NRL Players and family members in hot water

With more videos to come, suspending Napa would be a grave mistake
Andrew WebsterFebruary 7, 2019 — 9.00pm
Should the NRL suspend Dylan Napa from the opening rounds of the NRL because of his leading role in the “Big Papi” sex tape series?
Of course not. But that’s what NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg is expected to do within two weeks and, when he does, he will box himself into a corner that not even he can slip out of.
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Consequences: Suspending Dylan Napa would set a grave precedent.Janie Barrett
When the next explicit video revealing players “bringing the game into disrepute” from several years ago eventually emerges, he will have to suspend them, too.
And it will happen. Another sordid video is about to drop and it doesn’t involve Napa.
It involves three current big-name players and, unlike the most recent one linked to Napa and another player, this one is legit.
I haven’t seen the video but I do know this: players at one club have seen stills from it and they are already edgy about what happens if it goes viral on social media.
Indeed, quite a few players are nervous right now. Says one: “We can’t remember what we did on a night out four or five years ago, let alone if someone shot it on their phones. I’m a different bloke now. I’ve settled down and got married and have kids.”
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Hard line: NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg this week shut the door on Ben Barba returning to the game.AAP
Greenberg returned early from annual leave last month in the face of the worst off-season for scandal in history, including the Julian O’Neill years.
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He talked tough about banning players for life if it’s proven that they have assaulted or sexually abused a woman. Within days, Cowboys fullback Ben Barba was sacked following an altercation with his long-time partner, Ainslie, at the Townsville casino following a drinking session.
“It starts now,” Greenberg said. Maybe it should’ve “started” with Barba a long time ago.
He also said this about the Bulldogs potentially losing Napa, who hasn’t played for the club since his off-season transfer from the Roosters: “It might be [harsh], but it's not my primary concern. It's a bit like the Cowboys. It's a little harsh on them: they are missing a player [Barba] that's never laced on a boot for them. That's the real difficulty with recruitment and retention for clubs. My message to clubs is when you are buying and selling players, look equally at the values as opposed to the skill-set. They should be assessed in equal priority.”
Greenberg’s strong words about Barba are fair enough. He had no choice but to ban Barba for life. But Napa’s indiscretions aren’t in the same postcode.
To suspend him for something he did four or five years ago, when he was 22, from a club he hasn’t yet played for after an off-season transfer from the Roosters, would be grossly unfair.
A hefty fine would be appropriate followed by a clear warning to players and clubs that the next bloke to star in their own amateur porn video that finds its way into the public domain can expect to be sidelined indefinitely.
Instead, head office will make an example of Napa because it can. Greenberg will do so to back up his tough talk from a few weeks ago.
This is where the NRL lets itself down.
Fans are growing angry, if not weary, about the image of their game being constantly trashed. But they also believe in fairness. They know grandstanding when they see it.
Suspending Napa and wounding the Bulldogs’ season before it even starts for foolish behaviour from four to five years ago is simply not fair.
Neither was Greenberg’s left jab about the Dogs not doing sufficient due diligence before they signed Napa.
Sure, it has been widely known that Napa is a loose cannon off the field. He was the man of the match in post-grand final celebrations, as evidenced by the sight of him on Oxford Street still wearing his playing gear from the night before.
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No return: Ben Barba's alleged assault on his partner was just the latest chapter in the NRL's off-season of woe.AAP
The Roosters were also concerned at the start of last season about his lack of discipline. Napa didn’t want to leave the club but was told quite clearly he would be playing NSW Cup if he didn’t take the offer on the table at Belmore. He was considered a liability.
But how were the Bulldogs to know that videos like the ones featuring Napa would leak out as they did? They are football clubs, not MI5.
Because the integrity unit’s verdict on Napa won’t drop for another fortnight, the Bulldogs are saying very little on the matter even if it’s becoming clearer by the day that their man is about be scapegoated.
Chief executive Andrew Hill did tell me this: “The club, our sponsors and our members would find it very hard to accept if we were penalised for an incident involving Dylan when he played at another club and up to five years ago. To make comparisons with other incidents is wrong. They should be considered on a case-by-case basis.”
There’s also a belief from several clubs, not just from the Bulldogs, that Souths are getting a dream run through this delicate time.
They struggle to see the difference between the nude FaceTime chat involving Sam Burgess and a woman that made front-page news during last year’s finals series and the “Big Papi” tapes involving Napa.
Rival clubs also continue to moan about Greenberg providing a reference for Greg Inglis for his appearance in court on drink-driving charges last month.

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sp...would-be-a-grave-mistake-20190207-p50wck.html
 
She took a shower and ordered an uber? Not gonna help her case...

Not doubting her, but this will quickly become "he said, she said", and any decent defence barrister will accuse her of celeb chasing, followed by regret.
I hope the police has solid evidence for her sake!
 

Holy ****. If even half of this is true the next time he plays footy should be in the prison yard.
 
Yeah, I can't see de Belin being found guilty.
 
She took a shower and ordered an uber? Not gonna help her case...

Not doubting her, but this will quickly become "he said, she said", and any decent defence barrister will accuse her of celeb chasing, followed by regret.
I hope the police has solid evidence for her sake!

I don’t really agree with that. I am sure a scumbag defence lawyer will push that shit, but the fact that she left soon after getting to the club and went and got a rape kit seems pretty believable. Sounds like a very vulnerable woman who played along that everything was cool until she could get the **** to safety.
 
Yeah, I can't see de Belin being found guilty.

Why? Because she had a shower afterwards and played nice to get away? If that’s the standard for not being found guilty then nine out of ten rapists would be found innocent.
 
Both arguments are extremely plausible.

One is lying. Not guilty and two deadshit rapists might walk free. Guilty and JDB has lost his hard-fought livelihood and freedom, and so has his mate, potentially because a chick made shit up.
 
She took a shower and ordered an uber? Not gonna help her case...

Not doubting her, but this will quickly become "he said, she said", and any decent defence barrister will accuse her of celeb chasing, followed by regret.
I hope the police has solid evidence for her sake!

Taking a shower after being raped, yeah.. who would do that?..

The fact that she went to the hospital on the same night to me says that this isn't someone "chasing celebs for money" and someone who has legitimately been violated. The NRL seriously needs to take a stand (I say this every time, and it never happens) with these constant violence against women accusations against players. If they're found guilty, there's absolute no chance de Belin should ever play in the NRL again, just completely de-register him with zero possibility of re-registration under any circumstances, draw a line in the sand for ***** sake, if you're guilty, you're done.
 
She took a shower and ordered an uber? Not gonna help her case...

Not doubting her, but this will quickly become "he said, she said", and any decent defence barrister will accuse her of celeb chasing, followed by regret.
I hope the police has solid evidence for her sake!
They have the rape kit and bruising. People have all sorts of odd reactions after trauma. I think the prosecutor has a pretty good chance here if she presents well on the stand.
 
Regardless of which way you feel or think about this case, let's not jump the gun. No decision has been made and let's keep it amicable (which it has been so far, so well done all).
 
They have the rape kit and bruising. People have all sorts of odd reactions after trauma. I think the prosecutor has a pretty good chance here if she presents well on the stand.

Yeah this. Tbh this isn’t even an odd reaction, it is pretty text book. A majority of rape victims shower afterwards because it is a natural instinct. They have been violated and for most people the shower is a safe space and running water is calming.
 
Yeah this. Tbh this isn’t even an odd reaction, it is pretty text book. A majority of rape victims shower afterwards because it is a natural instinct. They have been violated and for most people the shower is a safe space and running water is calming.

Is it? I honestly don't know and would be interested in statistics because if what you say is the case, that doesn't bode well for the accused.
 
Is it? I honestly don't know and would be interested in statistics because if what you say is the case, that doesn't bode well for the accused.

I feel like people just shower after sex, whether it's consensual or not. So her showering is almost completely irrelevant in the discussion, she would've showered either way you look at it.
 
The fact he has been charged means the police think they have a case. Very curious to hear what his defence is.
 
Is it? I honestly don't know and would be interested in statistics because if what you say is the case, that doesn't bode well for the accused.

I don't have 'stats' but pretty much all I listen, watch and read outside of sport is true crime and it happens a lot.
 
Ordering an Uber for three, going with them after, entering the premises together, staying for drinks, leaving after. These don't seem like the actions of a traumatised victim but yes, they could be too. It's difficult to know just on the face of it. I would think she would have kept the Uber ride or even have ordered two if she was fearful but who knows. I hope they pay for any crime they've committed.
 

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