The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) is considering stripping convicted rapist Jarryd Hayne of his individual accolades but will wait for the outcome of his appeal.
Key points:
- ARLC chief executive Peter V’landys says the commission has already discussed stripping Jarryd Hayne of his rugby league honours
- Former NRL gender adviser Catharine Lumby says the game needs to put out a statement of support for women who report sexual assault
- Former NRL player Tony Williams has had his contract with a North American Rugby League club terminated for his comments on social media
Hayne was found guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual assault and was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison at the Newcastle District Court on Thursday, before appealing against the terms today.
The fallen NRL star was once praised for his ability on the rugby league field, retiring as a two-time Dally M Player of the Year winner, three-time Brad Fittler medallist and Rookie of the Year in 2006, however, those individual honours could easily be taken away.
“Yes, there will be consideration given and the commission has already discussed it,” ARLC chief executive Peter V’landys told 2GB.
“It’s not hard to take them away but we don’t want to prejudice the legal process. We would like to see Jarryd exhaust his appeal process. Once he does that we’ll make a decision.
“Naturally, we will consult the Parramatta club that he played with, but I think it’s a bit early to be considering it.”
Aside from V’landys’s comments on 2GB, the ARLC are yet to release a formal statement following Hayne’s sentencing, but NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said the game should “judged by its actions”.
“We are the only sports code in Australia to introduce a No Fault Stand Down for players charged with serious crimes, particularly crimes against women,” Abdo said.
“Any player who is charged with an offence that carries 11 years or more is automatically stood down from playing on a no-fault basis until the matter is resolved by the courts. We are the only sport in Australia that takes action that strong.
“So it’s clear as a game that we have zero tolerance to any form of disrespect or abuse towards women.
“I want to stress, 99 per cent of our players do the right thing and are great role models in the community. I see some of the great work our players do — but we also accept there is a small group that don’t do the right thing and we are taking the strongest possible action in those cases.”
Former NRL gender adviser Professor Catharine Lumby says a “strong statement” from the ARLC would be an appropriate measure for the game.
“I would be saying that sexual assault is totally unacceptable, and that anyone who has sexually assaulted women will bear the consequences,” Professor Lumby told the ABC.
AAP: Darren Pateman
)“Let’s not forget that women watch this stuff closely. Women watch the game. Women are fans. Women have a big say in whether their daughters or sons play NRL.
“Sport is a very competitive field when it comes to branding. So I think that the NRL needs to be on the front foot showing leadership on this. And using this opportunity to say very clearly that we do not stand by any form of violence against women.”
Hayne spent his first night in prison last night and despite the verdict, some of his former teammates are still sticking by him.
Tony Williams and Krisnan Inu, who played with Hayne in his early days at Parramatta, have both taken to social media to express their thoughts on his rape conviction.
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Williams has since had his contract with a North American Rugby League club, New York Freedom, ripped up. He has been criticised for not listening to the victim who the jury believed.
Professor Lumby says their posts, which doubt a jury conviction after the jury had heard all the evidence, speak to this idea of “bros sticking together” culture that remains prevalent in society.
‘As a society, we’re having a reckoning’
Professor Lumby says that she has seen examples of the “Bro Code” thoughout sports.
“But also part of the problem in the NRL and in lots of male-dominated institutions, some of the quite elite, is the idea of bros sticking together and sticking up for each other.
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“It’s disgusting, frankly. And I think it’s totally out of line with the emerging community standards around sexual assault.
When asked, what message Hayne’s sentencing sent to other NRL players, Professor Lumby replied: “Don’t rape women. And if you do, the appropriate penalties will be applied.”
But despite believing firmly that justice must be served for sexual assault, she was still surprised by the outcome.
“Frankly, this conviction shocked me,” Professor Lumby told the ABC.
“Why did it shock me? Not because a footballer raped a woman, because women are sexually assaulted right across all walks of life in classes, it’s happening every day in this country.
“Why I’m shocked, is that less than 10 per cent of reported rapes result in a conviction, and 87 per cent of sexual assaults go unreported. There’s very good data on that.
“And as far as I know, and I could be wrong here, but as far as I know, he’s the first NRL footballer to be convicted of sexual assault. And we know from the newspapers, that there are allegations of sexual assault all the time, not just against NRL players, but against high-profile athletes.
“One of the big problems we have with women reporting rape is that they know that going through a trial is often like a second assault.
“And that is a direct result of the fact that in our community, we still have rape myth acceptance, which is the idea that unless someone’s jumped out from behind a bush, and left physical injuries, it’s not really rape, it’s ‘he said, she said’.
“There’s still victim blaming, there’s still a huge distrust of women who come forward.
