Broad ban on photo lesson to players
FOUR-TIME AFL premiership winner Luke Hodge says Richmond defender Nathan Broad was lucky to escape with a three-game suspension for sharing a photo of a topless woman without her consent.
Broad will miss next season’s first three games under a sanction imposed by the Tigers and endorsed by the AFL’s integrity unit.
The 24-year-old admitted sharing a private photo of a topless woman, who was wearing his premiership medallion, on the night of the Grand Final. The unidentified woman has dropped her complaint to police but released a statement yesterday saying she had been assured by the player — who she knew — the photo had been deleted from his phone.
Tigers president Peggy O’Neal announced the ban yesterday, appearing alongside Broad at a press conference at Punt Road Oval.
Neither Broad nor O’Neal took questions after each made a brief statement, and it remains unclear whether the club found evidence the image had been shared further by Broad’s teammates.
Former Hawthorn skipper and Brisbane Lions recruit Hodge said any future transgressions should attract a much tougher punishment.
“Next time, if that happens, I hope the AFL come down a lot harder than this one,” he told ABC radio.
“I think it’s a massive learning curve for him as a young person, and hopefully he’s better for it in the future.
“But I’m tipping that — this has been the test case — if anyone’s ever silly enough to do this again, then it’s going to be a (much) bigger whack, and I think that’s very deserving.”
Broad urged the public to respect the young woman’s anonymity and not repeat his actions in sharing the image.
“I take full responsibility for what I have done,” he said. “I’m ashamed and I’m embarrassed that I made a very bad drunken decision.
“Not only have I let down my family, my friends and the Richmond Football Club but most of all I let down a young woman who I cared about — a young woman who I spent time with before the Grand Final and a young woman who I liked and respected.
“By sending this picture, I lied to her and I broke her trust.”
O’Neal said the Tigers were “terribly disappointed” with Broad’s actions but did not elaborate on how his punishment was decided.
Individuals charged under Victoria’s “sexting” laws, which cover the distribution of intimate images of adults without their consent, can face up to two years in prison.
O’Neal said the Tigers would look for ways to better educate players to prevent such behaviour being repeated.
“As a club that’s committed to gender equity and respect, we find these actions to be completely unacceptable,” she said.
“We’re incredibly sorry for the distress Nathan’s actions have caused a young woman who deserves better.” AAP