- Sep 22, 2011
- 42,166
- 92,178
- AFL Club
- Essendon
Well not so much scandal but… scandal after scandal
Is there any other club that has such a pattern of disrespecting women? Is it a cultural thing?
Carey
The club venerates Wayne Carey like no other figure in its history. In 1997, Carey pleaded guilty to indecent assault after grabbing a woman's breast on a Melbourne street, allegedly asking her, "Why don't you go and get a bigger set of ****?"
The matter settled out of court and Carey faced no sanctions by the club. His behaviour toward women was only pulled up by North when it involved his teammate, Anthony Stevens.
In 2006, Carey was involved in an alleged domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend Kate Neilson. A security guard alleged he saw Carey "smacking" Neilson in their room at the W Hotel and tried to intervene. "He smacked her and he shook her and he smacked her again and shook her again and he smacked her again," said the guard.
Then in 2007, Carey allegedly smashed a wine glass into the face of Neilson during a confrontation in a Miami restaurant. When police arrived, Carey lashed out and kicked a female officer in the mouth. He was convicted of battery on a law enforcement officer, while Neilson decided not to press charges. Neilson says she was left with cuts to her mouth and neck resulting from Carey's alleged actions.
But what is North’s response to all this? Nothing. Carey remains the captain of their team of the century, “Shinboner of the modern era” and in 2019 they lionized him as #1 in the Top 10 Greatest North Players at their 150th celebrations.
The chicken
In 2009 Adam Simpson and Daniel Pratt confessed to being part of the group that made a “comedy” video described as tasteless and offensive to women.
The video showed a rubber chicken simulating sex with a chicken carcass. The dead chicken is then hurled against a wall and run over by a club vehicle, with the song 'Move, Bitch' as the soundtrack.
"We're really embarrassed about it, I'm married, I've got three children, my wife is devastated," Simpson said. "It's not about how we're feeling I suppose, but we understand we've done the wrong thing."
The playing group apparently donated $10,000 to a domestic abuse charity… yep, about $250 each. And play on.
This is what passes for comedy at North?
Clarkson
Everybody has heard the staggering allegations of Clarkson bullying women. He is alleged to have gone to the home of a player’s partner, who was pregnant at the time, intimidating her and telling her that her relationship with the father of her child-to-be was over. What kind of a psychopath does this?
North’s response to this was to send Clarkson on some sort of weird break for a few weeks, then welcome him back with open arms and forget about it.
What happens weeks later? Clarkson verbally abuses a female reporter, telling her “your time will come”… for the crime of doing her job and trying to get a doorstop interview.
Apparently Clarkson is told to apologise. He does so in a bizarre manner, adding publicly that he “can’t guarantee it won’t happen again” and that he was trying to stand up for others. Does he read this shit straight from the Abuser’s Handbook?
From North? Meh. Silence.
Thomas
Tarryn Thomas is the subject of some extremely serious allegations involving threatening multiple women with violence and the release of intimate images. North again react by sending him on some sort of short break where apparently he’ll be taught to respect women. Approximately five minutes later he’s back at the club laughing with his mates at training. There was no proper education program – Todd Viney told us that today as he fumbled through a press conference about how “there hadn’t been enough progress” and Thomas was now facing MORE allegations from women and is being sent of a break AGAIN. WTF? So he was back at the club… why?
Clarkson is asked about this long string of allegations against Thomas and whether it bothers the rest of the team:
"They want him to be playing. He's a very, very talented player and he's seen as a big part of the future of the football club, but we just need to address these issues, and they respect that," he said.
What?
Look, this is BigFooty and so the North chip-on-shoulder brigade will cry troll… but it's nothing to do with their supporters. They haven't done anything wrong. At the club, there’s an undeniable pattern. Thomas is just a part of something over the past 15-20 years. North’s response to disrespect toward women is at worst some sort of weird bemusement and at best a shrug of the shoulders. WTF is going on there?
Is there any other club that has such a pattern of disrespecting women? Is it a cultural thing?
Carey
The club venerates Wayne Carey like no other figure in its history. In 1997, Carey pleaded guilty to indecent assault after grabbing a woman's breast on a Melbourne street, allegedly asking her, "Why don't you go and get a bigger set of ****?"
The matter settled out of court and Carey faced no sanctions by the club. His behaviour toward women was only pulled up by North when it involved his teammate, Anthony Stevens.
In 2006, Carey was involved in an alleged domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend Kate Neilson. A security guard alleged he saw Carey "smacking" Neilson in their room at the W Hotel and tried to intervene. "He smacked her and he shook her and he smacked her again and shook her again and he smacked her again," said the guard.
Then in 2007, Carey allegedly smashed a wine glass into the face of Neilson during a confrontation in a Miami restaurant. When police arrived, Carey lashed out and kicked a female officer in the mouth. He was convicted of battery on a law enforcement officer, while Neilson decided not to press charges. Neilson says she was left with cuts to her mouth and neck resulting from Carey's alleged actions.
But what is North’s response to all this? Nothing. Carey remains the captain of their team of the century, “Shinboner of the modern era” and in 2019 they lionized him as #1 in the Top 10 Greatest North Players at their 150th celebrations.
The chicken
In 2009 Adam Simpson and Daniel Pratt confessed to being part of the group that made a “comedy” video described as tasteless and offensive to women.
The video showed a rubber chicken simulating sex with a chicken carcass. The dead chicken is then hurled against a wall and run over by a club vehicle, with the song 'Move, Bitch' as the soundtrack.
"We're really embarrassed about it, I'm married, I've got three children, my wife is devastated," Simpson said. "It's not about how we're feeling I suppose, but we understand we've done the wrong thing."
The playing group apparently donated $10,000 to a domestic abuse charity… yep, about $250 each. And play on.
This is what passes for comedy at North?
Clarkson
Everybody has heard the staggering allegations of Clarkson bullying women. He is alleged to have gone to the home of a player’s partner, who was pregnant at the time, intimidating her and telling her that her relationship with the father of her child-to-be was over. What kind of a psychopath does this?
North’s response to this was to send Clarkson on some sort of weird break for a few weeks, then welcome him back with open arms and forget about it.
What happens weeks later? Clarkson verbally abuses a female reporter, telling her “your time will come”… for the crime of doing her job and trying to get a doorstop interview.
Apparently Clarkson is told to apologise. He does so in a bizarre manner, adding publicly that he “can’t guarantee it won’t happen again” and that he was trying to stand up for others. Does he read this shit straight from the Abuser’s Handbook?
From North? Meh. Silence.
Thomas
Tarryn Thomas is the subject of some extremely serious allegations involving threatening multiple women with violence and the release of intimate images. North again react by sending him on some sort of short break where apparently he’ll be taught to respect women. Approximately five minutes later he’s back at the club laughing with his mates at training. There was no proper education program – Todd Viney told us that today as he fumbled through a press conference about how “there hadn’t been enough progress” and Thomas was now facing MORE allegations from women and is being sent of a break AGAIN. WTF? So he was back at the club… why?
Clarkson is asked about this long string of allegations against Thomas and whether it bothers the rest of the team:
"They want him to be playing. He's a very, very talented player and he's seen as a big part of the future of the football club, but we just need to address these issues, and they respect that," he said.
What?
Look, this is BigFooty and so the North chip-on-shoulder brigade will cry troll… but it's nothing to do with their supporters. They haven't done anything wrong. At the club, there’s an undeniable pattern. Thomas is just a part of something over the past 15-20 years. North’s response to disrespect toward women is at worst some sort of weird bemusement and at best a shrug of the shoulders. WTF is going on there?
