Matthew Johns and his sexual violence in ball sports

There is no statute of limitation on sexual assault or rape in Australia. At any time, unwanted sexual encounters can come back to bite you. The recent case of seven year old accusations involving Cronulla (Sydney Australia) MULTIPLE players against one young New Zealand woman (19) is an example of how you can hide for a while but that the goal will always find the net. Despite that the alleged offence occurred in New Zealand, the alleged offenders were Australian…and many of them high profile Australian.

Matthew Johns is an Australian sporting and media icon: a representative of all things good in Australia – until now. Today he wears the sad reflection on how bad ball games can take up unwanted air space. As a result of his involvement in the alleged gang rape of the 19 year old woman, seven years ago, Matthew Johns has been ball dropped by his employer, Channel Nine, and several major sponsors are considering the revocation of NRL sponsorship. Good for them.

While Matthew Johns is nothing more than a figure head, just one of many so called sports people involved in the alleged gang rape of a 19 year old women, he mascots for his past team and his game. He has become the public face of NRL and therefore bears the brunt of actions allegedly performed by his team mates – some of them perhaps even more high profile than Johns was at the time.

Matthew Johns admitted bedroom behaviour has been voyeuristic, disgusting toward the worth of women, unethical and immoral to the maximum. Matthew John’s unwillingness to publicly name the other team mates involved is perhaps testament to the strength of the NRL code of silence between team brothers rather than an expected code for all of us to be ethical at all times.  Hello Neanderthals – major public health campaigns around Australia encourage telling someone about sexual violence – are you Australian or what!?

I am glad this public and metaphorical crucifixion has happened, albeit that I feel humiliated and desperate for the family of Matthew John’s (credit to Matthew Johns for his public apology and confession though). The incident is a hit fair to the balls of a male Australian sporting culture that considers many women as objects. I am appalled at the level of violence in organised sport in Australia and I am even more appalled at the assimilation of that violence into sexual encounters renamed as consensual and acceptable. It is time to grow up boys, get your knuckles out of the dirt, lift your sloping foreheads up and catch up with a world that does not support violence against women.

Whether the young woman consented to initial sex with one, two or three players is irrelevant. Two hours of continuous sex with multiple and unknown players is hardly the act of consent. I can only ask each of you big he men, when was the last time you performed sex continually for 2 hours? For other players to stand and watch the act of continuous sexual assault is just as bad. It is immoral and I will never again watch you on the screen. You have done your dash with me and I am left with NO respect toward NRL at all.

Australian male sporting heroes: hang your heads in shame at your fellow field ball sportsmen. I am disgusted and even more determined not to follow your unethical, pathetic attempts at being big men. Keep your balls to the field because that’s the only place they work. You do not have the balls to be real men so step aside and play with yourselves.

I call for a huge movement against the use of sexual assault as an organised sport. It is time to speak out citizens of the world. Are you for sport or are you for sexual assault. Draw the line in the sand and kick your goal. Kick where it hurts, right in the balls of the NRL field.

I will NEVER AGAIN watch NRL. No amount of PR, marketing or propaganda rhetoric will change it. In my mind, the sport is dead. And Channel Nine’s The Footy Show…move over, how pathetic was that pat on the back to Matthew Johns from Fatty Vautin?  You also score zero airing on the televisions in this house. The line is drawn.

End violence against women. END NRL...you’ve got no balls anyway.

Wipe out sexual violence – wipe out NRL to start with.

Congratulations and thank you to Sarah Furgeson and Four Corners on Code of Silence.