Caro's Article
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Richmond name Nathan Broad as player at centre of photo scandal By: Caroline Wilson
The AFL and Richmond have exposed Nathan Broad as the player who distributed the photograph of a topless woman without her permission on the night of the grand final.
Broad, who had known the woman previously and had told her he had deleted the photograph as soon as he had taken it at her request, faces a significant punishment to be announced shortly by club president Peggy O'Neal. O'Neal and Broad will make statements at 11am on Monday.
The decision comes after weeks of negotiations with the woman, who has been traumatised by the affair, and her family and legal team who had fought to preserve her anonymity and feared naming Broad could expose her due to their previous relationship.
The woman's lawyers Maurice Blackburn confirmed Broad, the 24-year-old defender who played in the premiership victory, had previously known the woman who "believed there was a level of trust between them".
"She maintains that she insisted he delete the photo from his mobile phone as soon as it was taken, and that he assured her it had been," a statement read.
"She was shocked and extremely confused when she saw the photo on social media the night after the grand final."
Broad had been holidaying in Bali as the investigation continued and initially had chosen not to return home. He has engaged his own legal team and was interviewed last week by the AFL's new integrity boss Tony Keane with Steve Wyatt handling the Tigers' part of the investigation.
The woman's lawyers added that her motivation for informing the police was in a bid to gain assistance in getting her image removed from the internet, rather than pursue a criminal investigation.
The AFL's integrity team, in conjunction with Richmond, is understood to have reached a decision on Broad's penalty late last week but have been working with Maurice Blackburn to ensure any public statements did not further traumatise the woman.
Both the league and Richmond have insisted her well-being remained the priority even above their determination to penalise Broad.
According to the Maurice Blackburn statement: "The unauthorised distribution of her photograph and the subsequent attention it has received has had a devastating impact on the young girl's well being.
"She is desperate to maintain her anonymity as she tries to get on with her life as best she can."
The full statement reads:
"There has been enormous media and public speculation about the situation in which the photograph was taken, the majority of which is not true and is unfair to our client who has done nothing wrong.
"She has not received any money or other compensation from the player, the Richmond Football Club or the AFL.
"We can confirm that the woman knew the player prior to the 2017 grand final and believed there was a level of trust between them. She maintains that she insisted he delete the photo from his mobile phone as soon as it was taken, and that he assured her it had been.
"She was shocked and extremely confused when she saw the photo on social media the night after the grand final. She approached the player and football club for help to getting it removed from the internet, but it soon became apparent that the image had gone 'viral'.
"Her motivation for approaching police was for assistance in getting the image deleted from wherever it had been uploaded, rather than pursuing a criminal investigation into the player's conduct. The latter was never her intention.
"The young woman's decision not to proceed with the police investigation was motivated by her desire to protect her identity and avoid any further attention and distress. Her main focus has been protecting her privacy, welfare and dignity as she tries to come to terms with what has happened.
"The unauthorised distribution of her photograph and the subsequent attention it has received has had a devastating impact on the young woman's wellbeing. She is desperate to maintain her anonymity as she tries to get on with her life as best she can.
"For that reason, we ask the media and public to immediately cease speculating about what happened, and urge everyone to respect the young woman and her family's privacy.
"We remind everyone that any further distribution and/or publication of the image could constitute a criminal offence. Similarly, identifying the young woman exposes them to the risk of civil legal action.
"Our client does not wish to make any further comments."
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/richmond-name-nathan-broad-as-player-at-centre-of-photo-scandal-20171029-gzaou0.html
