On the weekend a Rugby League player was charged with 10 offences, including one of assault causing actual bodily harm, common assault and stalking, which involved his ex-girlfriend. Shaun Kenny-Dowall was due to face court in Sydney today but was unable to attend due to being in hospital.
NSW Premier Mike Baird immediately spoke out saying this situation required unambiguous leadership.
“Everyone is obviously allowed a right and an opportunity for this case to be proven but I think if the NRL was going to send a strong message that what they could do was actually say we don’t want you to play until this case has been proven,” Baird told Channel Nine.
He rang the NRL’s chief executive Dave Smith on Sunday afternoon to make this point. Smith preferred to wait until the case has been heard before making a decision.
“Our players spend 35,000 hours per year in the communities running our domestic violence program, our anti-bullying programs, our violence against women programs so we take it very seriously,” he said. “We have taken a leadership position and we will continue to take a leadership position on what is an issue in society that we abhor and I think any reasonable person would abhor. Any case where there is any form of abuse towards women, violence or otherwise, we have taken a very tough stance. Any player or any official who is found guilty of these sort of offences then the game has been unambiguous and very strong in the last two years and we will continue to be that way but that is not to say in any way that you pre-judge these cases.”
A coalition of domestic violence groups have criticised the NRL for not suspending the player.
“Influential figures, particularly sporting stars, have a higher level of responsibility as role models and should be held to account for their actions,” Karen Willis, EO of RDVSA said. “The League has a proud body of work in its Voices against Violence Campaign. Not acting when such serious charges have been laid is not in keeping with its stated stand on respectful relationships. The NRL and the Sydney Roosters have the opportunity here to lead and be part of a consistent message condemning all violence against women and supporting survivors.”
“If we are going to be serious about ending domestic violence we need consistently strong leadership on this issue from government, business, civil society and our communities. By choosing not to stand down Kenny-Dowall, the Sydney Roosters and the NRL have failed that leadership test,” CEO of DVNSW Moo Baulch said.
“Players facing domestic violence charges should be stood down until legal processes are concluded. NRL representatives were quoted on Sunday as saying that there are ‘two sides to every story’ but when it comes to allegations of domestic violence made against a person in the public eye including actual bodily harm, the consequence of not taking action is a message of disrespect to survivors of violence everywhere. There is no excuse for domestic violence, ever.”
In a joint statement from Baulch, Karen Willis from Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia and John Mikelsons, acting CEO of NCOSS, they praised Baird’s leadership.
“Mike Baird and stood up and made a bold statement – that’s a big thing for a premier to do. I find it interesting that it hasn’t had more of an impact and been listened to more respectfully,” Baulch said. “I’d be the first person to ask Mike Baird to put his money where his mouth is but in terms of showing leadership he is spot on. It brings into stark contrast the fact that he NRL hasn’t.”
This is another instance, Baulch says, where the disconnect between rhetoric and reality is stark.
“The situation with the NRL is that they have incredible policies in places, in terms of supporting victims, and some pretty progressive people who have come in leaps and bounds in understanding their responsibilities on this issue,” she told Women’s Agenda. “But in this case it seems that a famous player who needs to be the field overrides those commitments. I don’t understand why.”
She says it reflects a broader problem in the political and social arena that plagues domestic violence.
“We can have these incredibly nuanced public conversations about violence and where it comes from but then when it comes to funding services – the simple things that we know will work, we struggle.”
Similarly we broadly abhor domestic violence, and yet, it seems, we have some willingness to accept it in certain instances. Floyd Mayweather’s prize fight exposed these double standards.
Baulch is adamant there’s only way to bridge this “staggering” gap.
“We have to challenge it constantly.”
If there is one clear message from the first 7 months of 2015, through the prism of domestic violence, surely, it’s this. We need to ensure the reality matches the rhetoric. Every time. No excuses.