Hi there,

Back on my soapbox again......To people who have experienced sexual assault, this may be very upsetting. Please do not read on if it will upset you. If you can read it, I would like your opinion.

Here goes.......In Australia we have 4 major codes of football - National Rugby league(NRL), Australian Football league(AFL), Soccer(football) and Rugby Union. Australia is football mad(as is America around Super Bowl I have heard and Europe around the World Cup and Premier League!!!). Our culture is very football orientated. There is barely a person you will meet who does not have a team in at least one of the codes. Suffice to say, footballers are treated like Gods and prowl our bars and nightclubs with sex and alcohol on their minds. What 19, 20, 21 year old isn't? I mean, its normal isn't it? The problem is that footballers seem to "feel" above the law, above social decency and morality. It is as if their testosterone fueled brains and body weights of 100kgs of muscle, have addled their brain and made them invincible.

We have had an increased number of public crucification via the media of football players behaving very badly. Sexual assault, aggravated rape(can I say rape on here?), indecent exposure, group sex(said "consensual") and basically being right nasty. The poor women who report these incidents have their name dragged through the mud if it gets out, player fans sending the victim death threats because that woman dared to speak out against her attacker and all sorts of horrible things. That woman cannot heal if she is not supported.

Recently, one of our most famous Rugby League players was sacked form the network that aired his own football show due to allegations of group sex and sexual assault in New Zealand. Not only did he abuse a woman from a different country(not that that really makes a difference, but I wonder if he felt like he could get away with it out of the country. He is married as well), but 10 other members of the same team engaged in this along side of him . Now, the police found that the incident was consensual from the reports of the players and lack of evidence. The victim did not report it until 5 days later. I am surprised she was even able to leave the house. She would have been terrified. Group sex with eleven, well known, muscle bound and over 6 foot men that was consensual? She may have agreed to sleep with maybe 2 or 3 and felt she could handle that, both physically and emotionally. As far as I know she had the idea of relations with 2(her testimony) but ended up with men just coming in and out of the room. Whats wrong with this picture? Even if she had said no and probably did, do you think they would listen?.....behaving like a group of pack dogs on heat.....God save us.

At what point did one of the more mature players like the married, sacked one go......"HHHmmmm if this was my wife I would kill everyone in this room for violating her and committing this atrocious act. What we are doing is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG." Since being exposed, he has apologised to everyone but the victim. Are you serious??? The victim is traumatised, suicidal and wants to destroy the footballers lives. My God, that poor woman. And she is up against a football mad country who forgive all just so their favourite players can run on the field that weekend.

I have been approached many times in a nightclub by football players, especially if you go where they hang out. The more I have said no to drink, a chat, a anything.......the more they pursue you, like you need to be conquered. I avoid them like the plague and they say "Don't you know who I am?" Sure, your an idiot and you don't get the message. Imagine if you were a slightly intoxicated woman having a good time just socialising and then somehow found yourself manipulated by the sheer size and numbers of these men. You should be able to get rip roaring drunk, stand on your head, run a round naked and still say no.....That means no!!!!End of story!!

The NRL has introduced an ethics program into their training curriculum. It is worrying that they are so clueless. Part of the program is two filmed scenarios that the students are to comment on..... One is 2 players taking a intoxicated woman into a room for a drink. It starts to get heated from the men...she then realises that these men are big, powerful and she feels very vulnerable, she says No but they don't listen. The second scenario is the intoxicated player invites 2 guys over after a party. The men he invites start to get heated, there is tension in the room. The player says no but the men don't listen, overpower him and he is sexually assaulted. See the parallels?
Even though the students are traumatised by the homosexual act, they still make comments "but the woman invited them, what did she expect?" As did the player invite the men. Ha!! Doesn't matter,the message is "rape is rape, no matter who you are. No MEANS No!! Good learning.......

Anyway, thats me........sorry if I upset anyone......it just makes me furious.