Another 💣 goes off for Cricket Australia

[footscray1973]

Are there any specific legal repercussions for anyone in positions of authority who knowingly allowed paedophiles to be responsible for children/young adults? I know Pell in trying to divert in his initial testimony (before being charged himself) threw the deceased Little (rightly or wrongly) under the proverbial bus. I hope to hell there are written records in CA archives, particularly the letter written by one set of parents. Even better would be initials or some proof senior ACB campaigners read it.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

The quiet shelving of Bitmead suggests there were many in the know from CA, VCA and Clubland. There should be records, inc about the now dead quack, held at the College of GPs.

What is remarkable is that during the various Royal Commissions, it did not occur to CA or VCA to consider and forensically examine their own pasts.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

... and of course today the Cricket 'authorities' today are offering no comment...there is a police investigation etc.

Of note, it is the AFP who are doing the investigation. That should give no-one great hope of a fair and thorough investigation. Is Dutton still the Minister?

I wonder whether our Feds' spookdom records contain any relevant intelligence from those times. There is little doubt the spooks would have embedded one of their own on tours of the sub-continent and other places.

 

[CliffMcTainshaw]

... and of course today the Cricket 'authorities' today are offering no comment...there is a police investigation etc.

Of note, it is the AFP who are doing the investigation. That should give no-one great hope of a fair and thorough investigation. Is Dutton still the Minister?

I wonder whether our Feds' spookdom records contain any relevant intelligence from those times. There is little doubt the spooks would have embedded one of their own on tours of the sub-continent and other places.

Who else would you expect the investigation to be done by? The AFP investigate incidents that happen overseas.
I'm hoping that Mitchell gets some justice on this occasion.

 

[sherb]

The quiet shelving of Bitmead suggests there were many in the know from CA, VCA and Clubland. There should be records, inc about the now dead quack, held at the College of GPs.

His f-c playing career seemed to end quite suddenly too, I'm wondering if things were suspected even back then.

Debut Shield Season 66-67: 33 wickets @19.66
Aust A Tour to NZ 66-67: 9 wickets @ 23.44
Shield Season 67-68: 11 wickets @ 29.27 (4 matches only)

53 f-c wickets @ 22.30 and that was that.

 

[footscray1973]

His f-c playing career seemed to end quite suddenly too, I'm wondering if things were suspected even back then.

Debut Shield Season 66-67: 33 wickets @19.66
Aust A Tour to NZ 66-67: 9 wickets @ 23.44
Shield Season 67-68: 11 wickets @ 29.27 (4 matches only)

53 f-c wickets @ 22.30 and that was that.

Russell Jackson's article has the following passage:

"Since his playing days, Bitmead had been known in cricket circles as an unusual character – a deep thinker on the game, but an oddball and a loner. By the time he was handed the Australian Under-19s coaching job, even clubmates at Richmond, who respected Bitmead's tactical nous, questioned his suitability to coach junior teams."

I suspect "oddball and loner" is journalistic code for his team-mates viewed him suspiciously even back then. The following paragraphs highlight that even his early coaching gigs at Fitzroy raised suspicion within the club. And those suspicions and concerns followed him to Richmond. Sadly, no one seems to have escalated those concerns, and he continued on his way, ruining lives as he went.

 

[western royboy]

Russell Jackson's article has the following passage:

"Since his playing days, Bitmead had been known in cricket circles as an unusual character – a deep thinker on the game, but an oddball and a loner. By the time he was handed the Australian Under-19s coaching job, even clubmates at Richmond, who respected Bitmead's tactical nous, questioned his suitability to coach junior teams."

I suspect "oddball and loner" is journalistic code for his team-mates viewed him suspiciously even back then. The following paragraphs highlight that even his early coaching gigs at Fitzroy raised suspicion within the club. And those suspicions and concerns followed him to Richmond. Sadly, no one seems to have escalated those concerns, and he continued on his way, ruining lives as he went.

Silence is golden, it’s what allows this stuff to go on unchecked, ultimately it all comes down to power and control

 

[Oct19]

Reminds me a lot about the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State.

Bitmead's denials in the article about photographing children in his hotel room were Prince Andrew-esque.

Are there any specific legal repercussions for anyone in positions of authority who knowingly allowed paedophiles to be responsible for children/young adults?

Mandatory reporting laws vary between the states. Personally I think that it should be a requirement for any competent adult to report any suspected child abuse to the required authorities, with penalties for failure to do so.

 

[footscray1973]

Mandatory reporting laws vary between the states. Personally I think that it should be a requirement for any competent adult to report any suspected child abuse to the required authorities, with penalties for failure to do so.

Thanks, I was thinking more retrospectively prior to mandatory reporting, e.g. Halbish and Richards at ACB who were directly responsible for the tour in the article at the time. Also anyone else in cricket admin who was aware of Bitmead's (and the doctor's) paedophilic activities and should/could have spoken up.

 

[MC Bad Genius]

Reminds me a lot about the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State.

Bitmead's denials in the article about photographing children in his hotel room were Prince Andrew-esque.




Mandatory reporting laws vary between the states. Personally I think that it should be a requirement for any competent adult to report any suspected child abuse to the required authorities, with penalties for failure to do so.

After working in the child protection hotline in NSW, expanding the mandatory reporting requirements won't necessarily protect more children. And it will mean each State will be fronting up a hell of a lot more funding, funding which is oftentimes very hard to come by already.

I agree with the sentiment though. There should be a huge investment in community education around sexual abuse so that people have the skills to identify it and the confidence to know when and how to report it.

 

[Zach Package]

Opened this article through twitter on the weekend having only seen the title and was dead set horrified.

There's so many reporting mechanisms nowadays people always grumble about paperwork but it's so worth it to snuff hopefully all this stuff out

 

[therubbernub]

Club officials that complained to CV were suspended by YVCA officials in spite. The umpires names were well known to police when complaints made. The victims have still not been contacted by CV.

aren't the police then complicit?

 

[therubbernub]

Sounds like you are the same vintage as me .
We turned up at a Dowling game and our Coach became very aggitated when a group of older guys rocked up , apparently he got the parents aside and told them to 'get us out of there' as soon as the game was finished. It was bizarre.

Then you would hear the other stuff at club ranks . People clearly knew.
As a young fella just playing I dont think you get the gravity of it at all and you brush it off .

Its so sad and shameful the cover up and how many have been effected by it.

who was Dowling?

 

[therubbernub]

They have become very cunning. I have personal knowledge of a school in Paris. A new school started by an englishman who applied for govt grants etc. He became the headmaster because he also founded the school. He was sacked a few years ago because he was found to have an english child sex offender record. All the teachers had to undergo screening- except for the founder of the school, who came in the back door to be principal

 

[eltrain]

Opened this article through twitter on the weekend having only seen the title and was dead set horrified.

There's so many reporting mechanisms nowadays people always grumble about paperwork but it's so worth it to snuff hopefully all this stuff out

Yep same here. Gut wrenching to think that people in positions of power turned a blind eye to this sort of thing.

Possibly a stupid question, but as an early 2000s kid it strikes me just how much of this was going on in all sorts of trusted institutions in the 70s and 80s.

What was it about the culture of that particular era that allowed this to happen so ubiquitously?

 

[CrazyJoeFevola]

Yep same here. Gut wrenching to think that people in positions of power turned a blind eye to this sort of thing.

Possibly a stupid question, but as an early 2000s kid it strikes me just how much of this was going on in all sorts of trusted institutions in the 70s and 80s.

What was it about the culture of that particular era that allowed this to happen so ubiquitously?

It was still rampant in the 70s and 80s but not unique to the era. Would've been even worse in previous eras

 

[therubbernub]

Yep same here. Gut wrenching to think that people in positions of power turned a blind eye to this sort of thing.

Possibly a stupid question, but as an early 2000s kid it strikes me just how much of this was going on in all sorts of trusted institutions in the 70s and 80s.

What was it about the culture of that particular era that allowed this to happen so ubiquitously?

my theory is that back then and before then, people had a blind faith in institutions and people "put in charge" . Not many would believe that such and such was fiddling with children- "he is such a fine upstanding man"- blah blah blah. Its only been since the disintegration of the church and many other institutions by the internet and social media aka "the new religion" that a lot of these accusations have become believable.
But like many things, we have to be careful of what we ask for. The misuse of social media in particular, is raising as big if not bigger problems. The covid situation is a prime example

 

[footscray1973]

How to exhibit complete tone deafness to a major issue confronting your organisation:

Cricket Australia's handling of Jamie Mitchell sexual abuse allegations was 'best practice', says Nick Hockley

Cricket Australia's chief executive, Nick Hockley, has stopped short of offering an apology to Australian under-19s players after allegations of sexual abuse were raised by Jamie Mitchell and says he would not respond differently to similar disclosures from others.

www.abc.net.au

If Hockley is the best CA have to roll out, I hope any actions taken by Mitchell and his legal team break CA irreparably. And Hockley's career with it.

 

[MC Bad Genius]

How to exhibit complete tone deafness to a major issue confronting your organisation:

Cricket Australia's handling of Jamie Mitchell sexual abuse allegations was 'best practice', says Nick Hockley

Cricket Australia's chief executive, Nick Hockley, has stopped short of offering an apology to Australian under-19s players after allegations of sexual abuse were raised by Jamie Mitchell and says he would not respond differently to similar disclosures from others.

www.abc.net.au

If Hockley is the best CA have to roll out, I hope any actions taken by Mitchell and his legal team break CA irreparably. And Hockley's career with it.

The smarm jumps off the page, doesn't it? I know the CA legal team has probably advised him not to apologise, but it all comes off rather disingenuous. And the whole passing the buck between CA and ACT Cricket is nauseating.

 

[footscray1973]

The smarm jumps off the page, doesn't it? I know the CA legal team has probably advised him not to apologise, but it all comes off rather disingenuous. And the whole passing the buck between CA and ACT Cricket is nauseating.

Exactly. You'd think after all the Catholic Church (and other orgs)/Grace Tame/Brittney Higgins/Rod Owen/Robert Muir/etc issues highlighting abuse across a wide spectrum that an organisation like CA would read the room. Surely even with legal advice, a more compassionate statement could have been formulated. Obviously their legal reps aren't great at judging the current mood either. CA seem intent on digging a bigger hole for themselves. As Jamie Mitchell says, he's not accusing Hockley of anything, all he wants is some empathy and a fair hearing. Hockley couldn't even apologise properly for fobbing Mitchell off the first time, now he's making it worse. CA must be so proud of his 'leadership' in this instance.

 

[western royboy]

Exactly. You'd think after all the Catholic Church (and other orgs)/Grace Tame/Brittney Higgins/Rod Owen/Robert Muir/etc issues highlighting abuse across a wide spectrum that an organisation like CA would read the room. Surely even with legal advice, a more compassionate statement could have been formulated. Obviously their legal reps aren't great at judging the current mood either. CA seem intent on digging a bigger hole for themselves. As Jamie Mitchell says, he's not accusing Hockley of anything, all he wants is some empathy and a fair hearing. Hockley couldn't even apologise properly for fobbing Mitchell off the first time, now he's making it worse. CA must be so proud of his 'leadership' in this instance.

Perhaps their Lawyers are the same…reasonable chance that they are

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Exactly. You'd think after all the Catholic Church (and other orgs)/Grace Tame/Brittney Higgins/Rod Owen/Robert Muir/etc issues highlighting abuse across a wide spectrum that an organisation like CA would read the room. Surely even with legal advice, a more compassionate statement could have been formulated. Obviously their legal reps aren't great at judging the current mood either. CA seem intent on digging a bigger hole for themselves. As Jamie Mitchell says, he's not accusing Hockley of anything, all he wants is some empathy and a fair hearing. Hockley couldn't even apologise properly for fobbing Mitchell off the first time, now he's making it worse. CA must be so proud of his 'leadership' in this instance.

The point is also about State Associations including Victoria, who at minimum should be scouring their records for adverse mentions about the person alleged to have r*ped Mitchell.

CA's response is in line with the Catholic Church - cover up and deny liability. A pox on all their houses, as the old saying goes.

 

[Gough]

Perhaps their Lawyers are the same…reasonable chance that they are

Defending institutional child abuse will soon be an elective in law school.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Defending institutional child abuse will soon be an elective in law school.

Sometimes I just despair for humanity.

 

[western royboy]

Defending institutional child abuse will soon be an elective in law school.

Taught by a joker from Corrs