Nicholas Leys, Wayne Flower
AFL Players Association president Joel Bowden has asked what possible action could be taken against players who may have passed around a nude picture of Lara Bingle.
"You would hope guys would have the sense not to pass that sort of thing on,'' Bowden said, admitting that it was almost certain that a handful of players would have circulated the Bingle image.
"But what type of action would you take against them? That would be the question.''
The AFL has refused to declare what action or sanctions will be applied to Brendan Fevola or any other player involved in the scandal should they be found to have acted inappropriately.
Bowden said the matter was for Brisbane to decide and would not comment on how the Lions had handled the situation so far.
Bowden, who retired from Richmond last season, said he himself had only seen the image after it was published by media outlets.
"That was the first I had heard of it, although I had obviously heard they (Fevola and Bingle) had been involved at some point.''
AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson told reporters today that "we will make inquiries before we decide any particular action in this case.''
He confirmed AFL representatives would speak with Fevola and his club, the Brisbane Lions, and then decide "what further action will be taken,'' including speaking with Bingle herself or her representatives.
"I'm not going into sanctions at this time, the important thing is to establish the facts in this case, there are court proceedings that have been foreshadowed that will be monitored as well,'' he said.
"But at the end of the day the basic principal of respect towards women requires there aren't photos taken of women without their consent that are then circulated.''
Mr Anderson was speaking at the announcement of more funding for the Respectful Relationships initiative, a federal government funded program aimed at educating players about attitudes towards women.
One of the players present, retired Richmond great Matthew Richardson, refused to confirm if he had seen the image.
"We're here to talk about the respect and responsibility program, I can't comment on any specific cases out there,'' he told reporters.
"I'm not going to comment on specific cases.''
Fellow Richmond player Jack Riewoldt said he had not seen the image.
When asked how many players were thought to have seen the image or circulated it further, Mr Anderson said he had no idea, only that "inquiries will be made in terms of what happened in this case.''
Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek, in announcing funding for the program, said she would not respond to questions of whether Brendan Fevola should be sacked by his club.
"But I would like to make a general comment that if anyone takes a photograph of someone without their permission and circulates it, that's pretty poor behaviour and its not the sort of behaviour society in general finds acceptable,'' she said.
While the AFL is investigating, a heraldsun.com.au poll of more than 11,000 readers found less that 28 per cent felt sorry for the model, while more than 72 per cent said they had no sympathy for her.
Reader comments also suggested a similar lack of sympathy, with Glenn of Yarraville summing up the sentiment: "'Traumatised'? It's just a photo with her boobies...less than we see every day all around us!"
The AFL said they would try to speak with Fevola today to discuss his alleged role in the release of the naked photo of Bingle.
"It’s our intention to talk to him,’’ AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said.
An AFL integrity officer will question him about whether the photos were taken on his mobile and sent from it to other players.
Fevola has denied ever forwarding the photo of Bingle that has engulfed the AFL star in a fresh storm of controversy and prompted the threat of legal action from the model.
His management would not comment but the Herald Sun has learned that Velocity Sports has engaged lawyers to protect its client's reputation.
Meanwhile, Bingle is struggling to come to terms with the nude photo scandal that has divided the nation.
As a team of lawyers prepared to file court documents suing Fevola, her manager Max Markson said the 22-year-old had a very strong case.
"Fevola's behaviour is that of a bully," he said. "Lara was 19 at the time ... it's evident it was taken without her consent."
The latest Fevola scandal erupted after a photo of Bingle, pictured in the shower, was published in a women's magazine this week. The photo was allegedly taken several years ago by Fevola while the pair were having an affair. How it became available is not known.
Bingle went to ground on Tuesday while cricket star fiance Michael Clarke was with the Australian team in New Zealand.
Former prime minister John Howard sent a message of support to Bingle as the controversy continued.
"I know Michael and Lara very well," Mr Howard said. "She's a very nice young lady and I could understand how she might be upset by it."
The controversy even attracted comment from Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
"It's wrong. It shouldn't happen," Ms Gillard said. "If it has happened then obviously the person responsible should take all steps necessary to apologise."
Victorian Women's Trust executive director Mary Crooks slammed Fevola's alleged actions as "emotionally immature".
"Lara Bingle is first and foremost a human being and I'd be surprised if she wasn't traumatised by this," she said. "It's one thing for a consenting couple to take photos in the privacy of their bedroom, it's another for those images to be passed into the public domain. It's an act of bragging and it's a gross invasion of her privacy."
Former Demons vice-president Beverly O'Connor came out in support of Fevola, saying many critics had been waiting for him to trip up.
"It would be nice to know how this photo got out there," she said. "You don't know these days, with the internet, how these things surface."
Lions coach Michael Voss said the drama had "knocked the stuffing" out of Fevola when he felt he'd got his career back on track.
source : http://www.heraldsun.com.au
