[Sydney, June 21. Image via Getty]

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 21: A young wallabies supporter takes part in a rugby skills clinic at the ARU Wallabies fan day at North Sydney Oval on June 21, 2009 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

To recap: Last Monday night, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation aired a special segment of their Four Corners television show titled "Code of Silence." The show focused on allegations of sexual abuse brought against rugby players and the dangerous culture of group sex that the sport seems to promote. One victim, codenamed "Clare," claimed that in 2002, she agreed to have sex with two players from the Cronulla Sharks in a hotel room. While she was with Matthew Johns and Brett Firman in their hotel room, about ten other players climbed in through the window and began to join in. In her interview with ABC reporter Sarah Ferguson, Clare made it clear that she only gave her consent to Matthew Johns and Brett Firman. Four men proceeded to rape Clare, while the six other players watched and masturbated, but she was unable to scream or fight back; "I thought I was worthless, and I thought I was nothing. I think I was in shock. I didn't scream," she said.

As we mentioned last week, Clare's ordeal has been grossly misrepresented by the media, which has taken to calling her claim of rape "allegations of group sex." The fallout from the Four Corners interview has not stopped there. Several of Clare's former coworkers have come forward to call her a liar, and accuse her of "gloating" about the incident (she has also been accused of boasting about a three-way she had with several other rugby players the night before the "group sex" with Johns and Firman). As the Daily Telegraph reports, hotel owner John Butterfield said that Clare is no longer welcome at the hotel, although the Sharks are "a great bunch of guys," who can stay anytime. "She told a whole bunch of lies," he said, "It's buggered Matthew Johns' whole life."

Keith Burgess, the women's manager at the hotel where Clare worked, says he was surprised to hear Clare's story, and he feels sympathy for the rugby players and their families. "It must be one hell of a time for them," he said. He goes on to say that Clare was a good employee, and the last person you'd ever expect to be involved in this type of thing." In contrast to Butterfield, he recalls Clare as "a decent, stable type with her head screwed on."

The identities of the other players involved in the possible rape remain unknown, and Preston Campbell, who was on tour with the Cronulla Sharks in 2002, would like to keep it that way. He said he can see no reason for the other men involved to come forward, the Independent reports. "I don't think it is going to help the matter at all," Campbell told reporters on Friday.

However, several players have admitted that they were present on the night of the rape, although so far none of them have confessed to having sex (consensual or not) with Clare. Former Sharks player Daniel Ninness said he went home with Clare after his teammates had finished with her, but he maintains that he did not have sex with her at any point during the night. Current Sharks captain Paul Gallen also admits to being present on the night of the rape, but he claims he only entered the room after it was all over.

While most of the players are staying quiet about the "group sex"/rape scandal, rugby league commenter Phil Gould has gone on air to cry about Johns public ordeal. He said that Johns and his wife are both "shattered" over the incident, and he fears for Johns safety. He hopes that the "group sex scandal" will be the "final sledgehammer" that will wake up rugby players involved in potentially scandalous behavior:

"Our players have got to understand it doesn't matter if you think you are in the right," he said.

"It doesn't matter if you think you have the green light, if it is perceived that it is OK to go across with this stuff it's going to end in dramas - somewhere sometime it will come back to bite you on the arse and we're all going to pay the penalty for it."

Like NRL boss David Gallop, who advised a ban on group sex, Gould seems to be suggesting that the only way to avoid accusations of rape (or, as he more obnoxiously terms it, "dramas") is to avoid engaging in "pack sex," even when everyone involved has given their consent.

While it seems unreasonable to regulate the private sex lives of players, those who study the phenomenon of sports-related group sex say that the "male bonding activity" is only a small part of the male-centric culture of rugby. In an article on the mentality behind group sex, the Daily Telegraph quotes Clifton Evers, a researcher studying the changing attitudes about sexual violence in the NRL:

``This is where mateship can get really ugly, where it's about being a mate to bloke-friends, rather than being a mate to the woman in the situation,'' Evers says.

"It becomes about looking after your mates, wanting to belong with your mates. That means women are sexual objects, by and large. If you grow up in a very male-centric culture such as rugby league, then you come across the opinions and ideas of women less. That fosters an understanding of relationships that privilege the male over the female.''

In "group sex", the woman becomes the "something" through which men can channel their physical bonding. Karen Willis, manager of the NSW Rape Crisis Center, also believes that "group sex", consensual or not, can often be termed "unethical sex." She writes,

It may not have been criminal sexual assault, but there is no doubt what happened in that Christchurch hotel room was utterly unethical.

She goes on to argue that sports players need to be better educated about what constitutes consent. Consent is not simply what you think is "OK," it is the freely voiced desire to engage in certain sexual acts. Willis makes it clear that even though Johns and his teammates may have believed Clare was willing, simply because she did not scream, consent is much more than silent acceptance of the event.

Although Clare's life will never be the same, her story has set into motion a discussion about the ethics of sex that may ultimately change the way rugby players are taught to view women. The NRL has taken several steps to reduce the rates of sexual assault among their players, including inviting rape crisis counselors (including Willis) to speak at rugby camps. The NSW Government has also recently launched a new website designed to provide information about sexual assault, support and counseling services, and how to report a crime to the police. Clare may still be forced to read offensive headlines calling her the "Matthew Johns sex girl," but thanks to her willingness to tell her story, other women may not have to suffer the same fate.

Matthew Johns Sex Girl 'Clare's' New Life With Footballer [Daily Telegraph]
No Need For Other Sharks To Go Public Over Sex Scandal [Independent]
Former Sharks Player Daniel Ninness Admits Role In Matthew Johns Group Sex Incident [News.com.au]
Paul Gould Tells Of Fears For Matthew Johns On Footy Show [News.com.au]
After Matthew Johns Affair, Why Sports Stars Like Group Sex [Daily Telegraph]
Ethical Men Must Fight For Change [Sydney Morning Herald]
NSW Government Launches Website For Sex Assault Victims [News.com.au]

Earlier: Australia Abuzz Over Rugby League "Group Sex" Scandal

What transpired in the hotel room sounds like gang rape, but not many others seem to be calling it that. The allegations came to light when ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation) program Four Corners aired the segment "Code of Silence" in Australia Monday night, which included interviews with the woman, identified only as "Clare", as well as several other women who suffered sexual assault at the hands of rugby players. Clare's story was undoubtedly the worst: She says that she was raped and molested by six players from the Cronulla Sharks rugby team for up to two hours while at least six other men watched.

The details included in the program were graphic and disturbing. Clare claims that several men rubbed their penises on her face, while others lined up at the end of the bed to have sex with her. Unsurprisingly, even years later, she is still traumatized by the incident. She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and psychiatrists have reported that she has attempted suicide several times. "For years and years afterwards I was drinking a lot, crying a lot and losing a lot of friends and doing quite destructive things to myself and other people," she told the program. "I was so angry and I wanted their lives destroyed like mine was."

Australia's National Rugby League issued an apology following the ABC special on the rape scandal. NRL chief executive David Gallop said:

"The program dealt with issues that I would hope everyone in the game finds appalling and unacceptable," Gallop said. "The distress of the victims spoke for itself and to the extent that the game can apologise for the actions of individuals then I offer that apology unreservedly.

"It is important, however, to understand the very substantial efforts the NRL, the clubs and the players have made in changing attitudes, particularly since 2004. It is also important to recognise the clear actions taken by the NRL and our clubs against those who breach our codes of conduct."

There has been at least one allegation of sexual misconduct leveled against players from the NRL each year since 2004, an issue the NRL has supposedly been struggling to address. Gallop says that group sex, regardless of consent, should be off limits to rugby players. Unfortunately, group sex is often used as a twisted sort of male bonding, and too many players have been involved in some sort of "pack sex," as it has been more accurately called by researchers.

After Mr. Johns was named as one of the instigators of the assault, he was asked to step down from his job as a television personality for Australia's Nine Network. (He has also just lost his coaching job.) In an interview following the "Code of Silence" segment, Johns apologized for his actions, but maintained that the sex was consensual. He said, "at no point did she object, at any stage, to what was going on… the woman was a willing participant in what went on." He went on to say that she clearly regrets her choices, but when asked whether she shares the "blame" for the attack, he appeared slightly confused, and says no. He also claimed to feel remorse over the "group sex," yet he refused to admit that the young woman may in any way have been a victim.

As CNN reports, Clare makes it clear during her interview that she was an unwilling participant in what several papers (including The Sun) have called the "sex romp":

"They were massive, like big rugby players. I felt that I just had no idea what to do. There was always hands on me," she said. "I thought I was worthless, and I thought I was nothing. I think I was in shock. I didn't scream. They used a lot of mental power over me and belittled me."

Clare - who made a complaint to the police less than a week after the incident, which resulted in the questioning of about 40 Cronulla players and staff, all of whom claimed that the sex was consensual - says she is speaking out now because she wants the wives and girlfriends of the players to know what they did.

It is unclear exactly what happened in the hotel room that night, yet one thing is for certain: Clare is accusing the rugby players of rape, not group sex. However, almost every news source has described the scandal as stemming from "group sex allegations," a rather confusing term, seeing as almost everyone involves admits that there was in fact, some sort of group sexual encounter, thus rendering the allegedly unnecessary. As Jill Singer for the Herald Sun points out,

The Australian continued the blame shifting with its headline "Woman alleges sex with six Cronulla players or staff ". No she didn't. Sex isn't an allegation. What Clare alleges was sexual assault. That's why she went to the police, unfortunately leaving it until five days after the event.

As Singer says, the language we use is important, and in this case, the language being used is dismissive and reductive. Clare has accused six men of raping her, while six others stood by and watched. It may be sexual assault, but to describe what happened to her as "sex" is ridiculous.

Australian Rugby League Apologizes For Sex Scandal [CNN]
Celebrity Ex-International Sidelined After Sex Scandal [Independent]
Our Game Apologizes Unreservedly: Gallop [League HQ]
Group Sex Has Destroyed My Life: Woman [Nine News]
Matthew Johns Stood Down By Nine [Nine News]
NRL Boss Admits Changing Attitudes Is Tough [Nine News]
Matthew Johnson Disputes Group Sex Details [Nine News]
Group Sex Rocks Rugby League [The Sun]
Disgraceful League Of Their Own [Herald Sun]

[Sydney, March 15. Image via Getty]

Square-jawed heirs to fortunes and self-made moguls are a staple of the romance novels, but recent shenanigans have tarnished the tycoon's image. Says one Mills & Boon editor, "The hero has to own the company, build it up themselves through strength and integrity. They are not answerable to anybody. The key to their success is they made it themselves. You never see characters who've got something for nothing." Although writers will probably take a hiatus from captains of industry, she adds that after a time, there may be an opportunity for redemption stories: "They can lose everything but they have to get everything back."

Romantic heroes have always been subject to trends; apparently ER's popularity launched a generation of dashing doctors. The latest leading men? Rugby players. In fact, Mills & Boon has partnered with the Rugby Football Union for a series of officially-sanctioned rugby romances. As The FT points out, "this is a sport untainted so far by the sex scandals that have plagued the football scene." To say nothing of Wall Street!

Romatic Heroes [Financial Times]

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