Mike Oxlong
20th June 2009, 23:59
Former Carlton president John Elliott says club paid off rape claims
By Ellen Whinnett
Sunday Herald Sun
June 21, 2009 12:01am
http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6681753,00.jpg
John Elliot
Rape claims ... John Elliott says Carlton had paid "four or five" women about $5000 each to keep them from going public.
* John Elliott a former Carlton president
* Says club paid women claiming rape
* "We didn't want it to get in the press"
FORMER Carlton president John Elliott has revealed the club paid thousands of dollars to women he claims falsely complained they were raped by Blues players.
Mr Elliott said the club had paid "four or five" women about $5000 each to keep them from going public.
The payments were made when Mr Elliott was president during the 1980s and '90s, the Sunday Herald Sun reports.
Mr Elliott said he believed the women had made up stories of rape and had, in fact, had consensual sex with players.
But he said the club had concerns one woman might be telling the truth. She also had accepted hush money.
Mr Elliott made the comments at a fund-raiser where he was debating the role of the media in sport, but went further when he spoke to the Sunday Herald Sun yesterday.
Asked why the women were paid off, he said: "We didn't want it to get in the press."
Mr Elliott said some women had been told to "go away", but others were paid.
He believed they had probably consented and then backtracked.
"There's some very ordinary people out there," he said.
He said the club thought the pay-offs were appropriate.
"... rather than go through a huge front-page story ... in all cases I know except one, the players denied it," he said.
He said he did not know if the women's claims were true and the chief executives of the day dealt with the complaints.
"We just sort of said, 'Righto, here's five grand, off you go' and they'd leave," he said.
Mr Elliott said all women offered payments took the money and dropped their complaints, which he said gave him confidence their stories had not been true.
But he said there was one case that was not so clear.
"Of the four or five, there was one that we were worried about, the others we knew were not true or we were told by the players they weren't true," he said.
Club spokesman Ian Coutts said: "John Elliott does not speak on behalf of the Carlton Football Club."
Sounds about right. It goes to say that if you are prepared to cut corners to winning, maybe you'll have the same attitude when it comes to getting a root?
They know we're coming!!!!
And there's nothing they can do about it!!!!
Payday at Princess Park:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/scottlin/brownpaperbagcfc.jpg
By Ellen Whinnett
Sunday Herald Sun
June 21, 2009 12:01am
http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6681753,00.jpg
John Elliot
Rape claims ... John Elliott says Carlton had paid "four or five" women about $5000 each to keep them from going public.
* John Elliott a former Carlton president
* Says club paid women claiming rape
* "We didn't want it to get in the press"
FORMER Carlton president John Elliott has revealed the club paid thousands of dollars to women he claims falsely complained they were raped by Blues players.
Mr Elliott said the club had paid "four or five" women about $5000 each to keep them from going public.
The payments were made when Mr Elliott was president during the 1980s and '90s, the Sunday Herald Sun reports.
Mr Elliott said he believed the women had made up stories of rape and had, in fact, had consensual sex with players.
But he said the club had concerns one woman might be telling the truth. She also had accepted hush money.
Mr Elliott made the comments at a fund-raiser where he was debating the role of the media in sport, but went further when he spoke to the Sunday Herald Sun yesterday.
Asked why the women were paid off, he said: "We didn't want it to get in the press."
Mr Elliott said some women had been told to "go away", but others were paid.
He believed they had probably consented and then backtracked.
"There's some very ordinary people out there," he said.
He said the club thought the pay-offs were appropriate.
"... rather than go through a huge front-page story ... in all cases I know except one, the players denied it," he said.
He said he did not know if the women's claims were true and the chief executives of the day dealt with the complaints.
"We just sort of said, 'Righto, here's five grand, off you go' and they'd leave," he said.
Mr Elliott said all women offered payments took the money and dropped their complaints, which he said gave him confidence their stories had not been true.
But he said there was one case that was not so clear.
"Of the four or five, there was one that we were worried about, the others we knew were not true or we were told by the players they weren't true," he said.
Club spokesman Ian Coutts said: "John Elliott does not speak on behalf of the Carlton Football Club."
Sounds about right. It goes to say that if you are prepared to cut corners to winning, maybe you'll have the same attitude when it comes to getting a root?
They know we're coming!!!!
And there's nothing they can do about it!!!!
Payday at Princess Park:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/scottlin/brownpaperbagcfc.jpg