Footy star Barry Cable ditched from AFL Hall of Fame after judge found he sexually abused a girl
Disgraced footy star is dumped from the AFL Hall of Fame after judge found he had sexually assaulted a girl for five years
- Barry Cable has been removed from the AFL Hall of Fame
- Judge Mark Herron found that Cable had sexually assaulted a Perth girl
- ‘Further evidence that Cable violated other children’
Disgraced Australian Rules identity Barry Cable has been removed from the sport’s Hall of Fame after a judge found he had sexually assaulted a Perth girl.
Cable has also been stripped of his status as an Australian football legend by the AFL.
A judge presiding over a civil suit in the District Court of Western Australia found that Cable had repeatedly sexually assaulted a Perth girl at the height of his playing career.
Judge Mark Herron said there was also compelling evidence that Cable had violated other children.
Richard Goyder, chairman of the AFL commission, said on Tuesday that Cable would be immediately removed from the sport’s Hall of Fame and would no longer be classed as one of the game’s official legends.
Disgraced Australian Rules identity Barry Cable has been removed from the sport’s Hall of Fame after a judge found he had sexually assaulted a Perth girl at the height of his footy career
AFL committee chairman Richard Goyder said Cable (pictured, with wife Helen) would also no longer be designated as one of the game’s official legends
“Judge Herron’s finding was incredibly serious and disturbing,” Goyder said in a statement.
“The thoughts of the AFL Commission are entirely with the victim who bravely told her story and the other women who courageously came forward to tell their stories during the trial.
“After the verdict of the court was made, it was the task of the commission and the game to immediately investigate the facts of this case.
“And the horrific nature of these events required Barry Cable to no longer be eligible for any honor that the Hall of Fame of football can bestow.”
The AFL commission recently introduced rules that allow an individual to be removed for conduct that has brought the game into disrepute.
“As a result, the committee unanimously decided today to remove Barry Cable from the Australian Football Hall of Fame with immediate effect,” said Goyder.
Following the civil suit ruling, WA’s Institute of Sport revoked Cable’s Hall of Champions Honors and the WA Football Commission removed his WA Football Hall of Fame membership, legend status, and lifetime membership.
Cable won two VFL premierships in 1975 and 1977 with North Melbourne under coach Ron Barassi
A premiership player from North Melbourne (VFL), Perth and East Perth (both WAFL), Cable was inducted into the Australian Rules Hall of Fame in 1996 and upgraded to official legend status in 2012.
During the civil trial, Cable’s victim was awarded $818,700 after Judge Herron found that Cable had abused her for five years starting in 1968, starting when she was 12.
Judge Herron found that Cable groomed his victim, who always babysat his infant son, with sexualized conversation and unwanted touching before it escalated into almost weekly assaults.
He attacked the girl in a public swimming pool, the changing rooms of the Perth Football Club and at his home, while her younger sister was sleeping nearby.
On multiple occasions, Cable threatened to sexually assault the younger sister if his victim did not comply with his demands, Judge Herron found.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Recovery Support Service 1800 211 028