St Kilda coach Ross Lyon addresses his players at quarter time during the AFL Round 22 match between the Melbourne Demons and the St Kilda Saints at the MCG. Slattery Images
If there’s one thing we can take from the latest AFL – and St Kilda – sex scandal, it isn’t that players should no longer visit high schools, it isn’t that the Saints premiership chances are gone (again), and it isn’t that the game – or even the Saints – have widespread issues. No, the one thing we can take from it all is that players need to be more careful.
That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.
The media had a field day on the report that a schoolgirl had fallen pregnant after having sex with two Saints players she met at a high school footy clinic. Headlines screamed “sex storm”. Questions were immediately being asked.
The Age even jumped on that worrying trend of sports journalism that is scanning comments on BigFooty and “reporting” the most interesting.
By the end of the day, however, the AFL’s investigation into the matter managed to take a bit of the heat out of the story.
Among its conclusions were that the relationship between the “two young players” and the girl was consensual and started after a game in Sydney in Round 1, not the clinic; phone records and an interview with the girl independently confirm the statements made by the players; and Victoria Police interviewed the girl and will not be taking action.
“All available evidence indicates that the players had no contact with the young woman at an AFL Player Appearance at the student’s school, but met for the first time some week’s later after an AFL match following round one of the 2010 season,” an AFL statement said.
This basically debunked the footy clinic angle, which was seen by some as the most surprising and potentially damaging aspect of the story.
The other part of the story that should be stressed – and was clearly missed by some covering yesterday’s events – was that the initial report claimed the girl told the players she was 18 and working at the Australian Institute of Sport, and that her Facebook page said she was 19.
So, given contact apparently didn’t take place at the school visit, it is not unreasonable to suggest that the players weren’t even aware she was a schoolgirl.
Which puts the initial story about a footballer impregnating a schoolgirl into some perspective, doesn’t it? The headlines were always going to sound bad – how could they not? – but it is good that some light was shed on the situation for those willing to look beyond the line at the top of the story.
At the same time, however, the girl should not be forgotten because of the way things were reported.
The sad part of all this is a young girl is now pregnant. And whilst we can question why she was in Sydney or why there was such confusion over her age, it remains that a footballer is believed to be responsible.
Had the footballers been more careful, this part of the story would not have occurred, if there would be a story at all. In this day and age, where players are practically regarded as heroes, caution needs to be used.
Maybe that means the players should have been more careful when it came to contraception. Maybe that means they should have been more careful when it came to accepting the girl’s age, even if they had no reason for doubt.
Either way, there’s a lesson for all young footballers in the story, and it would be great if that was how the football world walked away from all this.
It probably won’t – the media love a good sex scandal – but with the AFL, St Kilda and Police all deciding to not take further action, there is hope.
Adrian Anderson declared it yesterday “a private issue between the parties.” St Kilda labelled it “a private matter.”
The unfortunate thing is, so far it’s been anything but.
Susie
Guest
I heard the same thing Mark... And I've seen both of them together, a numerous amount of times.
Phil L
Guest
Gross, the whole thing....well the fact that current and past players are now circulating her pic amonst themselves really says a lot about them....I have a low opinion of footballers in general and I think it's well founded.....I guess they certainly do show their colors eventually and with the passing around of this girls pic. their is I would imagine a lot of sniggering going on....or they are passing around a pic of the latest conquest......any which way u look at it they are a disgusting bunch. They should have kept it in their pants....or some of you are correct, wore protection....or maybe they were asleep during sex ed classes.....maybe the footy clubs should be teaching them about protection...anyway, the whole affair is sick.
Mark D
Guest
Have any of you thought that maybe she was dating one of them? Because i heard..... "Aparently" she slept with one of them in sydney and it was a fling but then when she got back to melbourne she started actually seeing the other player... ? theyd been in a relationship for a few months and then this came out ?
Paul J
Guest
ac I asked how the AFL manage to hide the players names from the media (not the drug users, we know they refuse to name them), and the AFL boys didn't answer it. I think it's fair to say no one on the Roar knows how they manage to do it. I'm sure the other codes would love to know how to keep the names out of the media, as i said earlier in this post, when you name names it is much more damaging for the image of the code. Anyways here is some light reading from i'm assuming a non Melbourne jurno. Reminds me of the NRL last year. http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/state-of-origin/bad-boys-in-afl-angels-in-nrl--and-saint-locky-20100528-wlfn.html
ac
Guest
Once again I repeat forgetting the circumstances how does the AFL get away with it. The NRL would have been front page headlines with this story in the media. The AFL controls the media so well.
Chris Scotts
Guest
Child abuse? A young woman consciously traveled hundreds of km to have legal and consensual sex with someone. If that is child abuse then I am Margret Thatcher. As for your comments - accusing someone of being a Child abuser and saying they should be imprisoned is about the most defamatory statement I have seen in a bloody long time. It's ok to not agree with someones morals (and from a moral perspective I am not a huge fan of one night stands) but to accuse them of a very serious crime is totally unacceptable.
Anne
Guest
Grow up LH, she was ADULT enough to seek these men out to have sex with them, then she is an adult. Are you so naive to think that women/girls like this don't lie to men about how old they are?, And as far as the football codes being bashed about on here, I am a Sydney sider who LOVES Rugby league & AFL equally....it is childish to argue about such things.
Greney
Guest
"I hope they go to prison for underage sex" She's 17. Under Australian legislation she's an adult.
Billo Boy
Guest
You mean like Melbourne's biggest sporting events? Cricket, tennis and horse racing?
LH
Guest
I am absolutely disgusted with these players and the culture in football that finds this acceptable. They are disgusting and should not be glorified and encouraged as role models. Scum.
Jim
Guest
Billo Boy, Thankfully people in this country can follow the indigenous code. We are not a european colony any more we can stand on our own two feet and play our own form of football. Maybe some people aren't as confident with there place in the world and seek to follow european sports to compensate.
Billo Boy
Guest
Let's end the week agreeing that AFL and its fans are the most insular sports fans on the planet. Anyone who disagrees with a member of the Cazaly brigade is immediately denigrated. Never mind that what Massoud said is self-evidently the truth.
Redb
Roar Guru
Josh Massoud LOL :-) The Masters apprentice.
Redb
Roar Guru
All 3 are. ;-)
Billo Boy
Guest
I heard this same question this morning on ABC radio in Sydney. They had Josh Massoud and Criag Norenbergs(?) on with the host. They said that the Melbourne media was too intimidated by the AFL and Aussie rules generally to ever risk speaking out. Simply it is just a very bad career move to portray AFL in a bad way if you want to keep working in AFL. Even the AFL reporters in NSW and Queensland don't seem to ever write in a negative way about AFL. They said on ABC that in Sydney that the NRL can't do that as the media would just threaten the NRL back by saying they would dump NRL and give their space to another code if the NRL threatened to cancel media passes and access to players etc. Everyone remembers how the AFL officials and players responded to Channel 7 trying to name the AFL players who tested positive to drugs. And wasn't there a SEN radio presenter who was sacked within one day because he made some assertion about the AFL?
ac
Guest
Of all the things i have read one point is very clear - How does the AFL stop the guys being named. If it was NRL they would be named and shamed. I take my hat off to the AFL for its sheer influence with the media in all these cases they are pretty powerful.
MattS
Guest
Listened to ABC radio a couple of nights back and some stupid reporter actually said to the effect "We cannot name the AFL St Kilda players but can tell you they came from rugby league states..." Amazing!
Anne
Guest
She got herself pregnant, because the silly little girl forgot that you can get birth control at ANY GP no questions asked. Oh but that wouldn't make for headlines now would it!....it's much easier to make a quick dollar for selling your story to the tabloids!! She LIED!!!....these young men are just human, if a girl/woman throws themselves at them, I am afraid it would be hard for any red blooded man with normal raging hormones to say no!. They are sportsman!!!...not the Pope!, and why isn't anyone trashing her?, she after all has NO morals, Hell she wasn't happy to sleep with 1 but 2 that we know about AFL players! where is HER moral compass in all this mess?...when does SHE become accountable for her trashy actions?. Everone is going on as if she is the victim!, the ONLY victim here is the poor little baby who is born to such a vindictive woman.
Karlos
Guest
No 4 Corners investigation here I bet. How many times has 4 corners investigated rugby league now and how many time Aussie Rules? Class warfare.
Karlos
Guest
They are named, shamed and sacked.