Netball Australia sponsorship saga: Sport in debt after Gina Rinehart terminated $15m deal
How Netball Australia faces a financial nightmare after Gina Rinehart withdrew $15m sponsorship when an Indigenous player refused to wear her company’s logo: ‘There is no money left for the players’
- Netball Australia is still in debt after sponsorship saga
- Gina Rinehart has raised $15 million from the sport
- Fallout continues for five months
Netball Australia is struggling to repay a $4.2 million debt after losing a sponsorship deal from Gina Rinehart’s company Hancock prospecting – despite the fact that the Victorian government came to the rescue after the deal fell through.
Rinehart pulled the pin on the lucrative Hancock Prospecting deal after native netball player Donnell Wallam refused to have the Hancock Prospecting logo on her jersey with the support of her teammates.
This was reportedly a result of comments made by Rinehart’s late father Lang Hancock about Aboriginal Australians nearly four decades ago.
He proposed in 1984 that Indigenous Australians should be sterilized in order to ‘breed out’ for years to come.
Wallam was in the national team, but had not yet made her international debut.
Five months into the saga, Netball Australia is still reeling from the furore, despite Visit Victoria coming to the rescue with a new $15 million deal.
Under the new deal, players will wear Visit Victoria branding on their uniforms and appear in tourism campaigns to promote the state.
The deal also gives Victoria hosting rights to the 2023 Super Netball Grand final as the state becomes the official home of the Diamonds.
Netball Australia is still in debt after Gina Rinehart (pictured) rescinded a massive $15 million sponsorship deal
Gina Rinehart (right) is pictured with her father Lang Hancock, who founded the Hancock Prospecting company. His comments from a 1984 interview have angered members of the Diamonds team
The body doesn’t seem to regret Rinehart walking off with a cheeky ‘we’re not sorry’ campaign to celebrate the launch of the 2023 Super Netball season.
‘We are tired of the korfball stereotypes; a stuffy, safe sport played by quiet, nice girls. We’re sorry, we’re not sorry, and we’re not just here if you need us to be. We Are Here,” the message read.
However, the sport remains in a huge financial hole after the Covid-19 pandemic plunged into chaos over the past three seasons.
“$4.2 million is the debt we have and need to pay back,” Netball Australia chief executive Kelly Ryan admitted at the season launch.
“We still have a large, sizeable debt that has yet to be paid off. So we are still very fiscally responsible and ensure that any growth opportunities are realised.’
Australian Diamonds star Donnell Wallam (pictured) criticized comments Gina Rinehart’s late father Lang Hancock made about Aboriginal Australians nearly four decades ago, leading Australia’s richest woman to withdraw her sponsorship
Netball Australia is also facing ongoing negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement amid claims from the players’ union that it has no plans to raise Super Netball players’ salaries next season due to the financial gap.
“There is no money left for the players until 2026, which is in line with the broadcasting agreement,” Kathryn Harby-Williams, CEO of the Australian Netball Players’ Association, said recently.
“We are not aligned with that approach and will work with Netball Australia … we have asked for financial information and hope to get to the table to discuss that.”
Netball Australia unveiled a cheeky ‘We’re not sorry’ campaign this week at the launch of the 2023 Super Netball season