- Curtis Scott assaulted Tay-Leiha Clark in 2018
Athletics star Tay-Leiha Clark has accused a ‘powerful organisation’ of trying to halt the publication of her tell-all book about the abuse she suffered at the hands of former NRL player Curtis Scott.
Scott was convicted of assaulting and intimidating her with threats to kill as their relationship broke down in 2018.
The ex-Raiders and Storm star was found to have told Clark ‘f*** you, I’m going to kill you’, in a phone call, calling her a ‘w***e’ and ‘s***’, and also threatening to kill himself, before he drove his car into a tree.
Magistrate Daniel Covington found Scott had put his hand on Clark’s neck and ‘launched’ her over a lounge into a wall at her parents’ Sylvania home in Sydney’s south.
Scott was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order and fined $1400 after being found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and stalk or intimidate with the intention of causing fear or physical harm.
He also had his NRL contract cancelled.
Long-jump athlete Tay-Leiha Clark is pictured with copies of her book Through My Eyes, which details the abuse she suffered from ex-NRL star Curtis Scott
Scott (pictured with Clark) was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and stalk or intimidate with the intention of causing fear or physical harm after throwing Clark over a lounge and into a wall in 2018
Clark (pictured) is now claiming an unnamed but powerful body is trying to torpedo the publication of her book, which is due to hit shelves on Monday
Clark has written about her experience in the book Through My Eyes, which she says ‘contains discussions of physical abuse, domestic violence, partner violence, grief, mental illness and suicide’.
Now Clark has claimed that an unnamed organisation wants to ‘interfere in my publishing process’ to make sure the book doesn’t go on sale.
‘One legal letter cannot erase what I endured or the right of survivors,’ Clark said.
‘They are not my abuser, they are attempting to stand in the way of my voice.’
The NRL approached publisher Simon & Schuster this week to get a copy of the book, and to hit back at any claims of wrongdoing over the handling of Clark’s accusations against Scott, News Corp reported.
Daily Mail has contacted Simon & Schuster for comment.
The NRL declined to comment when contacted.
Through My Eyes was originally due to go on sale on September 15, but Clark announced it has been pushed back to September 20 in a defiant Instagram post on Friday afternoon.
Clark accused the organisation of sending a legal letter to her publisher in an attempt ‘to stand in the way of my voice’
She revealed Through My Eyes has been delayed in an Instagram post (pictured)
Scott lost an appeal over his conviction in July 2023.
Judge Alister Abadee told the court he accepted the pair’s relationship was ‘punctuated by emotional abuse … born of jealousy’.
He found Scott’s jealousy was fuelled by content Clark posted to her Instagram, fears she would leave him and a belief she was the reason for his troubles.
Scott was playing for the Storm at the time of the assault.
Storm psychologist Jacqueline Louder was sanctioned by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency for her actions after Clark contacted her for help.
During Scott’s appeal, Judge Abadee described the evidence Louder gave in Scott’s trial as ‘inherently weak’.
