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If former AFL player-agent Ricky Nixon thought he’d be in the clear after today’s revelation that the schoolgirl at the heart of the affair had lied about their relationship, he needs to think again. The latest twist in the saga which just won’t go away has been met with widespread scepticism and with good reason.
There’s no doubt there has been a perception among the public that Nixon is guilty.
The latest twist has been met with suggestions of something strange going on behind the scenes, which just shows the degree of cynicism associated to this whole saga.
Nixon denies such goings on, naturally and vehemently, but public opinion won’t be swayed so easily.
This all comes about after the AFL Players’ Association (AFLPA) investigation into the scandal, led by senior QC David Galbally, found Nixon guilty of having had sex and done drugs with the 17-year-old.
And Nixon’s own actions since the story became public have been extremely evasive and suspicious, further fuelling the cynicism and scepticism about his legitimacy.
First there was his timely ‘business trip’ to Ireland not long after the story broke which enabled him to get out of the public eye and get his story together.
But then once back in Australia and given the chance to explain himself on Channel Seven’s Sunday program, which was by no means a timid interview, he completely failed in his attempts to reveal the ‘truth’.
The video footage of Nixon practically naked in a hotel room bed with the 17-year-old was extremely incriminating and this was his chance to explain himself. The story he provided – about not recalling the incident – had more holes in it than swiss cheese.
So now comes the revelation from the 17-year-old at the heart of the scandal that she was under the influence of drugs when giving her statement to the AFLPA investigation and had subsequently lied on the nature of her relationship with Nixon and his behaviour in that hotel room.
And all of a sudden, for the first time once in this whole saga, Nixon has got busy fast and spoken to a number of media outlets in the wake of the latest twist.
After all, this latest twist is favourable to him, so he needs to capitalise on it as he strives to restore his reputation. Nixon is already talking about legal action against the AFLPA, who he said didn’t even interview him during the investigation.
“I firmly have the AFLPA in my sights,” Nixon told Steve Price on MTR on Thursday morning. “This was an amateurish investigation at best.”
As ‘amateur’ as the investigation was in Nixon’s eyes, a pertinent point to remember is he had two weeks following the outcome of the inquiry to appeal.
He decided not to do so and you have to wonder if he sincerely felt the investigation had failed to find justice then surely that was his chance to explain the truth if he was innocent.
Now, following the 17-year-old’s revelation she had lied to the investigation, Nixon has a way out of this mess.
The AFLPA has said the investigation’s outcomes didn’t solely rely on the 17-year-old’s statement and that may or may not be true. However, from a public perspective, there’s a lot to arouse suspicion and scepticism in this whole case.
Nixon, during his busy morning talking to various radio and TV networks, told Triple M his lawyers said his case “looks very favourable” after this latest twist.
That may be so in a legal sense and he may have grounds to sue, but in the sense of restoring his reputation to be a player-agent/mentor once again, he’s got a long way to go to remove the scepticism and clear his name.
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