Stephen Milne charged with rape

Looking forward to hearing Sam Newman defend Stephen Milne on "The Footy Show" this evening. Surely, like the Essendon Football Club, nothing has been proven and this is mere speculation and a media beat up - get into them Sam! Don't let those nasty media types whip up a story that is totally unsubstantiated and an ugly attempt to simply sell more newspapers. Thank God for you Sam standing up for the simple folk!!!

OK he was stood down by his club so those excited fans who wanted instant justice can go somewhere else...

I grumbled about this as well! It's not even the first time this has happened in Aus sport this year. Cronulla's chairman was also far far away when the ASADA trouble sparked. It's football season, surely board members, CEOs and chairmen ought to be obliged to remain accessible during season!

But he's not free to play??

"If they had been more thorough in their investigations first time around" Well, according to the OPI, it was more "if there wasn't direct police malfeasance and interference in the investigation first time around"...

It's nice to see people appreciating this situation for what it truly is. A vehicle for cheap, tawdry point scoring.

Well Jacques, how many supporters have been killed watching soccer? Too many to count? How many players have been killed by deranged soccer fans? I think soccer can claim the title of Neanderthal sport :-D

I agree with your point, yet it is unfair to put Dayne Beams in that category. He was never accused, and charges were never laid, merely interviewed regarding an alleged crime. There is a very good article on theage called "in the company of men" that was written shortly after the incident happened that details your viewpoint very well though.

Yeah - who knows, a bunch of Fevola's like Carlton might even stand a chance of beating us for a change!

'Circling the wagons?!' Exactly who is doing this? Not just your paranoid imagination perhaps?

Do the AFL say they are clean or better than the NRL? I can't recall that ever occurring

***CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT*** - Milne suspended Saints president Greg Westaway: "The board acknowledges this is a most serious matter and one that is distressing to all the parties that are involved." "It also recognises that the extended timeframe of the matter and the complexities of the issues involved make it without precedent. "The board has resolved that in the best interests of all parties concerned, the duty of care that the club has to Stephen and his family, Stephen will remain a listed player, but will take a leave of absence from playing."

So you mentioned Beams, Heuskus (sic) and Lovett who have one thing in common as far as football goes - are you the AFL integrity unit watcher?? They were found not guilty...As you quite rightly say the odds are stacked against the girl (or assaulted male) in these cases but I raise the cop because his career was ruined even though found not guilty. The same could be said of the 3 AFL players to a lesser extent because as these posts show even if they are not guilty there is a wink wink nudge they got off because of the QC or she was paid off etc..I could have mentioned NRL players from the past but didn't so as not to revive peoples memories of innocent parties...eg ex Qld (SOO fullback).

Exocet, I don’t think that “every accusation is true” and have not indicated so, I do however, think that when charges are laid the police must have a good reason for doing so, they are not in the business of charging people where they believe a conviction is unlikely. You’re talking about accusations (which anyone can make) I’m talking about charges, which police base on evidence, in this case we are talking about 4 counts, 4. Whilst your one off case from 30 years ago, in a different state, under different law, is a handy anecdote, the point that I am making (and perhaps CK) is that convictions for this type of thing are stacked firmly in the favour of the defendant. A woman (or man) is entitled to have ‘casual’ sex with whomever they choose, provided they are of age, and both parties are consenting. I for one don’t see how drinking beforehand (which the woman in the Milne case claims not have), prior sexual partners, or an ‘appropriate reaction’ are ever used in defence, yet they seem to crop up time and time again (all three reasons in the Beams case, 2 in the Heuskus and at least two in the Lovett case) It’s highly unlikely that any woman would press charges ‘because they have nothing to lose’ because as I have pointed out earlier it is quite the opposite. The courts found all of those men innocent, does it change how we should view them if that innocence is based on a lack of evidence? Or an unreliable witness? The law tells us no. I only mentioned AFL because the man charged is an AFL player, but the point is relevant be it AFL, NRL or a street in Brunswick. Milne is of course entitled to the presumption of innocence, I stated that earlier.

Milne is 33, has been on the outer with the coach, and would be doubtful to play on next year. One would suspect his career is about over if he doesn't play this weekend...

I remember a woman 30 years ago in Sydney claimed rape after a policeman visited her about an unpaid fine - it turned the court found that the sex was consensual between them but the woman assumed the policeman would forget about the fine for the sex but when he didn't forget about the fine she cried rape. The woman's name was never published but the policeman's career was over. The woman was at the stage where she had nothing to lose so gambled everything and lost but not as heavily as the policeman. By your email you assume that every rape accusation is true - unfortunately not but high profile anyone should know better than to have casual sex for a lot of reasons...but hell they are risk takers ...The 3 you mentioned were not found guilty so that is what the law says I note also you only mentioned AFL players and not NRL players (Coffs, Christchurch etc) or rock stars ...

You are correct CK as has been seen time and time again, the defendants are able to pay big $$$ for top lawyers and the alleged victim is inevitably dismissed as unreliable. Doubt is placed on the alleged victim as usually alcohol or drugs have played a part, the alleged victim is portrayed as ‘promiscuous’ and often the alleged victim is not deemed to have acted in a way that the judge/jury believe is fitting of a victim and finally as you say, it’s his word against hers. We saw it with Dayne Beams, Adam Hueskes, Andrew Lovitt and many many others. It’s no wonder more victims do not come forward, who’d want to deal with a decade of this hanging over you, the wrath of the AFL, potential financial bankrupy and the inevitable shame association.

Champ, in Australia you are innocent until proven guilty. The liklihood of a guilty verdict is very low given Victoria's history of cases of this sort. It is essentially one person's word against anothers. Then you factor in who the defense team loads the jury with. Hypothetically, all males, St. Kilda supporters say. You can do that in our justice system. Then you have the top QC in the state defending Milne against a cop prosecutor with 10 year old evidence. You do the math. It will more than likely end the player's career and put a stain on him for life at worst.

AFL still managing to churn out a scandal per week on average. Socceroos still are the biggest story of the week. This Milne stuff is old news. Can you get odds at one of the on line totes on the verdict?

Reading about this story today I noticed that when important decisions had to be made CEO Mike Nettlefold had to be contacted by phone - as he was on holidays in Italy !!! Surely the CEO of an AFL club could/should take holidays in the off season ??? - go you saints . . ... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...