Can I put my subscription or membership on hold? He said he reached out to Ruggs but Ruggs never responded. Johnathan Thurston has decried an inability to defend himself and his teammates under team orders during the 2004 gang rape scandal that rocked the Canterbury Bulldogs. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. The North Coast Bulldogs under 16s and 18s squads were put through their paces at a skills and welfare session today. Former St. Louis Rams defensive end Leonard Little pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in June 1998 after he hit and killed a woman, Susan Gutweiler, while driving under the influence in St. Louis. 'All these years later, people are going to Google your name and see that you took a DNA test for a rape allegation my kids could Google my name, their friends could Google my name and say, "He took this DNA test, I wonder why?"'. 'We knew the woman's allegations didn't stack up within 48 hours,' he told Daily Mail Australia. Please call 1800 070 535. Thurston has become the first Canterbury Bulldogs players ever to break his silence on the Coffs Harbour rape scandal that rocked the club 14 years ago in his new autobiography - extracts of. She should never have been treated that way.". Andrew Ryan was at the Bulldogs when the gang rape scandal engulfed the club in 2004. Jerseys; Jackets; T-Shirts; Shorts & Pants; Sweaters; Youth . Adams said he vacillated from being upset about the predicament Ruggs put himself in to feeling brokenhearted about Tintor to even sympathy for Ruggs. One of the boys pushed her out and gave her a gob-full. Just a few hours later at midday, news had broken regarding an accusation made against "three and six players" in the early hours of the morning. "That's the advice that we had been given [to keep quiet]. Bulldogs team bosses have issued an unspecified number of players with breach notices detailing the results of a club investigation into their behaviour at Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales mid . It's almost 4 a.m., around the time Tintor died on Nov. 2. Ruggs was taken to University Medical Center, where, according to a police report, an officer noticed Ruggs' speech was slurred. The recent rape allegations against the Bulldogs club and the pressure of playing in the NRL are believed to have taken their toll. Bulldogs players handed breach notices as Thurston walks, Follow our live blog for the latest from the Met Gala, Catch up with The Loop, your quick wrap of this morning's news, Keep up with the latest ASX and business news. The dog didn't eat for four or five days straight, Komazec said, because it realized that Tintor wasn't coming home. JUST A FEW hours after the NFL's first-round draft picks walk the red carpet under the backdrop of the Bellagio Fountains in late April, Pedja Komazec quietly gets in his Volkswagen and makes the 3:30 a.m. journey home from work. Soon after his request was rejected Pearce left the force in a decision he says was '100 per cent' about the handling of the case. And she was very blunt. "Think of Kenzli," she says. When Breton announced the decision not to press charges, he even told the media there was evidence a rape had occurred - comments then NSW Premier Bob Carr publicly rebuked him for. A lot of decent people, family people, lost their jobs, El Masri said. Britt Ramsey. See www.couriermail.com.au/subscriptiontermsfor full details. It was raining the morning of March 3, 2016, as they headed north on Interstate 65. The TMZ video reveals Ruggs' reaction to a disaster in real time: He sits on the road and cries as Kilgo-Washington faces him, holding his head in her arms. "Looking back now, I can see how distasteful and disrespectful it was. People are always accusing women of capitalising on me too but this is the first time Ive seen someone so blatantly using it for self promotion. 'Someone [in the police force] leaked a document to Ray and the information wasn't tested at all it's purely based on what she said and as time went on it was proved that what she was saying was rubbish it basically put fuel on the fire.'. I genuinely feel sorry for her," he wrote. Despite that episode, El Masri told Daily Mail Australia he thinks the NRL should be able to stand players down if there is sufficient evidence they could have committed a serious crime and the player is given a fair hearing by the code before any ban is put in place. The woman allegedly wanted to meet up with some of the Bulldogs players again. Clint Newton's rise to the top of the RLPA ranks goes all the way back to the 1980s with his rugby league journey now critical in the talks between players and the NRL's plans to resume the. Speaking about [the scandal] is quite difficult knowing that my daughters will probably see this when theyre older and having to sit down and explain to them what is my side of this story is going to be tough, he explained. The Clark County coroner ruled in December that Tintor and her dog burned to death in the crash. She knew how to say something honest without hurting anyone.". 'There was no independent evidence to support what she was saying but there wasoverwhelming evidence to support the Bulldogs from a variety of sources.'. There are several countries around the world that have an "American Football League". It's official! "You're under pressure when you're on camera," she laughed. No cancellations during the first 12 months. Gutweilers husband said the family received a small settlement from a civil proceeding against Little. She tried to enter their cab as they were leaving the Plantation Hotel to go back to the Novotel Hotel where they were staying. It relaxes him when he knows everything is OK. Johnathan Thurston breaks silence on the Coffs Harbour rape scandal NRL News 2023: NRL trip to Vegas will be a game-changer for rugby The RAV4 was propelled 571 feet. In the crowd she spotted a group of people dressed in black. Similarly, the code on Thursday stood down Dylan Walker over domestic violence charges as part of a controversial new crackdown on off-field behaviour. Walker is accused of assaulting his fiance Alexandra Ivkovic outside their home in Dee Why on Sydney's northern beaches in December. If you looked the wrong way, smiled the wrong way you wouldnt wish it upon your worst enemy.. The scandal saw Bulldogs players accused of sexual assault after a night out in Coffs Harbour in 2004. Canterbury Bulldogs NRL footballers Adam Perry, Corey Hughes, Glen Hughes, Jamaal Lolesi, Brent Sherwin & Willie Mason accompanied by legal counsel as they arrive at Sydney Police Centre to provide DNA sample as well as submit to questioning as police continue gang rape allegations. Two vastly experienced private investigators who were former detective sergeants - one acting for the Bulldogs and one for the NRL - both reached the same conclusion that the woman was not telling the truth within a similar time frame. Under the new rules, players facing charges which carry a maximum jail term of 11 years or more would be stood down under a no-fault policy which Beattie stressed didnt apply a presumption of guilt. In December, he arrived at the site and noticed that someone was stealing her Christmas lights. It felt like the public thought we were all guilty even though a charge had not been laid.. In each of the previous cases, the player did not serve a long . In 2014, he spoke at the NFLs rookie symposium, sharing his story and pleading with young athletes to not make the same mistakes he made. "Consensual group sex, a girl sleeping with more than one NRL player at the same time, was not unusual. Thurston was not involved in the incident. My wife was pregnant at the time, and some of the questions she was asked about it, it was a very stressful time. Some have never had another job. Thurston said he jumped in a taxi back to the hotel at 5am with a couple of teammates. Catch up with The Loop, 'Until we meet in heaven': Maryborough community comes to grips with triple fatality as loved ones remembered, Perfect storm brewing for housing market and it could make buying your own home a pipedream, Celebrities arrive at the Met Gala for fashion's biggest night, Clare desperately wanted to stop drinking but she couldn't make it stick. He is the fourth active NFL player over the last 25 years to be involved in a drunk-driving incident resulting in death. Ruggs' agent, Jovan Barnes, who has made numerous trips to Las Vegas since Nov. 2 to be with Ruggs, said that he would like to talk about the Henry Ruggs he knows but that he can't comment. Hatten was drafted into a Brazilian league as an import player, a term used to indicate players drafted from America. "The only thing I would say about Henry is that football may have been his life," Adams said, "but his life isn't over in my eyes.". 'It probably impacted the players' families more,' he said. US tech billionaire's son Matt Baszucki found the low-carb/high Could a hormone spray reignite your love life? Komazec ran after the man. 'Our family suffered. "Even though they're serious allegations, everyone involved at the club knew that we were not guilty of anything. Any Questions? Under Nevada law, Ruggs would not be eligible for probation if he's convicted, and faces between two and 20 years in prison. The players all denied the allegations and no charges were brought. Picture: John Grainger. It will cover the Coffs Harbour allegations, new claims by the woman involved in that case that she was approached by club officials who tried to dissuade her from going to police, the allegation that a player urinated in front of media and an unrelated allegation that a Sydney Roosters player openly had sex on a Newcastle beach during a pre-season trial.That inquiry is likely to be widened to include the latest case, where two Melbourne Storm players are accused of a sexual assault.Some clubs have taken the pro-active approach. the allegation by a Coffs Harbour woman that she was gang raped by a number of Bulldogs players. But then calls to Tina's phone kept going to voicemail. Up and coming Coffs Coast footballers are off to Tamworth for a four-day regional players camp. February 23: According to former detective Glen Pearce, police hadn't identified a single witness whose evidence supported the allegations by this time. But that news hadn't gotten out yet. I was not involved with her on the Wednesday night and I did not see what happened in the pool area on the Sunday morning. One of the lead detectives on the case, Glen Pearce, also told the Daily Mail the womans allegations didnt stack up within 48, and two months later, police announced they would not charge any players after the DPP found insufficient evidence to prosecute. Thurston has also been the subject of a nasty email that received widespread circulation relating to the Coffs Harbour situation, and he was devastated when he saw it. Game Centre for Coffs Breakers U14 Youth Girls v Bellingen Bulldogs U14 Youth Girls in AFL North Coast 2022 season, Round 2 . If you smiled, if you didnt smile, everything was scrutinised. February 25: Detective Gary McEvoy contacted by NSW Police head of forensic services Superintendent Phil Fogel who McEvoy says told him allegations were 'red-hot' news in Sydney and he'd been told to give investigators all possible assistance even if it meant putting previous, serious cases to one side. Mortimer says two players will be severely disciplined for breaching the club's code of conduct. The Director of Public Prosecutions ruled there was insufficient evidence to launch a prosecution. Players preparing for North Coast Bulldogs season. It was said to be an initiation rite for new first-graders.Others tried to break into the hotel room of another television worker at 3am after a drinking session.Last year, at the same Coffs Harbour hotel, a 42-year-old woman went with one player to his room and had sex, then woke to find another had initiated sex with her and a third was lining up.Club and police investigations were conducted but no charges laid, the Bulldogs fining the three players involved for breach of the club code.On February 22, Bulldogs players danced on nightclub tables, groped women on the dance floor and sparked a brawl as a result. The Bullfrogs played their home games in the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.. Tracking fifth-year options for 2020 first-rounders: Which were picked up, and which were declined? To upgrade, call 1300 MY NEWS (696 397), As a Full Digital Access or Paper Delivery + Full Digital Access Member youll get unlimited digital access to every story online, insight and analysis from our expert journalists PLUS enjoy freebies, discounts and benefits with our +Rewards loyalty program. Cars whiz by the intersection. By midday, the team would hear the woman had accused three to six players of gang rape. Full Digital Access + Weekend Paper Delivery $8 billed every 4 weeks for the first 12 weeks, then $36 billed every 4 weeks. The sun will be out soon. If convicted, the 23-year-old former Alabama standout faces a minimum of two years and a maximum of 50 years in prison, Wolfson told reporters in November. Still, with each delay, a family wonders whether justice will ever be served. April 27: Police announce they will not charge players after the DPP found insufficient evidence to prosecute. Officers also say players might have to provide DNA samples. "Everything was in slow motion," Adams said. In 2017, he became a contributor for CNN and wrote a piece about what he did wrong and how to prevent impaired driving. Seeing double! Ryan and club officials say the players were at training when they found out they had to attend the interviews and simply didn't have a chance to change, describing the coverage of the incident as 'laughable'. Renewals occur unless cancelled as per full Terms and Conditions. She just wanted the day to be about Tintor and Max. In an extensive interview with ESPN's College GameDay in 2019, Ruggs said he wouldn't be playing football if it weren't for Scott. Obviously the victim at the time and certainly the club at the time as well. They were slammed for being disrespectful and the images became synonymous with the case. Majority of British public think Charles should not apologise for slavery, new poll shows, Even most republicans see no benefit in abolishing the monarchy, new poll reveals. A few weeks later, Pinzon was loading groceries into her car in the parking lot of La Bonita on South Rainbow Boulevard when a woman in the parking lot approached her. Ruggs was booked into Clark County Detention Center. Thread starter nqboy; Start date May 26, 2004; Prev. "Bulldogs club chaplain Ken Glendenning has counselled a number of players. Players currently can secure a car service, with at least an hour's notice, by calling the 1-800 number on the back of their NFLPA membership card. Johnathan Thurston playing for the Bulldogs in 2004. around the time he started braking. He was also instructed to do 1,000 hours of community service and given eight years of probation. Still, Komazec can't sleep. A voice on the video, but off camera, tells police there is someone still in the car that's on fire. "You don't even know how you feel anymore. ", (ESPN requested records for the accident report from the State of Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, but the request was denied, citing Lagniappe v. Mack, a 2021 Alabama Supreme Court decision involving a local newspaper's request for body-cam footage in a fatal police shooting. Following the accident, Brent stepped away from football for two years. Stallworth was placed under house arrest for two years but given provisions to allow him to resume his football career. They certainly did during the Bulldogs Coffs Harbour dramas back in 2004. Facebook. Sullivan set up a meeting in June between the family and Clark County assistant district attorney Eric Bauman, and Sullivan called the meeting productive. The woman was identified as Tina O. Tintor. When Thurston and his teammates made their way to the pool recovery session, the woman was spotted sitting outside the hotel crying at 6.45am. Detectives say this information was leaked to him by other police and should never have been made public because it could prejudice the case and increase stress on all involved. He couldn't tell whether it was a car or an SUV; its features had melted into anonymity. For the female it would be way too much work. Britain's rock solid support for the Royal Family: With Charles' Coronation just four days way, a major poll LORD ASHCROFT: The monarchy has to change, but the King has time and goodwill on his side. What Has Happened to NFL Players Who Were Involved Drunk-Driving Consensual group sex, a girl sleeping with more than one NRL player at the same time, was not unusual.. The next time he woke up, Adams was lying in the middle of the road. The young woman was trying to enter the car as well. If the guest is mad, we just get paid $12 an hour to sit there and listen. Johnathan Thurston and Bulldogs teammates were accused of sexual assault after a night out in Coffs Harbour in 2004 Police found insufficient evidence against players and no charges were laid, but players were told to stay quiet by the club Thurston says he was not part of the group but everything was consensual He played in 11 games for the Washington Football Team in 2011 and spent his last season in the NFL with New England Patriots in 2012. "We have all been painted as being guilty because of the way things have eventuated. She had texted her mom to let her know she'd be home late. March 3: Bulldogs players arrive for police interviews dressed casually only captain Steve Price, Braith Anasta and Hazem El Masri were 'dressed appropriately'. 'I remember a girl told me at a pub, "F***k off, you rapist, get out of here",'' Ryan said of the slurs Bulldogs players had to deal with. Its a very weird team bonding experience! Bulldogs rape case thrown out - smh.com.au 'There was no grounds whatsoever for that. Thurston explained in his account how group sex was commonplace early on in his career, so when his teammates revealed that the unnamed woman involved in the incident had "slept with six of them" while partying at the Plantation Hotel in Coffs Harbour, Thurston was unmoved. Johnathan Thurston responds to Bulldogs 2004 scandal on 60 - Mamamia Prices after the first 12 months may be varied as per full Terms and Conditions. He had asked her to slow down. JOHNATHAN Thurston today becomes the first Bulldogs player to give his version of the Coffs Harbour scandal that engulfed the club 14-years ago revealing in an exclusive book extract what he says happened the night a woman claimed she was gang raped by six players. I can just imagine what the other players went through. The meeting with Gallop and the Bulldogs occurred a few days after news broke of a young woman reporting an alleged rape by up to six players in the pool area of the Coffs Harbour Resort during the 2004 pre-season, which concluded when investigators found insufficient evidence. Biden FINALLY announces COVID vaccine requirement for travelers to US will be Have scientists finally created a jab to keep ALL flu strains at bay? He says Tintor's mom ordered a giant photo of her daughter shortly after her death, and when the family hung it on the wall, their Siberian husky cried and barked for days. 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Hobbs' incident came almost a year to the day after running back Josh Jacobs was arrested on suspicion of DUI in a single-car crash near the airport. "We believe, still to this day, we had done nothing wrong and it was just an unfortunate event that had occurred," he said. Yet no one saw fit to tell Williams his shirt might be seen as in questionable taste at best, arrogantly defiant and intimidating at worst.Williams is one of four New Zealand players at the club. That hearing has been rescheduled four times -- the latest postponement coming last month. He would tally up 29 NRL games across three seasons with the Bulldogs. Canterbury Bulldogs considering return to Coffs Harbour, report A short history of the lowest-scoring matches in rugby league history, 'I don't buy that one bit': Next AFL CEO denies claims of a boys' club after promotion from general counsel, NRL concedes error on crucial golden point call, Clare desperately wanted to stop drinking but she couldn't make it stick. COFFS HARBOUR SCANDAL TIMELINE February 18, 2004: A 20-year-old woman told police she had consensual sex with six Bulldogs players on this date while they were in Coffs Harbour,. "I've never been involved in, or am I aware of, another criminal case involving somebody traveling 156 miles an hour.". A celebrity, a football player, was involved in a crash. JT breaks silence on Bulldogs Coffs Harbour scandal 'He's been dead for 130 years and can still satisfy the ladies': Social media goes wild over mystery woman Cancelled? Stallworth, who was 28 at the time, was suspended without pay for the entire 2009 season by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the leagues personal conduct and substance abuse policy. Ryan was the Bulldogs' captain when they won the 2004 grand final at the end of an incredibly damaging year for the club that saw a 20-year-old woman accuse players of gang-raping her after a pre-season trial. It is incumbent on all sporting clubs of any code to educate young players that ignoring community standards degrades the brotherly bond sports teams espouse.El Masri and others not involved have a right to feel aggrieved at being let down. By. It was tough for everyone because we were gagged and we couldnt give our side of the story., *Odds are current as of 2nd May 2023, 9:37am AEST. The club cannot divorce itself from all responsibility for those players' behaviour. Komazec thinks about the final seconds of his niece's life over and over. Around 7 a.m., Komazec's sister, Mirjana, knocked on the door of his house. Mason not involved at Coffs - Folkes. Club chairman George Peponis says players were instructed to dress differently and ignored the directive. He said he has a video call scheduled with at least one state senator next month. And the tragedy is just unspeakable. Scott had a vision that his friend would be a five-star athlete, and that he'd play football at Alabama. They embraced again. ', Hazem El Masri (pictured with his family) was engulfed in the 2004 Coffs Harbour sex scandal and went on that year to break the NRL's point scoring record with 139 goals and 16 tries. She said she was vaginally, orally and anally raped by six Bulldogs players in the pool area of the Pacific Bay Resort. Several Bulldogs players were questioned during a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault during the pre-season trip to Coffs Harbour. Players preparing for North Coast Bulldogs season | NBN News NRL 2021: Michael Lichaa alleged domestic altercation, Canterbury She heard him yell, "What is this guy doing?" Most have co-operated, via their lawyers, but star wing Hazem El Masri has refused and may be summonsed to provide an interview and sample.His objection is that he doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't take drugs or commit adultery and was insulted at being involved in the allegation of pack rape made by a 20-year-old Coffs Harbour woman.The police had told him he was not a suspect, not among the six players named by the victim or among others thought to have been in the pool area of the Pacific Bay Resort hotel early on February 22, when the alleged assault took place.The woman was found by a hotel maintenance worker at 7am, lying in a foetal position on grass near the pool, screaming and swearing.A taxi driver has told police that just two hours earlier he drove the woman and one Bulldogs player, whom she was obviously keen on, from the Plantation nightclub to the hotel and that she was obviously in good spirits at that stage.There seems no doubt that some criminal charges will follow.In addition, one player has clearly broken the club's code of conduct, which precludes bringing women back to the team hotel.Bulldogs chairman George Peponis has said any player found to have breached that code will be stood down.But legal advice was that the club could not act immediately because that might prejudice a fair trial for any player subsequently charged.It will be easy for the Dogs to shunt that player out as the sacrificial lamb; much harder to tackle the culture of arrogant dismissal of community standards the club has maintained, its unspoken assumption that it stands above the laws of the land.Just as the salary cap rort of 2002 made mugs of those NRL clubs that did stick to the player payment cap, so the assault by the as-yet-unidentified players is a major "dissing" of their team-mates.Any suggestion of this being a team bonding session, some kind of rite of initiation, is bizarre at best.