Past #26: Tarryn Thomas [Part II] - will honor his contract and play on at NMFC in 2024, so says the reality TV manager

[Dan]

In your opinion.

Stop trying to put your opinion across as fact.

Get your hand off it unless it’s just for a crank and a little self pleasure.

What an odd response.

R U ok?

 

[Outtatym]

Wtf did we do to the footy gods anyway

Sacked Boomer. Feels like it's been down hill since

 

[DarkPhoenix]

‘You can tell someone to be nice until they’re blue in the face’: AFL urged to act tougher on players​

A sexual and family violence advocacy group says the AFL needs to impose tougher consequences on players facing abuse allegations.


less than 2 min read
February 2, 2023 - 3:09PM

The AFL’s education initiatives are excellent but it has to introduce harsher penalties for players facing serious allegations, a sexual and family violence advocacy group says.
Full Stop Australia chief executive Hayley Foster said her organisation wanted to work with the AFL to help the league “send a strong message” to players that abusive and violent behaviour would not be tolerated.
It comes after North Melbourne’s Tarryn Thomas was stood down on Wednesday night after the AFL’s integrity unit notified the club of a fresh allegation of inappropriate behaviour against him.
In an earlier statement, the Kangaroos did not commit to any disciplinary action against Thomas despite reports of a series of allegations that he had harassed and threatened women.

North Melbourne said Tarryn Thomas would be taking time away from the club following a fresh allegation of inappropriate behaviour. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Ms Foster said the mixed messaging from the club and league amid the allegations showed the need for the AFL to put clearer measures and processes in place.
“You need to be accountable and address these issues in a really consistent way,” Ms Foster said.
“I think that’s what the wider community would expect when you’re dealing with serious allegations like these.
“If a court has mentioned the matter and there’s enough evidence to lead to a trial, there should be a first step to stand someone down.”

Full Stop Australia chief executive Hayley Foster said the AFL needed to introduce consistent ramifications for players facing serious allegations in court. Picture: Richard Dobson

The league’s education programs for players were a positive, but consequences needed to be made clear for poor behaviour towards women, Ms Foster said.
“You can tell someone to be nice until they’re blue in the face, but if there’s no impetus to stop this behaviour, then it will keep happening,” she said.
“As hard as it is to hear, people use this kind of behaviour to have their needs met.
“You need to make it clear that it’s not going to work out for them if they continue because we’re all human, we have self-interest at heart and that influences our decisions.”
Thomas is undergoing club mandated respectful behaviour training and an education program to address what North Melbourne called his “behavioural issues”.
He has also made a commitment to co-operate fully in any AFL or police investigation.

While I agree with most of what she's said.

The people TT allegedly said and did things to went to the AFL not the Police. There was no "court mentioning" the matter with "enough evidence to lead to a trial".

So by that standard, the club not immediately standing him down was the correct thing to do... but she's saying he should have been?

It can't be both.

 

[Le Grille]

Moulding us into something greater and sterner through great trials.

Oh **** that

 

[gokangas]

While I agree with most of what she's said.

The people TT allegedly said and did things to went to the AFL not the Police. There was no "court mentioning" the matter with "enough evidence to lead to a trial".

So by that standard, the club not immediately standing him down was the correct thing to do... but she's saying he should have been?

It can't be both.

Not all - thats not correct.

 

[gustaaf]

Full Stop Australia chief executive Hayley Foster said that "if a court has mentioned the matter and there’s enough evidence to lead to a trial, there should be a first step to stand someone down.”
That might sound reasonable, but can cause huge problems with how long it can take for some matters to proceed to trial. The NRL has a stand down policy for serious matters that are dealt with by the court. Jack De Belin (St George and NSW State of Origin player) was stood down for almost three seasons because his case took a long time to go to court. It actually extended into two court cases in which from memory he was found not guilty on a couple of sexual assault charges and got a hung jury on the others. The DPP didn't proceed with a third trial, which meant that in the end he was not guilty, but missed three seasons of football. His charges were far more serious than TT's, so the decision to stand him down was perhaps easier than would be the case for TT. Do we really want someone to miss a season or longer of football only to have that player potentially found not guilty in the courts?

 

[blackshadow]

What an odd response.

R U ok?

lol I’m okay but I’m not okay dipsticks taking potshots at the club when the club has clearly been navigating a very delicate situation for some time.

 

[Dan]

lol I’m okay but I’m not okay dipsticks taking potshots at the club when the club has clearly been navigating a very delicate situation for some time.

It’s an internet forum dummy….critiquing is everywhere.

You’re just an habitual hater.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Not all - thats not correct.

Regardless, until the very recent revenge pr0n charge, there was not even a hint of court involvement.

So suspending TT last year wouldn't fit what she's outlined.

Also, just because a case goes to court, doesn't mean the player is guilty, you can't just have a hard and fast rule as it will hurt those who are actually innocent.

Maj was put on trial for Rape.
He wasn't asked to step back from his football duties by the club. (The AFL did ask him to step away from multicultural rep duties).
He was found not guilty. Imagine how much of a kick in the guts to him it would have been if the club had also told him to go away for a bit.

It makes no sense to jump to suspensions and fines until the matter is dealt with properly, or there is enough tangible, irrefutable evidence that the player is guilty.
The club referred the matter to the AFL because it wasn't equipped to deal with the matter, and because thats what they're told to do.
They followed advice handed down by the AFL as to how it should be handled.

If anyone has failed their duty in the matter, its the AFL, but even then, they referred it to the police.

 

[gokangas]

Hun's latest.

Inside North Melbourne’s backflip on standing down Tarryn Thomas​

In the space of eight hours, the script had been dramatically flipped for Tarryn Thomas. And one phone call changed it all for North Melbourne.

5 min read
February 2, 2023 - 6:00PM


It was the eight-hour window that brought about North Melbourne’s backflip on Tarryn Thomas.
Shortly after 1pm on Wednesday – just hours after Thomas fronted training at Arden St following allegations of threatening behaviour made by multiple women revealed exclusively in the Herald Sun – North Melbourne president Dr Sonya Hood vowed the club would keep the 22-year-old within its AFL program as it looked to address his “behaviour issues”.
By around 9pm that night, the script had been dramatically flipped.
A short, unsigned club statement explained that Thomas would be taking time away from the game, after all.
What transpired during the course of Wednesday, and more specifically between the Kangaroos’ first and second statements, turned out to be a myriad of meetings and conversations which has now put the North Melbourne star’s AFL career on hold indefinitely.
Ultimately, the trigger for the about-face was a phone call to the Herald Sun from a woman detailing further allegations of “abusive and manipulative behaviour” from Thomas late last year.

The Roos backflipped on their decision to stand down Tarryn Thomas. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos
She had read the front-page Herald Sun report, and wanted to speak with the AFL.
By that stage, Thomas had completed a two-hour training session, having turned up to Arden St shortly after 7am, which may have been an effort to avoid the awaiting media.
As Thomas trained that morning, the Kangaroos hierarchy met to discuss what their response would be to the allegations raised by multiple women in Wednesday’s Herald Sun, which came on top of a separate charge of threatening to distribute an intimate image, laid in mid-January.
Dr Hood’s letter to members followed soon after training, stressing that North Melbourne was taking “allegation(s) of threats of violence against women extremely seriously”.
But she said the club would continue to provide support and training for Thomas, saying that had been the advice given to them by the AFL following the first allegation.
But even as Dr Hood’s letter to members was released, a fresh allegation was about to be raised.
A call was made to AFL headquarters early on Wednesday afternoon on behalf of the woman who was making the latest claim of “abusive and manipulative behaviour”.
A contact number was provided for AFL Integrity Unit, which the woman subsequently called.
That prompted a phone call from the league to North Melbourne late in the afternoon, which changed it all.
This was the trigger point for a series of conversations between the AFL and the Kangaroos, and was the catalyst for the decision to have Thomas take an indefinite break from football.
The Herald Sun is not suggesting he is guilty of the allegations only that they have been made.
Both the club and the league realised there was no other alternative than to have him step away until the allegations can be properly investigated, mindful that there could yet be more to come.

A phone call from the league to North Melbourne changed it all. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Kangaroos general manager of football Todd Viney went to Thomas’ home in the early evening to make him aware of what was about to happen, and the club had had detailed conversations with Thomas’ manager Ben Williams and the AFL Players Association.
A second club statement went out just after 9pm explaining Thomas was taking time away from the game, and stressing he would cooperate in any investigation into the allegations.
It was a decision that came 24 hours too late.
The club should have made this decision following the Herald Sun reports from multiple women which were released online late on Tuesday night.
Everyone rightly has the presumption of innocence in regard to accusations, but the serious nature of the allegations meant he shouldn’t have been training on Wednesday.
The club also should have had Dr Hood or the club’s new chief executive Jen Watt’s name on the second statement.
It’s hard to believe that this week marked exactly a year since Thomas signed a new two-year deal that was meant to take him from promising young footballer to one of the club’s most important players
Now 12 months on, his immediate future remains uncertain as the AFL prepares to investigate the numerous allegations about his off-field behaviour.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

So the Sun is our moral barometer.

Yikes.

Also the irony of saying that the club statement should have been signed, yet no author put to the article that I can see.

 

[Greg1853]

I get your cynicism; the point I’m making is Richmond were prepared to look him in the eye and say go if you don’t like it here; I seem to remember they also go rid of Martin’s party buddy, Daniel O’Connor (I think that was the name) even though he was shaping as a fair player.

Daniel Connors. google what he has been up to lately. I agree completely about how well richmond did with martin, and delaing with connors

 

[r_boy]

More rubbish from Hun

Why exactly should they have made the call earlier when there was no new information. Because it was in the public domain?????? Get f***ed

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

So this serious, abusive behaviour has been perpetrated against me and the first thing I do is call a newspaper?

 

[Makeshift Park]

Moulding us into something greater and sterner through great trials.

Sometimes feels a bit like Sisyphus tho

 

[Lomas]

Sometimes feels a bit like Sisyphus tho

Doesn't that make your nose fall off and drive you mad?

 

[gokangas]

Next Hun story from one of our faves.

Rita Panahi: AFL’s empty virtue signalling exposed​

No matter how strongly the AFL promotes itself as a standard bearer of decency when it comes to the crunch the league chooses brand protection over integrity.

Rita Panahi

AFL has again and again shown a ruthless desire to protect its brand at all costs. Picture: AAP

Rita Panahi​

The AFL has again demonstrated that its endless bleating about “respecting women” is little more than empty virtue signalling. When it matters most the interests of victimised women are conveniently set aside.
Australia’s pre-eminent sporting organisation likes to portray itself as a community leader in promoting “progressive” values but far from being at the top of the moral totem pole the AFL has again and again shown a ruthless desire to protect its brand at all costs.
For more than six months it has known about serious allegations against North Melbourne’s Tarryn Thomas but failed to take decisive action until the story was splashed on the front page of the Herald Sun.
Until then the women were “counselled” and Thomas was allowed to carry on at the club as if nothing had happened. For North Melbourne and the AFL to describe allegations of family violence as merely “behavioural issues” is inadequate to say the least. It’s little wonder that some of the women impacted felt they were “silenced”.

Tarryn Thomas is taking time away from football after a number of women came forward with serious allegations.
“It’s discouraging to see that the AFL and North Melbourne are aware how many women have (made allegations), yet it is still being overlooked … It feels as though Tarryn is untouchable and the women he has affected have been silenced,” a victim told the Herald Sun.
Another victim summed up the situation succinctly: “The AFL just protect their own, they don’t care.”
The Thomas scandal is just the latest example of the league prioritising its carefully crafted public image above all else, including the protection of traumatised women seeking help.
It’s clear that the primary concern has not been the victims or pursuit of the truth, but damage control. This week the club spoke of the player receiving “respectful relationships education” but you don’t need to undergo such training to know that threatening women, calling them sluts and allegedly engaging in acts of violence and revenge pr0n are not acceptable.
Many in the AFL world were eager to end the career of Collingwood’s Jordan De Goey for a consensual act with a gal pal at a Bali nightspot, but somehow Thomas’ alleged actions have gone largely uncondemned even after he was charged by police in mid-January for allegedly threatening to distribute an intimate image.
No matter how strongly the AFL promotes itself as a standard bearer of decency and virtue, when it comes to the crunch the league invariably chooses brand protection over integrity.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Doesn't that make your nose fall off and drive you mad?

 

[swaeney]

If these allegations are true, does he play another game for NMFC again?

 

[gokangas]

More to come in the near future. I somewhat sadly think TT is finished at NMFC.

 

[The Nostradamus]

If these allegations are true, does he play another game for NMFC again?

i still think he does

context is important

 

[DarkPhoenix]

More to come in the near future. I somewhat sadly think TT is finished at NMFC.

You've not been wrong with the TT stuff yet, so this fills me with sadness and disgust at him.

 

[zoomba23]

And here it comes. Not unwarranted either, quite frankly. Allegations that involve the abuse of women are different to your standard white powder/nightclub brawl/drunk shenanigans-related activity that AFL players doubtlessly get up to. It should've been disclosed from the start. I hate the Hun as much as the next bloke with a brain but I'm reading this stuff and nodding my head in agreement. If that makes me a disloyal campaigner, so be it. We cannot complain about any heat put on the AFL or the club in regards to this

 

[gokangas]

You've not been wrong with the TT stuff yet, so this fills me with sadness and disgust at him.

I hope I am wrong this time. To a degree next step, albeit fatal, depends on Police.

 

[Lomas]

i still think he does

context is important

I don't think there is much of an argument for 'context' if all of this is true across multiple relationships.