Former NRL star and rugby league television personality Matthew Johns has been forced to respond to an allegation of sexual misconduct while he was a player with Cronulla seven years ago.
Several Sharks players were investigated for sexual assault and cleared by police during an away trip to New Zealand in 2002.
The woman at the centre of the allegations has spoken to ABC’s Four Corners program about the incident with the program to be aired Monday.
The woman says she had group sex with several Cronulla players at a Christchurch hotel and it had left her with psychological damage.
She told the ABC she felt degraded and was traumatised by the incident.
“I only remember one player definitely, it was Matthew Johns. He laughed and he joked and was very loud and boisterous,” she told Four Corners.
“Every time I looked up there would be more and more people in the room and there’s lots of guys in the room watching – maybe two or three were on the bed that were doing stuff to me,” she said.
Johns admitted involvement in the incident but said it was consensual.
“It happened seven years ago and caused great pain to my wife and family,” Johns told Nine.
“It took us a long time to get through it and it pains me that they have to go through it again.”
Johns, who is an employee of the Nine Network and the face of the NRL’s membership drive advertisement, will appear on the network tonight.
The allegations were initially raised in February 2002 by the woman, a staff member of the Racecourse Hotel in Riccarton, where the Sharks stayed before a pre-season match.
The woman had been socialising with the Sharks players, in Christchurch for a warm-up match against the Warriors.
After interviewing all 30 players and 12 officials who made the trip across the Tasman, New Zealand police decided not to lay any charges.
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May 8th 2009 @ 2:12pm
newton said | May 8th 2009 @ 2:12pm | Report comment
well the other point being that even if there was consent, and as some have pointed out, what the feck were they doing in the first place. idiots at best, criminal gang bang at worst. NRL own goals… again.
May 8th 2009 @ 2:56pm
Lazza said | May 8th 2009 @ 2:56pm | Report comment
The main problem is alcohol. Most of these incidents are ‘alcohol fueled’.
Why are these so called ‘professional’ sportsmen out clubbing and drinking during the season? Arsenal’s Nicolas Bedtner was the latest to feel the wrath of the media over there in the UK. Not because he mis-behaved or attacked anyone, it’s just not considered appropriate for a highly paid sportsmen to be out drinking during the season.
Bring in a bit of professionalism into the NRL and you’ll avoid a lot of these incidents.
May 8th 2009 @ 3:11pm
Pippinu said | May 8th 2009 @ 3:11pm | Report comment
Yeh, it probably all comes back to alcohol.
In the AFL it has taken literally decades to wind back that drinking culture (and even today, with only partial success).
But I know from personal experience it remains rife at most levels of the game.
May 8th 2009 @ 3:44pm
Art Sapphire said | May 8th 2009 @ 3:44pm | Report comment
The problem is not alcohol!
The problem is mens attitudes towards women.
In Johns case he was part of a bunch of misogynists who sought out to humiliate a woman.
The 19 year old might have given consent to sex. She was just to naive to realise that she was actually giving consent to her own degradation.
“Every time I looked up there would be more and more people in the room and there’s lots of guys in the room watching – maybe two or three were on the bed that were doing stuff to me,” she said.
The guys watching are just as guilty as the participants in this incident.
Like many of you, I have been drunk on many occsions, but I would never ever think of participating or even watching this type of abject behaviour. And I hope this applies to everyone else reading this.
And Lazza – please do not equate Bendtner exposing his backside at a nightclub to the pathetic actions Johns and his cavemen mates.
If anyone here can’t differentiate them, then you might have an attitude problem as well.
May 8th 2009 @ 3:56pm
Pippinu said | May 8th 2009 @ 3:56pm | Report comment
Take it easy Art – most of us here are speaking up against what most probably happened.
May 8th 2009 @ 4:08pm
Lazza said | May 8th 2009 @ 4:08pm | Report comment
Art,
Many of these guys have apalling attitutes toward women and aren’t too bright to begin with. Add alcohol to the mix and you are going to have problems. I stand by my point, professional sportsmen should not be out clubbing and drinking during the season.
May 8th 2009 @ 4:15pm
Art Sapphire said | May 8th 2009 @ 4:15pm | Report comment
Pip – this was not directed to the ones speaking up against it on this forum.
I was just naking my feelings known.
and its not a question of “what most probably happened”.
“Johns admitted involvement in the incident but said it was consensual.
“It happened seven years ago and caused great pain to my wife and family,” Johns told Nine.
“It took us a long time to get through it and it pains me that they have to go through it again.”
Even, he and his family have became victims of his then misogynistic attitude. Very sad all round.
May 8th 2009 @ 4:30pm
Pippinu said | May 8th 2009 @ 4:30pm | Report comment
Art
from where we are sitting, in the absence of anything being revealed via a court of law, it’s still a case of “what most probably happened” (and we have to be very careful to say anything more than that).
May 8th 2009 @ 4:40pm
matta said | May 8th 2009 @ 4:40pm | Report comment
It’s an amazing culture isn’t it?
The strangest part to me is his wife stayed with him….
Guilty or not, as a fringe NRL fan I can say, Matthew Johns is a pinup boy for everything thats wrong with the NRL…
Anand Antony “Typical ABC”..you mean the countries most balanced network that isn’t a commercial stakeholder in any sporting code?
Colin, dear dear Colin. “I do not quite understand is that if felt degraded and was traumatised by the incident surely the last thing would want to do is to relive the whole thing and relive it in public.” are you that judge that said there is no such thing as rape in marriage posting on The Roar?
May 8th 2009 @ 4:47pm
Art Sapphire said | May 8th 2009 @ 4:47pm | Report comment
Pip – this is not going to court. There is no disputing what happened.
Daily Terror wrote – The incident will be part of a Four Corners show on ABC TV on Monday which focuses on the misbehaviour of NRL players.Johns also addressed the allegations at the beginning of last night’s Footy Show.
“For me personally, it put my family through enormous anguish and embarrassment and for that I can’t say sorry enough.
“Police investigated the situation, the allegations and there were no charges laid.
Now do you understand Pip. She is not pressing charges. She just regrets giving consent to being humiliated.
Its just her way of getting some payback for the way she was treated by these cavemen and I don’t blame her.