"Speaking about it is quite difficult knowing that my daughters will probably see this when they're older and having to sit down and explain to them what is my side of this story is going to be tough.". She would make the most mundane things fun -- Tintor enjoyed sifting through the chaos of the dollar aisle -- and hang out with co-workers in the parking lot for hours after the store closed. ON THE HEADER of Ruggs' Twitter page, which has been silent since Oct. 31, is a photo of a tombstone. It reminds her of Tina. It was Mirjana. Why was a football player with a multimillion-dollar contract in his car rather than one of the numerous rideshare options? But the sexual assault allegations levelled against Thurston and his teammates threatened to end his career. There were photos of that charred vehicle, a RAV4, and news that the driver of that car had died. Pic Glenn Campbell. Komazec ran after the man. Scott accepted a basketball scholarship to Jacksonville State, and their futures seemed set. It is both to instil pride and to deny any opportunity for players to give the names of others, as is alleged in the Bulldogs' case.Their grand-final-winning lock Scott Sattler spoke this week of how the Panthers side partied hard after the 2003 championship win but managed to do so without incident. On Tuesday, his lawyers argued in court that Las Vegas police had no legal reason to request a warrant for blood to be drawn from Ruggs the morning of the crash and that the blood alcohol test should not be allowed. Kangaroos' new era marred by shock NZ loss, Cherry-Evans backs possible Hasler return. . . February 24: Police have by now identified 'significant errors' in the five statements given by the woman - and the number of errors increased over time, according to Pearce. Officers also say players might have to provide DNA samples. Britt Ramsey has been a journalist across print and broadcast media for several years. 'Our family suffered. I wish we could have come out and cleared our names straight away because everything was consensual at the time.. Pinzon, who has four golden retrievers, found herself grieving a woman and a dog she had never met and wanted to do something. The club says their player is not of interest to police," Channel Nine reporter Danny Weidler tweeted. The gym touts itself as a premier sports facility, catering to pro-level athletes. I wish we could have come out and cleared our names straight away because everythi. Henry Ruggs III is the fourth active NFL player over the last 25 years to be involved in a drunk-driving incident resulting in death. The police report said that a black Dior shoe was on the ground and a handgun was on the floorboard. Willie Mason told the Sydney Morning Herald, 'When they say, "You're a rapist", that makes my blood boil. Obviously the victim at the time and certainly the club at the time as well. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. He wants to meet with state legislators about toughening DUI laws. It relaxes him when he knows everything is OK. In January, rookie cornerback Nate Hobbs pleaded guilty to a careless driving charge after a DUI charge was dropped. See www.couriermail.com.au/subscriptionterms for full details. Stallworth returned to the NFL in 2010 and played in eight games for the Baltimore Ravens that season. Now hes broken his silence about the 2004 Coffs Harbour rape scandal that nearly derailed his career, before it had even begun. She knew how to say something honest without hurting anyone.". Malcolm Noad is announced as the new Bulldogs CEO. A few miles from his house, he stops his car and walks to the crash site. Ruggs, a second-year receiver who was finally showing the promise that earned him the 12th overall draft pick and a $16.67 million guaranteed contract, decided to go out that night. Thurston explained in his account how group sex was commonplace early on in his career, so when his teammates revealed that the unnamed woman involved in the incident had "slept with six of them" while partying at the Plantation Hotel in Coffs Harbour, Thurston was unmoved. 'We could get on the training paddock and park it away, but the families, they're the ones getting questions, they're getting bombarded, so you feel for them. Canterbury Bulldogs NRL footballers Adam Perry, Corey Hughes, Glen Hughes, Jamaal Lolesi, Brent Sherwin & Willie Mason accompanied by legal counsel as they arrive at Sydney Police Centre to provide DNA sample as well as submit to questioning as police continue gang rape allegations. "You don't even know how you feel anymore. The North Queensland Cowboys legend became the first member of the 2004 Bulldogs squad to open up about the incident, doing so in his new book,Johnathan Thurston: The Autobiography. Brent faced up to 20 years in prison, but was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 10 years of probation. Gutweilers husband said the family received a small settlement from a civil proceeding against Little. Alex Otte, national president of MADD, said that the organization reached out to the Raiders and offered support in the hope of avoiding a repeat of what happened on South Rainbow Boulevard and that they have been in discussions about efforts to prevent impaired driving. I never got called in, they never heard my side of the story.'. TWELVE years after the infamous Coffs Harbour sexual assault case ripped the Canterbury Bulldogs apart, the NSW Police Force has gone to the rare step of reviewing its handling of the case - and it's due to a year-long campaign of unrelenting pressure by Dogs great Graeme Hughes. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. So I decided to show up. They were also let down by the club.After beating Canberra the night before, players were due at a recovery session in the hotel pool at 8am. But Adams somehow managed to doze off again. By the time Komazec neared South Rainbow Boulevard that morning, fire had consumed whatever was in the street. He is expected back in court next Wednesday. Blood tests showed Brents alcohol level at .18, more than twice Texas legal limit of .08. Ryan and El Masri are not alone in speaking out about how the Coffs Harbour scandal has left its mark on them. The team won two championships in 1993 and 1997, the only team to win . Prices after the introductory pricing period may be varied as per full Terms and Conditions. The RAV4 was propelled 571 feet. The former Bulldog was sworn to secrecy when his teammates were accused of gang rape. Bulldogs winger Hazem El Masri (in grey) leaves the Sydney Police Centre after meeting detectives investigating the false claims of a woman that she was gang raped at Coffs Harbour, Bulldogs including Sonny Bill Williams (right) were slammed in the media for wearing T-shirts, shorts and thongs to police interviews in 2004 - but teammates including Andrew Ryan and Hazem El Masri say the episode was a 'laughable' media beat-up that smeared the players. Still, a handful of strangers felt compelled to attend. Distraught family wants answers in Ruggs case, Fantasy football rankings for 2023 season, 10 fantasy football breakout players for 2023, Broncos pick up Jeudy's 5th-year rookie option, Bills ink vet Murray after passing on RBs in draft, Source: Ravens decline LB Queen's 2024 option, LB Barrett's 2-year-old daughter drowns in pool, Bengals' Ossai recovering from offseason surgery, Deion 'ashamed' after only 1 HBCU player drafted, Sources: NFL eyes May 11 to release schedule, Cowboys scout emotional as team drafts his son. His girlfriend posted a video on Facebook of Ruggs taking swings from the bay while they enjoyed the evening with at least one other, unidentified friend. JUST A FEW hours after the NFL's first-round draft picks walk the red carpet under the backdrop of the Bellagio Fountains in late April, Pedja Komazec quietly gets in his Volkswagen and makes the 3:30 a.m. journey home from work. Now! Panther axed from trial over sex tape scandal, Napa escapes ban, clubs fined over $1.5m as NRL vows never again, Manly Sea Eagles star Dylan Walker stood down for three months, NRL hand down tough sanctions to Napa and Bolton. IAN BIRRELL: Why are we kowtowing to a sinister dictatorship in China that still covers up the origins of Career coach reveals the best way to explain why you left a job after a short period of time - and you only Father 'crushed to death' in indoor cave at tourist attraction 'was read poem by his daughter' while he lay Can the Keto diet help treat mental illness? The North Queensland Cowboys legend became the first member of the 2004 Bulldogs squad to open up about the incident, doing so in his new book, Johnathan Thurston: The Autobiography. The cramped quarters, and the shared anxiety of leaving behind everything for another country, forged a deep bond within the family. In 2009, former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter after he struck and killed a construction worker, Mario Reyes, in Miami Beach, Florida. 'Everywhere we turned it was in your face, non-stop,' he says of the Coffs Harbour pack rape scandal of 2004. No charges were laid against the players after a police investigation found there was insufficient evidence, but any public assumptions of their guilt went uncontested after the club advised its players not to address the incident. Soon after his request was rejected Pearce left the force in a decision he says was '100 per cent' about the handling of the case. ONE of the most senior police officers involved in the investigation of the Bulldogs gang rape allegations in Coffs Harbour has publicly supported the footballers and said: "There was no woman raped." He had asked her to slow down. The former Bulldog was sworn to secrecy when his teammates were accused of gang rape. No charges were ever laid with all the members of the squad cleared of any wrongdoing. 1, Panthers' Bryce Young is all 'business now', Top picks Christian Gonzalez, Keion White reflect Patriots' ideal identity, Big takeaways from the NFL draft: A historic QB class, the rebuilt AFC South and new GMs thriving, NFL Nation sizes up all 259 draft selections, XFL semifinals: Defenders roll Sea Dragons, set up title showdown with Renegades. A hotel worker later told police he saw the woman having sex with one player in the hotel's pool area and the sex appeared to be consensual. Ryan says the meeting was nothing of the sort and Pearce insists the players never gave the impression of colluding with each other. In 1997 a Bulldogs player apparently urinated on the leg of a make-up artist who was doing his face in preparation for a television advertisement. My wife was pregnant at the time, and some of the questions she was asked about it, it was a very stressful time. "We believe, still to this day, we had done nothing wrong and it was just an unfortunate event that had occurred," he said. Consensual group sex, a girl sleeping with more than one NRL player at the same time, was not unusual.. She later told police that they were drinking mai tais and that she drank two but didn't know how many, if any, Ruggs had. Ryan's recollections of the Coffs Harbour saga show how badly accused players can struggle if they're not allowed to take the field, and how easily their families are hurt by off-field scandals. There were cameras everywhere you went. 0. Ryan, El Masri and many of their teammates remain angry over how the Bulldogs were treated by the media - especially when it comes to three instances of what he calls 'ridiculous' reporting - and they're backed by Glen Pearce, one of the lead detectives on the Coffs Harbour case. 'All these years later, people are going to Google your name and see that you took a DNA test for a rape allegation my kids could Google my name, their friends could Google my name and say, "He took this DNA test, I wonder why?"'. A 20-year-old woman claimed she had been gang raped by six Bulldogs players at a resort on the NSW mid-north coast. Players deny this and say they were given no time to prepare. Drinking and driving should never be an option for someone.". She was really good with computers, her friend Ryder Hankins said. In an interview with ESPN, he said he saw someone still in the driver's seat of a Corvette and remembered music blaring. Ruggs awaits a preliminary hearing -- now set for Sept. 7 -- to determine whether he will stand trial in state court. Media outlets seized on it as the team trying to get their stories straight before they were interviewed by police. Four players had been interviewed by police. Similarly, the code on Thursday stood down Dylan Walker over domestic violence charges as part of a controversial new crackdown on off-field behaviour. For the female it would be way too much work. Citing evidence collected at the scene as well as Ruggs' condition and behavior at UMC, police concluded he was under the influence of alcohol. "Think of Kenzli.". Majority of British public think Charles should not apologise for slavery, new poll shows, Even most republicans see no benefit in abolishing the monarchy, new poll reveals. She had plans. The Chiefs playmaker shapes as Scott Robertsons top No 10 option next year. 'The only way to get away from it [the scrutiny] for us was at home with your loved ones or on the training paddock That was our safest place to be.'. Club legend Steve Price wrote in his autobiography 'Be Your Best' that during the Coffs Harbour affair, 'I would go to pick my kids up from school and could sense the other parents looking at me. Johnathan Thurston and Bulldogs teammates were accused of sexual assault after a night out in Coffs Harbour in 2004 Police found insufficient evidence against players and no charges were laid, but players were told to stay quiet by the club Thurston says he was not part of the group but everything was consensual If you looked the wrong way, smiled the wrong way - you wouldn't wish it upon your worst enemy. On April 27 the police announced no charges would be laid due to lack of evidence, but the mud continued to stick to the players, even when Pearce went public about how poorly the investigation was handled. Citing tests by hospital staff before police arrived, the report said Ruggs hadn't suffered head trauma. Renewals occur unless cancelled as per full Terms and Conditions. Thurston has also been the subject of a nasty email that received widespread circulation relating to the Coffs Harbour situation, and he was devastated when he saw it. "It was very serious allegations. Eleven months after his friend's death, Ruggs announced his college choice in a 1-minute, 50-second video that started with him crouched at Scott's grave. It was devastating for the players, the staff, everyone. When he found out his friend was dead, Ruggs said he "lost himself." "She didn't take s--- from anyone. A representative from the NFLPA told ESPN the use of ride-sharing apps is promoted in annual team meetings. Stallworth, who was 28 at the time, was suspended without pay for the entire 2009 season by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the leagues personal conduct and substance abuse policy. The family worries that the longer it takes for the case to be resolved, the less anyone will remember Tintor. 'Someone [in the police force] leaked a document to Ray and the information wasn't tested at all it's purely based on what she said and as time went on it was proved that what she was saying was rubbish it basically put fuel on the fire.'. They became best friends at Robert E. Lee High School and dreamed of getting out of Montgomery and playing in the NBA. Ryan and club officials say the players were at training when they found out they had to attend the interviews and simply didn't have a chance to change, describing the coverage of the incident as 'laughable'. The dog didn't eat for four or five days straight, Komazec said, because it realized that Tintor wasn't coming home. Ruggs still awaits a preliminary hearing -- now set for Feb. 1, 2023 -- to determine whether he will stand trial in state court. A man on the sidewalk -- who appears dressed in the same clothing as their friend in the Facebook video from Topgolf -- points out to an officer that the person sitting on the ground is Ruggs, who plays for the Raiders, and that he needs help "ASAP.". "I don't get sick," he told GameDay. And yet the allegation just stuck there,' he says. El Masri engaged his own lawyer as police questioned the players and was the only member of the team to refuse to take a DNA test - a decision he took out of concern for the effect it could have on his reputation. Hatten was drafted into a Brazilian league as an import player, a term used to indicate players drafted from America. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, club legends Hazem El Masri and Andrew Ryan revealed how damaging the allegations were for everyone at the club. I remember looking down on him.". Shortly after their basketball team was eliminated from the postseason, Scott and Ruggs planned a trip to Birmingham to cheer for their friends in the state finals. TINTOR WAS, BY 20-something standards, a homebody. Two former Canterbury Bulldogs stars have opened up on the infamous gang rape scandal that engulfed the club in 2004 and the devastating toll it took on them and their families. No charges were ever laid and all players cleared of any wrongdoing. Club chairman George Peponis says the move 'is not specifically' about Coffs Harbour. Ruggs was at home in bed. One of the boys pushed her out and gave her a gob-full. Brent was driving home from a night of partying in December 2012 when he lost control of his car and crashed, killing his Dallas teammate, Jerry Brown, in the passenger seat. When Ruggs was at the hospital, he became enraged, police said. To his right, a burned husk of metal rested in the middle of the road. He couldn't tell whether it was a car or an SUV; its features had melted into anonymity. Shortly after that, the car started hydroplaning, then left the road and overturned. The Director of Public Prosecutions ruled there was insufficient evidence to launch a prosecution. Then her family intervened, Jock Zonfrillo remembered as an 'incredible chef' and influential member of Australia's culinary landscape, 'You could tell where the Russians had been': These Australians returned to Ukraine to help the country rebuild, Baby with bowel obstruction died after hospital's failures, coroner finds, NT chief minister apologises to outgoing police commissioner over retirement settlement comments, Nouma is an island paradise but for the next year you're not allowed to swim, Police officer holidaying in WA's Kimberley says she's never experienced crime like it, At least six people killed as dust storm causes pile-up on US highway, Tasmania's salmon farm industry has lost its 'social licence', minister says, but it wants it back, US federal department faces environmental lawsuit following SpaceX launch and explosion, Live: Celebrities arrive at the Met Gala for fashion's biggest night, Texas college baseball player accidentally shot during game. She hoped Tintor's family would hear about the walk and know that the city of Las Vegas was thinking about them. The football coaches at Robert E. Lee also kept pursuing Ruggs, and junior year, he finally relented. Facebook. She didn't let anyone talk down to her, especially at Target. They named him Max. Six Bulldogs rugby league players will not be charged over allegations they gang raped a woman at a Coffs Harbour resort. In his memoir, Thurston says he wasnt shocked by the group sex at the time, but now he sees things differently. New customers only. Leone said he saw a black SUV pull up behind the accident scene, and then noticed a white car also parked not far away. In 2014, he spoke at the NFLs rookie symposium, sharing his story and pleading with young athletes to not make the same mistakes he made. Hobbs also faced a separate reckless driving charge from earlier that month -- he was going 110 mph in a 65 mph zone -- for which he entered a no-contest plea and paid a $250 fine. Very large text size ONE of the most senior police officers involved in the investigation of the Bulldogs gang rape allegations in Coffs Harbour has publicly supported the footballers and said: "There was no woman raped." Former Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan with wife Olivia. The Wollongong detective, Shawn Adams, was strongly criticised by Judge Andrew Haesler for his conduct in the investigation but the District Court judge ultimately allowed the case to proceed to preserve public confidence in the legal system. In an emotional interview with Channel Nine's 60 Minutes, Thurston who went on to become one of the greatest NRL players of all time with the North Queensland Cowboys said he was denied a chance to defend himself. (Only applies if home delivery is included in your package), Subscriber-only newsletters straight to your inbox, Todays Paper, a digital replica of the newspaper, SuperCoach Plus for stats, analysis, tips and more, Saturday and Sunday paper delivery* Komazec's family would ration food to save for baby Tina. jedi: fallen order stuck on zeffo, evoshield xvt scion batting helmet, why is miles raney not on homestead rescue,

Pacers Trade Rumors 2022, Lying Lateral Raise Vs Standing, Jordan Weiss Button Mash, Articles B