Former St Kilda player Nicky Winmar has been removed from the Australian Football Hall of Fame after being found guilty of assaulting a woman.
The Saints have also suspended Winmar from the club’s Hall of Fame following the 60-year-old’s conviction on three charges of unlawful and common assault in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court.
The charges related to the allegations Winmar grabbed a woman by the arm, dragged her by the hair and hit her head against a door on May 14 last year.
Winmar was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022 after a 251-game AFL career with the Saints and Western Bulldogs.
Recruited by St Kilda from South Fremantle, he was the first Indigenous footballer to play 200 games in the AFL.
A statue of Winmar’s stand against racism – which depicts the iconic 1993 moment where the St Kilda player lifted his jumper and pointed at his skin – at Perth’s Optus Stadium was torn down under a directive from the West Australian government.
Former St Kilda star Nicky Winmar is pictured being inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in June 2022. He has now been stripped of the honour after being found guilty of assaulting a woman
The 60-year-old’s conviction also led to his statue outside Perth’s Optus Stadium being torn down (pictured)
Winmar was condemned by Anthony Albanese after the guilty verdict
Workers used a crane to take down the $100,000 piece in the early hours of Sunday morning after Premier Roger Cook ordered its removal in the wake of the guilty finding in a Victorian court on Friday.
Cook directed VenuesWest to bring down the statue shortly after the verdict was handed down in Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
‘Violence against women is never acceptable, and it is important we send a strong message to the community,’ Cook said.
‘Following Nicky Winmar’s conviction, I’m of the firm view that it is no longer appropriate for that statue to be displayed.’
Cook’s call was backed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said, ‘There is no place for violence against women anywhere in Australia. I support the premier’s decision.’
Erected in 2019, the statue depicts arguably the most famous moment of Winmar’s career, when he lifted his jersey and pointed to the colour of his skin after footy fans hit him with racist abuse during a match against Collingwood in 1993.
The artwork was commissioned by the AFL and created by sculptor Louis Laumen, who told the West Australian that he was saddened by its removal but did not condone Winmar’s actions in any way.
The publication said former Western Australian Sports Minister Mick Murray was ‘devastated’ by its removal after playing a big role in having it added to the stadium.
‘I don’t condone violence. I am disappointed in Nicky,’ Murray said.
‘But that statue meant so much to so many people.’
The tribute will reportedly be placed in storage until its future is decided.
