have been tampered with.
The Seven Network has since agreed to release the entire 27 minute recording to the Sharks board.
In a further blow to the Sharks' battered reputation, Hall backed claims the club has vehemently denied previously, about sex toys being distributed to players.
"They were handed out at training, and a lot of the girls were upset," said Hall, who admitted to never seeing the toys, but says she'd spoken with women who did and they were furious.
The NRL is yet to take any action over the latest Sharks scandal, but were scathing in their initial response when the story broke on Sunday night, all but recommending the club's board sack Zappia.
Hall was present on the day two scantily-clad women were shown into the club changerooms, that that Sharks officials subsequently claimed were beer promoters.
"Now I know why I'm not allowed in there, It's because I'm not a stripper
"I was then told to keep quiet, or I'll get myself in trouble.
Hall, who's been unemployed since leaving the Sharks last year, is happy to meet one-on-one with NRL boss David Gallop to detail the allegations.
"If David wants to talk to me I'm more than happy to talk to him," said Hall.
The 26-year-old says she has spoken out ion a bid to help affect a cultural change within the NRL.
"I only hope I can sort of contribute to that change and hope that no-one's every treated the way that I was treated," Hall said.
http://livenews.com.au/feature/form...ve-allegations-against-zappia/2009/6/8/209277
