Australian Swimmer Charged with Assault

Steel Tiger

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At the end of March we had our Olympic swimming trials and everything went very well. Then the next day a member of the newly announced team was in police custody over an incident in a night club.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23457515-5014197,00.html.

More has come of this now. The swimmer, Nick D'arcy has been formerly charged with Assault Occasioning Grevious Bodily Harm, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. It is very unlikely that he will be going to Beijing but strangely that door has not actually been closed as yet. Many are speculating that because the hearing will not be until after the Olympics that he should be allowed to go just in case he is found not guilty.

There are some strange elements to this story.
This is not the first incident of this nature D'arcy has been involved in.
I have been wondering why Simon Cowley was with the team members at their celebration. He did not compete at the trials and was not part of the team in any way.
The injuries that Cowley sustained are horrendous. He was allegedly hit only once with a fist. He now has 5 titanium plates in his face - two on each side of his jaw and one one his cheek. I know swimmers are big with powerful arms and shoulders, but I think there was either an elbow was used, more than one blow was landed, or Cowley fell and hit his face on something hard. Cowley can't remember and D'arcy is not speaking about it.
Given how many people were there the picture that has come out about the incident is very sketchy. No one has said the altercation did not take place or that D'arcy is not to blame, but it does look a bit like the team has closed ranks concerning what really happened.

The circumstantial evidence against D'arcy is pretty bad and he may very well see some gaol time. Personally, I don't think he should be going to Beijing either.
 

grydth

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ST, I can see how this would disturb you....... but, to gain a sense of proportion - probably all the sports crime in Australia would not equal just our Cincinnati Bengals Football team alone!

In America today, the streets are littered with those who had it made in sports, movies, music, had rich parents who spoiled them, celebrity...... and frittered it away with stupid and criminal conduct. Here it is almost expected the rich + famous will behave terribly.
 
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Steel Tiger

Steel Tiger

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ST, I can see how this would disturb you....... but, to gain a sense of proportion - probably all the sports crime in Australia would not equal just our Cincinnati Bengals Football team alone!

In America today, the streets are littered with those who had it made in sports, movies, music, had rich parents who spoiled them, celebrity...... and frittered it away with stupid and criminal conduct. Here it is almost expected the rich + famous will behave terribly.

You're right we have nothing to compare with the behaviour of some of your sporting teams. And that attitude that the rich and famous can get away with behaving in ways contrary to the laws of the land is quite prevalent among our sporting teams, their crimes just haven't yet reached the giddy heights that some of your sporting personalities have (though we did have a spate of rugby league teams being accused of gang rape a couple of years ago).

The thing that concerns me the most about this case is the extent of the injuries and the insistence that they all came from a single blow. To my eye, which has a little bit of experience with this sort of thing, it doesn't add up. I just think there is more to this story than anyone is, so far, willing to admit.
 

kidswarrior

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The thing that concerns me the most about this case is the extent of the injuries and the insistence that they all came from a single blow. To my eye, which has a little bit of experience with this sort of thing, it doesn't add up. I just think there is more to this story than anyone is, so far, willing to admit.
I have a fair amount of experience with trauma injuries and deaths, too (Navy/Marine Medic for four years), and you just can't add all of the plates, etc. together and have it equal one blow imho.
 

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