A Perth football club faces deregistration and has been expelled from their club rooms after a player reportedly attended a post-season party dressed as Stephen Hawking, allegedly with explicit images attached.
Players from the Osborne Park Football Club held a ‘silly Sunday’ celebration in August, with one player’s costume depicting the late physicist Hawking, who suffered from motor neuron disease and spent much of his life in a wheelchair.Â
City of Stirling Mayor Mark Irwin claimed the costume involved “a gaming chair set-up, with screens … with images photocopied depicting child pornography”.
City of Stirling mayor Mark Irwin says the Osborne Park Football Club has a “cultural issue”. (ABC News: Tabarak Al Jrood)
WA Police say they investigated and found “no criminality”, while the club said it was an “extremely embarrassing” moment.
But the mayor said the images caused distress when found by city staff.
“This device was then left in the club rooms despite knowing the City of Stirling had to send staff there the next day for an inspection,” Mr Irwin told ABC Radio Perth.
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“The female staff members who found this were very distressed by it, which is why it got reported.
“We then had community safety go out, they were distressed and they reported it to WA Police.”
Club in strife
The Perth Football League (PFL) has issued the club with a show-cause notice, meaning it will need to make a case on why it should be allowed to remain in the league.Â
Osborne Park FC president Jeremy LaBianca described it as an “extremely embarrassing moment for the club”, and said the costume was “extremely distasteful” and “unacceptable”.
Mr LaBianca is new to the role of president, and said he had asked for guidance from the PFL on the length of a suspension for the player involved.Â
The club has been barred from its club rooms at Robinson Reserve. (Google Maps)
But in a statement Mr LaBianca said he felt the moves geared at “shutting down” the club were “grossly disproportionate”.
“We’ve done so many good things in our community and yes we’re going to be judged for this one poor decision,” Mr LaBianca told ABC Radio Perth.
“But I’m hoping that it’s enough, what we’ve done for this community in the last 20 years  … I’m hoping we can find a way through this for our club to exist and continue on.”
‘No criminality’: Police
A statement from WA Police said officers from the Sex Crime Division worked with the club to determine if any offences had been committed, and they deemed “no criminality was detected”.
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Mr Irwin said there were over 150 sporting clubs in the City of Stirling with community leases, and said Osborne Park FC had a “cultural issue”.
“I believe the community as a whole have an expectation of me as mayor to uphold the highest standards, especially within our sporting clubs, that are open to children, that are open to women and families,” he said.
“This is the only club in the City of Stirling that had a special clause already put in their lease for behavioural reasons,” Mr Irwin said.
“There is a cultural issue with this club.”
‘Please explain’
WA Premier Roger Cook said he had been briefed about the incident.
“If they are true, they are particularly disturbing,” he said.
“I understand in post-season celebrations, things get a little excited and people want to have fun, but they must do that, understanding that common decency needs to be upheld.
WA Premier Roger Cook says sporting clubs were role models in the community. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)
“The club, I understand, is being asked to ‘please explain’ to the WAFL.”
Mr Cook urged sports clubs to consider the influence they had on the community, especially children and teenagers.
“Sports clubs are a model of community behaviour. Young people look to their coaches, they look to the leaders of their sports club to model the sort of behaviour which is acceptable in our society,” he said.
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