Hayne is a pig, I hope he gets a lot of time up the river.
LOL
Sydney Morning Herald
Forget about damage to rugby league – what about damage to women?
When he wants to, Jarryd Hayne can display the outward emotion of an Easter Island statue.
He’s done it in press conferences after State of Origin matches, win or lose. He’s done it when the result at the NRL judiciary hasn’t gone his way. He’s done it when he’s fronted Kings Cross police station after someone’s tried to shoot him following a drunken argument at McDonald’s as they did in 2008. He’s even done it when announcing he’s signed with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL.
And there he was on Monday morning, the crestfallen football superstar, expressionless and unreadable as ever as he emerged from a gun-metal grey Toyota RAV4 and elbowed his way through a phalanx of reporters and cameramen into Burwood Local Court.
Hayne’s veteran manager, Wayne Beavis, 77, was in tow, as he has been for most of Hayne’s career since Beavis went to Sydney’s western suburbs and found a 16-year-old in possession of a killer sidestep and promptly signed him.
Minutes after Hayne appeared, his mother, Jodie, and father, the former Fiji and South Sydney winger Manoa Thompson, hastily entered the court house.
In 2009, Hayne took Jodie as his date to the Dally M awards at the NSW State Theatre. When he was later that night crowned the player of the year following a standout season for Parramatta, his mum reflected on how far they had both come since the days of living in housing commission.
“Life was tough,” she said tearily to this column. “Because I was a young mother and had a half-caste child, people would look down at me.”
Hayne was the best player in the world that night. He’d achieved what no other player has done since: he made Billy Slater the second-best fullback in the game.
That high watermark of Hayne’s life seemed an eternity ago on Monday as Hayne, his parents, manager and legal team were sardined into a packed courtroom as he faced, for the first time, rape charges following an incident involving a woman in the Hunter Valley on September 30 – the night of the NRL grand final.
The hearing was over in a matter of minutes. Hayne wasn’t required to speak nor did he enter a plea. He will next appear in court in Newcastle on February 13.
On the steps of the court, his lawyer, Leo Permutico, said: “Mr Hayne maintains his innocence, a plea of not guilty will be entered”.
Hayne stood alongside him, Easter Island statue-like, and offered nothing to reporters before making his way towards the sanctuary of the RAV4 parked on the street.
“These are serious charges, Jarryd!” declared one reporter. “Are you worried about your career?”
The last thing that should be on Hayne’s mind right now is the next contract, the next jumper he will play in.
The charge of aggravated sexual assault, which he received after allegedly biting the woman on her genital area, causing severe bleeding and requiring medical attention, is as serious as it gets. If found guilty, he faces a maximum jail period of 20 years.
Hayne’s court appearance has been conveniently grouped with other off-field incidents involving rugby league players in the past week.
On Tuesday, Manly’s Dylan Walker will appear in Manly Local Court after he was charged last Thursday with domestic-related common assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
It’s alleged Walker’s fiancee, Alexandra Ivkovic, was assaulted in the street while holding the couple’s four-month-old son. She was seen to by paramedics at the scene and is now living with her family.
Days later, Wests Tigers recruit Zane Musgrove and Penrith halfback Liam Coleman were charged with numerous offences, including aggravated indecent assault, following a night out at the Coogee Bay Hotel last month. The pair were granted conditional bail to appear at Waverley Local Court on January 23.
These incidents come as the NRL takes part in a global campaign to thwart domestic violence.
On Monday afternoon, it fired off a media release that declared: “For the past 16 days, the NRL has utilised its voice and reach to encourage communities to take action to prevent violence as part of the global UN-led 16 days of activism against gender-based violence campaign … As a game and a community, we endeavour to create a standard of behaviour and culture around respect towards women that runs through our rugby league clubs but also our schools, workplaces and society as a whole. Let’s start the conversation.”
Some rugby league players started the conversation long ago, not with their words but their actions.
Those actions speak to an appalling and demeaning attitude towards women, despite the hours of education and welfare and support they receive from the NRL and their clubs that is rarely afforded to other walks of life.
Some people are concerned about the damage these latest incidents involving women are doing to the image of the game. Perhaps it’s time people start being more concerned about the damage rugby league players are doing to women.
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