Eels blindsided by Hayne rape claims
OPINION: The last thing we need to worry about right now is what this will do to Parramatta’s season. Footy is secondary.
A young woman known only as ‘‘Ms V’’ has accused Australian rugby league player Jarryd Hayne of raping her in December 2015 in San Jose, California, while Hayne was playing for the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL.
The court documents released when her lawyer filed a civil lawsuit in Santa Clara County churn the stomach; graphic details of how she met Hayne, how the alleged sexual assault occurred, the words he said to her before it happened, the bloody aftermath and physical pain she felt from the incident.
Hayne deserves the presump- tion of innocence and the chance to clear his name, just as the woman involved deserves respect and the opportunity to prove the graphic claims she has made in her lawsuit.
We must also make it very clear that Ms V made a complaint in May, 2016, to police and no charges were laid because of a lack of evidence. Hayne co-operated at that time.
As always, though, Hayne left Parramatta second guessing, the last to know, as the story unfolded throughout the afternoon. Simply, the club that have thrown him a lifeline next season was blindsided.
Despite numerous attempts throughout the day, no club officials could reach him. To the best of their knowledge, he flew out of Sydney on Tuesday night to return to Israel, where he visited the holy city of Jerusalem earlier this month.
His long-term manager, Wayne Beavis, could not shed light on where his client was when contacted, directing all inquiries to his lawyer, Ramy Qutami.
Late in the day, Qutami released a statement with Hayne ‘‘unequivocally and vehemently’’ denying the accusations.
‘‘Mr Hayne and his management are aware of recent media speculation in relation to a civil complaint filed in the United States of America making certain allegations in relation to an event which allegedly occurred in 2015 whilst playing for the San Francisco 49ers. Mr Hayne has not been served with any proceedings or formal complaint relating to the incident.’’
Media speculation? A lawsuit was filed in a courthouse in the US, outlining some monstrous claims. Hayne’s father, the former Souths player Manoa Thompson, texted this to Channel 9: ‘‘Slow news day? 2015??? Seriously.’’
While all this was unfolding, neither Hayne, his management or his lawyers had contacted the club. At the time of writing, they still had not heard from him.
The story broke while Parramatta chief executive Bernie Gurr was also in the air, flying back to the US where he was based for many years before taking up the Eels job.
Both the Eels and the NRL were adamant Hayne had not made the police investigation into the alleged incident with Ms V known to them when he returned to rugby league — nor did he have to.
When Hayne does return to the club early in the new year, he will be allowed to train and then play with the Eels as the lawsuit plays out.
‘‘We note that the police in the United States did not proceed with any criminal proceedings but we will review the information avail- able and continue to monitor the civil case,’’ an NRL spokesman said.
Parramatta chairman Max Donnelly said in a statement: ‘‘The club has been made aware of serious allegations regarding Jarryd Hayne during his time with the San Francisco 49ers. We were unaware of these allegations until they were made public today.
‘‘It is important that we follow due process and ensure that we review all relevant information available, including giving Jarryd the opportunity to respond.’’
Another question that has been raised is about the timing of his departure from the 49ers. Ms V lodged a complaint with police sometime in May. In that same month, Hayne announced he was taking up the chance to compete at the Olympics with the Fijian rugby sevens team.