“There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil.”
Walter Lippmann
It is a sad indictment of the Australian media when a member of the public feels obliged to contribute to the news cycle through an article of their own in a desperate attempt to inject balance into the public domain.
The Kirisome Auva’a case has ignited accusations against the NRL of cover-up and ambivalence toward domestic violence. Such a perception has been crafted not by meticulous facts and balance of reporting, but by their absence.
It is only through these fundamental qualities that the Fourth Estate separates itself from the unacquainted voices of the masses, voices upon which are consequently formed by and reliant on this same institution perceived to be legitimate.
It is in the spirit of this foundation that I will attempt to present a series of facts upon which others may judge to form an unadulterated conclusion on the week’s events.
On the 28th of May 2014 Kirisome Auva’a pleaded guilty in a Victorian court to charges of Recklessly Cause Injury and Criminal Damage (Intent Damage/Destroy) for an incident which occurred in January of this year. The player informed his club, South Sydney, of the incident on the 18th of January and the club subsequently fined him $2000 and suspended him from training for one week.
The Rabbitohs issued a press release on the 28th of May to confirm Auva’a’s guilty plea and state that the court proceeding had been adjourned by the magistrate for six months until November 7, during which time Auva’a would be compelled to follow the court’s instructions.
This was not made in secret and including South Sydney’s press release, was widely reported at the time of the plea.
It is now important to note the NRL’s obligations enshrined in the NRL Code of Conduct relating to Criminal Proceedings.
Rule 46, sub-Rule (1) states “(w)here the breach of a provision of this Code involving a Player or a Club has occurred, and the conduct constituting that breach is the subject of a investigation or criminal proceeding, the Chief Executive Officer shall not against that Player or Club Official pursuant to Part 2 of the NRL Rules until the conclusion of that investigation or proceeding, as the case may be, unless the Chief Executive Officer forms the view, in his absolute discretion, that it is appropriate to do so.”
Rule 46 continues in sub-Rule (2) which states “(t)o remove any doubt: The purpose of sub-Rule (1) is to ensure, so far as possible, that any criminal proceedings against a Player or Club Official are taken and concluded before proceedings for the breach of a provision of this Code are commenced.”
The NRL is bound not to intervene with a penalty under the Code of Conduct while a player is the subject of a open court proceeding, as was the case with Kirisome Auva’a. Auva’a despite pleading guilty on May 28, had his court proceeding adjourned until Friday November 7.
While the code does allow for discretion from the NRL CEO to sanction a player before a court proceeding has concluded, it would be inappropriate in a case such as Auva’a’s where the NRL does not have access to court documents to determine an adequate penalty based on the crime Auva’a had pleaded guilty to.
Such ambiguity in detail would leave the NRL open to future accusations of being either too lenient or too harsh once sentencing has concluded and full details of the case are disclosed to the NRL.
A preemptive penalty by the NRL also has the potential to prejudice the sentencing process. These enshrined rules within the NRL Code of Conduct are designed to protect both the NRL and the players and is a crucial element in any serious evaluation of the appropriateness of the NRL’s response to a player found guilty of domestic violence.
With the court proceedings now concluded, and the NRL free to pursue a penalty against Auva’a, the NRL have been accused of playing catch-up.
However, any examination of the sequence of events since Friday’s sentencing concluded suggests, rather than being provoked into action by the media, the NRL were already anticipating a penalty by arranging discussions with South Sydney to consult on a sanction.
As reported by the Daily Telegraph’s James Hooper on the eighth of November, the day after court proceedings had finalised, “(t)he NRL wants to meet South Sydney officials to discuss further sanctions, with the governing body to consider suspending Auva’a from matches next season and issuing a further fine.”
Clearly it is a statement at odds with reporting from the Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield in the days that followed, which accused the NRL of ignoring domestic violence and insinuating a cover-up.
This article was only intended to bring balance and detail to a story that has severely lacked it. It is up to the public to come to their own conclusions based on the entirety of the facts, do they want expediency or do they want due process.
The reporting on the case has highlighted a demise of journalistic ethics in some corners at a time when the fragmentation of information sources is greater than ever before, The Roar is but only one example.
Perceived legitimacy is the market advantage of the traditional print media in a highly competitive online market for news and information.
However, if the public is to continue to view Australia’s traditional print media as legitimate in the future it has to be able to trust what they are reading is balanced, truthful and accurate. Anything short of that and it is the end of a once great institution.
bossman
Guest
Brett Stewart was innocent from the start and got dragged through the mud. Auva admitted guilt, entirely different.
Chris Love
Guest
The NRL handled this absolutely well. I am sure no one wants to see another Brett Stewart style handling of something like this do they?
Joel
Roar Rookie
In any case, and whatever the reason or the outcome, the player assaulted a female and was charged for it. The NRL have been screaming from the roof tops that violence against women is numero uno in the black book of players off field behavior. Maybe the NRL should review its policy of waiting until the matter is finalized, especially in circumstances where the player has pleaded guilty to the offense. Zero tolerance needs to be exactly that. 70 women per year are killed in Australia as a result of domestic violence. Take a second and let that number sink in... Just under half a million Australian women reported that they had experienced physical or sexual violence or sexual assault in the past 12 months. Personally, I don't care about the courts decisions. Players who want to raise their hands to a woman should be deleted from the game. They are supposed to be role models, someone that your kids can look up to and idolize. Allowing a player to play the whole season and win a grand final with charges for domestic violence hanging over his head is a complete lack of common sense and decency from the NRL and is insulting to the victim. You cannot possibly try and defend the NRL without advocating that they did the right thing. They did not. The player pleaded guilty, and admitted his sins to the club. He should have been banned from that moment without having to wait until the end of the season to see the court outcomes.
Casper
Guest
so it's all her fault 3 Hats, you really do set the bar pretty low for our NRL role models. People like you with that attitude just reinforce the stereotype that the victim somehow deserved it and that's a disgrace. What I would like to see is the legal system putting a stop to these cases where sporting participants conveniently get their proceedings deferred or held over until the end of a season so they can meet their playing commitments before facing the music. Over the past few years we've seen plenty of sporting miscreants having their legal teams obtaining a continuance or adjournment until the player's priorities (e.g. playing finals etc.) have been met. Can't see why the NRL didn't act on a guilty plea or did he conveniently reserve his plea until after the end of the season. Reckon a full season suspension would be a fitting penalty, not like he's a clean-skin. Bit too much wife bashing going on in this world & if the NRL has to set the bar higher for their players, so be it.
Wayne
Guest
Thank you for writing this article, I unfortunately read rothfield's article, and was left furious for the experience. For all the rights and freedoms that print media claim, and scream blue murder to uphold, one condition should always be objectivity. Unfortunately parts of today's media lack ethics and hide behind thinly veiled fronts to push agendas. When Dave Smith became CEO the media ran our game and were running it into the ground, rule changes were being made because of biased outrage over origin losses. When he took some of that power back the fat cats at the Telegraph were highly offended. Attacking Dave Smith and accusing him of supporting domestic violence was an abhorrent abuse of position, and and insult to the intelligence of NRL supporters.
3 Hats
Guest
Presentation of all the facts? I would like to remind ALL of you negative and hysterical pundits out there that, There was NO conviction recorded against Auva'a. Yes he pleaded guilty but my research leads me to believe that although Auva'a did do the wrong thing the actual incident was provoked by the women, his Ex! This by no means excuses Kirosome for his actions, but it did lead to a moment of madness on his part!
Margaret
Guest
Perhaps it will shut the Tele up for a few months...
Realist 1975
Guest
Well said. Need to know the full story before commenting. Upon reading the court decision in its entirety one can then more accurately determine what truly happened and in full context.
Storm Boy
Guest
But today the Telegraph has been rewarded by getting the scoop out of the NRL on the RD1 games in 2015. Which also works against today supposed to be the final of the 4Ns. What is going on.
Johnk
Guest
Yep totally agree
Spider rabbit
Guest
Completely agree, News LTD = Limited news. Agenda pushing, biased, opinionated, lies and innuendo Not a decent journalist amongst any of them. It's all about getting exclusives even if it means implying false information if not down right lies. Has absolutely no resemblance to the truth. Murdoch owns almost 80% of the media in Australia and he uses it to influence people's opinions. I wonder just how far Slothfields muckraking will extend when it comes to Barba and his domestic abuse.
Spider rabbit
Guest
Yes you have just about nailed the NRL and Souths actions and summed up that appalling opinion writer Rothfield and his say anything to sell a newspaper attitude. I do think the NRL handled it correctly, I think they got the punishment somewhat wrong. A couple of things that should be said just to make things clear, because a person pleads guilty a court can still find that person not guilty and in this case No conviction was recorded which would suggest the courts have determined that the incident was on the minor side and did have significant mitigating circumstances. As no one has actually revealed the entirety of the evidence before the courts publicly then all reference to what he did or didn't do is nothing short of ignorant BS. I have read such assertions as violently throwing her against a garage door to bashing her senseless to beating her up until she is left bleeding and bruised all of which is nonsense until you read the evidence and actually get the truth. I would also like to point out that a lot of the opinions about Auva have been disguised by some moral outrage about the violence against women which of course is wrong but there are a significant amount of people who really couldn't care less about the victim and see it as a opportunity to do some Souths bashing of their own. Also I would like to point out that Rothfield has been rather hypocritically quiet about the signing of Barba to Cronulla. I so look forward to a slow sports day so we can get to read Rothfields greatest 50 NRL mistakes or another enlightening article about Rothfields best players of all time. Perhaps he could do one on Rothfields greatest attempts at being a significant journalist but ending up being made to look a fool.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Everyone can blame the telegraph all they like but this bloke abused a woman, was found guilty and has been stood down for the best part of a year. Good. The NRL are 100% correct in their actions and punishment of this one.
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
A combination of slow news and Rothfield taking some heat off his boyfriend.
Parrafan
Guest
He plead guilty Kiwi. Every contract that an nrl player signs has a code of conduct. If players break this code of conduct they are liable to a penalty from the NRL. MAny companies have the same clauses written in employee contracts. So the NRL would have a legal right to impose the penalty they have. If you're looking for victimisation look at Auva'a partner. She will be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life. She will likely have major trust issues, and why wouldn't you when the person you loved and trusted belted you and tore up your house.
Storm Boy
Guest
I'm confused. The Telegraph says it has now shamed the NRL into acting against domestic violence and the NRL should have acted after he pleaded guilty. That was on the 28th of May 2014. So why did it take until after the November sentencing for the Telegraph to speak out? If the Telegraph was so outraged to act why didn't it speak out against the NRL at the end of May? Why was the Telegraph silent for five months?
Cadfael
Roar Guru
I agree. Had he pleaded not guilty, then fair enough to hold off until the trial verdict is in but he admitted he did it at the court hearing. Consider the number of others who have all been suspended or fined by the NRL BEFORE their court case was completed.
Margaret
Guest
Sean from NRL Central but the Telegraph wont let go till it is assured that their brisbane Broncos retain a monopoly on the Brisbane market. You live with the devil and take their money and then expect to get off scot free afterwards...Fool's paradise. meantime the NRL slip in the fact that Shane hayne is appointed coach of referees where no position existed before undoubtedly to shut him up on his past crimes..What will Channel Nine do now for a close game???
db swannie
Guest
Excellent article. Slothfield & News Ltd have an agenda . Any one who reads their rabid BS has just partially lobotomised themselves.
John Ryan
Guest
If you believe anything published by NEWS LTD & purportedly written by either Rothfield,that other Gossip columnist Weidler who dribbles in the SMH you need your head read.