I’ve avoided reading many news pieces about that whole 17 year old girl and nude photos of St Kilda Saints footy players affair as I felt like too few were questioning the manner in which it was reported that she obtained the photos. Of course, after the initial reports were published, the players implicated denied ever having met the girl, blah blah blah.
Then, it was stated, that the girl circulated the photos as an act of revenge for the players impregnating her the year before after meeting the players at a school football clinic.
For some strange reason, every media piece I happened across seemed more concerned with the violation of the players’ privacy in the release of the nude photos and very few have questioned how on earth does a 17 year old girl become so embedded and embroiled with a football club?? The poor girl has been on numerous radio programs in which she apologizes for her behaviour and everyone wants her to accept blame for becoming involved with the club and its players. But the club has denied any involvement with her. And then, when evidence was overwhelming, denied any misdealings with her.
But then, she released a video showing the 47 year old player manager, Ricky Nixon, climbing mostly naked into the bed of the hotel room he’s been paying for her to stay in for a couple of months. He admits to taking alcohol to her room, that there were drugs in the room, etc. Here’s a video summarizing:
Well, finally, a voice of reason emerged yesterday in an opinion piece in The Age:
There is nothing like the heady mix of footballers, too much grog, sex and drug use to send the media into a feeding frenzy, and the events of the past few exciting days have those elements in spades. Like watching a car crash, I found myself drawn to recent goings on even though I am appalled at the behaviour of the footballers, Ricky Nixon, the AFL and, last but not least, the media.
You will note I do not include the teenager at the centre of the storm, for the simple reason that she is, to all intents and purposes, a child. Children are supposed to have certain protection in society because it is considered by Parliament they are incapable of making adult decisions. Be under no misapprehension, this person is a child, irrespective of her physical appearance. As a person under 18, she cannot vote, drink or drive a car, all supposedly pursuits requiring a degree of maturity.
As reinforcement of this argument, we have all witnessed over recent months her misuse and abuse by all and sundry. Is it any wonder she seeks to assume some control over her situation and the way she is portrayed, no matter how misguided?
First, we have the fact that appears undisputed – that a number of footballers had sex with her. Although she appears to be at the age of consent, many would still regard her as a minor.
I am shocked at the vituperative nature of the attacks upon her, yet on the other hand the footballers concerned seek sympathy for being foolish enough to jump into bed with her. Give me a break! They met her at a school footy clinic. They had sex with a child, no ifs, no buts. They don’t deserve our sympathy.
Fraser goes on to say:
St Kilda Football Club put the child up in a hotel for a while and when she ran out of credit, the Herald Sun, out of compassion, paid for a couple of days’ accommodation in the immediate aftermath of Nixon’s ”inappropriate dealings” (whatever that means).
The Herald Sun said it was so concerned for the child’s welfare that it had her solicitor present to confirm that the offer of two nights’ accommodation was for her well-being, not as an inducement. Talk about arse covering, if one participant in this sorry and sordid saga had proper concern for this child, she would be given counselling, not a motel room where she was left to her own devices. One wonders if this offer will be made to every homeless child wandering the streets of St Kilda.
On any assessment, this child is damaged and apparently on an unstoppable course of self-destruction. She is in urgent need of help, not condemnation.
And where is the AFL in all of this? Its much vaunted new code of conduct and respect for women seems to have left the country with Nixon.
Really, all I have to say is: fuck yeah! Thanks for that, Andrew Fraser.
