Swans sexual assault allegations spurs SA newsreader to revisit her own experience

In the shadow of seeing Sydney Swans scramble into cars to escape detection on their way home from the Melbourne Pullman hotel, I step back into a dark recess of my mind, writes former TV Newsreader Kelly Nestor.

To the Melbourne individuals who have spoken out, what you are doing is beyond brave.

You are lining up against the biggest business in town, and a culture that has eons of power and grift etched into its sinews and testosterone, which then wrap around itself as a protective shield when trouble comes calling. And calling it does, because it knows it can.

As a post-menopausal woman sitting in an AFL state, I’m not just tired of the “buyer’s remorse” and doubling down vomit from former players still given air-time to throw shade on alleged victims, I’m apoplectic.

Only this month I’ve had to cop Sam Newman behind the mic, starved of attention, wanting to defend another ‘mate’.

It wasn’t even about football. This was to demean women and victim-blame after a Victorian court lifted a three-year suppression order against his Sports Manager mate Ralph Carr, who is now a convicted rapist.

He said she must have had “buyer’s remorse”. Newman then doubled down on social media implying that she shares the blame for going to Carr’s residence and consuming alcohol and drugs.

It’s enough to make you vomit into the back of your throat.

Seriously AFL, “we” have had enough. We’ve also had enough of public statements like, “we’re extremely shocked and disappointed that this has taken place and that the players have found themselves in this situation.”

Found themselves in this situation? The players “found” themselves there? Like, were they meditating or something?

Now, before there’s a pile on, saying “they were groupies gagging for it”, or something worse, hold on.

This can and does happen to anyone.

While we are yet to hear the details of the latest allegations, it has unfortunately raised memories of what happened to me.

Victoria Police issued a statement saying detectives were investigating allegations of a sexual assault in East Melbourne, the exact circumstances are yet to be established, and the investigation remains ongoing. No formal interviews have taken place and no charges have been laid. Players have been linked to the investigation but, at the time of publication, there is no confirmation regarding their personal involvement in the alleged incident.

Kelly Nestor’s experience is her own and is not intended........

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