Warning: this story contains references to suicide and alleged rape.
Lawyers representing AFL Victoria have asked an Indigenous former AFL footballer how much he had to drink the night he was allegedly raped by his coach, the man’s legal team says.
Daniel Hayes is suing AFL Victoria and his former coach, Mark Patrick Heaney, over allegations he was raped while playing for the Eastern Ranges Football Club in the statewide under-18s competition.
Mr Hayes’s lawyers have served a Victorian Supreme Court writ on the league and Mr Heaney, a former senior AFL employee, who has strenuously denied the allegations.
Lawyer Cameron Doig, who is representing Mr Hayes, said in addition to shocking questions that amounted to “victim-blaming”, the league’s lawyers had “stereotyped” Mr Hayes.
“They have asked how much Daniel, a 17-year-old, drank on the night and why he didn’t leave the barbecue,” Mr Doig said.
“All this is at odds with the league’s proud statements about righting past wrongs towards Aboriginal ex-players and doing the right thing by child sexual abuse survivors.”
Mr Hayes said legal proceedings had left him with the impression that the league blamed his decades of mental ill-health not on his alleged sexual abuse, but on his background as an Indigenous foster child.
Daniel Hayes was drafted in late 2006, joining the Melbourne Demons for training soon after.
(Getty Images: Quinn Rooney)
Mr Hayes’s Supreme Court writ alleges that he was raped after a team party at Mr Heaney’s home in 2005.
He is suing AFL Victoria, as Mr Heaney’s former employer, seeking compensation for the alleged abuse and the disastrous impact he said it had on his career at the Melbourne Demons, which petered out quickly and foreshadowed years of mental ill-health and alleged lost opportunities.
Between 2004 and 2008, and at the time of the alleged incident, Mr Heaney was an assistant coach and regional development manager for the Eastern Ranges team in the TAC Cup (now the Coates Talent League) under-18s competition.
Mr Hayes’s civil suit has reached the mediation stage, but his lawyer has accused AFL Victoria’s legal team of using tactics which paint a very different picture of the league from the progressive ideals it promotes to the public.
“What they’ve said publicly is that they’re privileged to have had hundreds of Aboriginal players throughout the history of the game,” Mr Doig said.
“They’ve said they’ve apologised for the marginalisation, hurt and discrimination that’s happened to Aboriginal players.”
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Mr Doig told the ABC the AFL’s line of questioning in the case has been a classic example of “victim-blaming”.
“Behind closed doors, Daniel Hayes is being told a very different story about the place of Aboriginal players in the game and what they should expect from the league, whether they’re included in it as full participants,” he said.
“It’s been really disappointing to see some of the stereotypes that have come out in response to his claim.”
Mr Heaney, who was the AFL’s Northern New South Wales regional manager between 2009 and 2013, lost his job with the league in 2014 when he was convicted and jailed for grooming a 13-year-old junior footballer in 2013.
Mr Heaney responded to questions from the ABC but declined to comment.
In 2023, he denied any wrongdoing when contacted by the ABC.
‘So much anger’
Mr Hayes said the torment of what was allegedly done to him as a teenager plagued his mind from the moment he woke up.
Two decades have passed since the alleged rape, but he said it was all he thought about.
“I just get up and I hate and I hate and I hate,” he said.
Daniel Hayes is proud of his Indigenous heritage. (ABC News: Bec Symons)
“I haven’t been to jail once, but it feels like I’m in jail.
“It’s the same thing over and over, I’ve just got so much anger.”
Most days he can’t leave the house or answer phone calls.
Mark Heaney was Daniel Hayes’s football coach in 2005. (Supplied: markheaney.com.au)
His mind remains in 2005, at Mr Heaney’s house in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs, where he alleges his mentor raped him.
It wasn’t until three years ago that the prodigiously talented young footballer shared his story and lodged a legal claim, officially suing his alleged abuser Mr Heaney and AFL Victoria.
But laying his scars bare didn’t bring the footballer the peace he hoped for.
‘A dumb black man in their eyes’
Mr Hayes said he wanted acknowledgement for his suffering.
He said he wanted his alleged abuser to show up in court for the civil case, and additionally to be criminally charged.
The ABC understands Mr Heaney is living in Japan.
Victoria Police said in the six years since Mr Hayes made his first statement, they had not found enough evidence to charge Mr Heaney.
Mr Hayes said he had lost faith in the legal system, but clung to hope that someone else would come forward.
“At the end of the day, no-one is listening to me; it’s been three years and he’s still not charged,” Mr Hayes said.
“They don’t listen to me, they brush me to the side because I’m a dumb black man in their eyes.”
Daniel Hayes says he is tormented daily by the alleged abuse. (ABC News: Bec Symons)
In a statement, Victoria Police said officers arrested and interviewed a man in relation to the alleged assault.
“Victoria Police takes any reports of sexual offences extremely seriously,” a spokesperson said.
“Detectives travelled to Queensland in October 2023 and interviewed a 52-year-old man in relation to the incident.
“An extensive investigation was undertaken into the report however there was not enough evidence to proceed with charges.
“Detectives will continue to investigate the matter if new information is received.”
The Melbourne Demons suspended Daniel Hayes in March 2007 for failing to turn up to training. (Supplied: Melbourne Football Club)
‘That’s what happened with the Stolen Generations’
Mr Doig told the ABC, Mr Hayes was one of the most haunted clients he had represented.
“I’ve acted for over 100 abuse survivors, but Daniel is clearly one of the most injured and unstable clients that I’ve got,” Mr Doig said.
“[It’s] a very, very serious case that, again, we would have thought that the AFL would handle sensitively and be very concerned to manage appropriately given Daniel’s Aboriginal background and the extent of his really serious symptoms.”
Mr Doig said the AFL was attempting to shirk responsibility by using a technical legal strategy, because the company that ran the TAC Cup in 2005 no longer existed.
The AFL declined to comment while the matter is before the courts.
Daniel Hayes with his mother Cheryl Hayes. (ABC News: Bec Symons )
To Mr Hayes’s mother, Cheryl, the strategy reminds her of some of the institutional responses to the mistreatment of Indigenous people.
“They’re saying: ‘It wasn’t us,'” Ms Hayes said.
“That’s what happened with the Stolen Generations, which I was a part of.”
If you or anyone you know needs help:A stark comparison
Far from the life he dreamed of as a promising young footballer, Mr Hayes now rents a rundown house in the regional town of Bairnsdale.
When he was picked up in the 2006 AFL rookie draft, he joined the AFL system alongside Eastern Ranges teammate Leigh Adams.
Adams went on to play 104 games for North Melbourne and is now a respected assistant coach with Carlton.
By comparison, Mr Hayes doesn’t have a job, has attempted suicide multiple times, has been hospitalised with mental illness and said he had been ridiculed in his community for telling his story.
He said he had relied on drugs, alcohol and cigarettes to numb the pain.
“Every time it got to me, I tried to hide it, I’d hit it with drugs,” Mr Hayes said.
“But now I’m dealing with it sober and it hurts.
“It’s exhausting and it hurts.”
Daniel Hayes says he is tormented by the alleged abuse and the idea of a life he never had. (ABC News: Bec Symons)
A gruelling wait
Mediation in the Victorian Supreme Court has begun and a directions hearing is scheduled for next month.
Mr Hayes and his family travelled 4 hours from East Gippsland to prepare with his legal team recently.
On the day, he suffered panic attacks and his shirt dripped in sweat.
Mr Hayes said he thought the AFL’s legal team was blaming his background as an Indigenous foster child, rather than the alleged sexual assault, for his downfall.
“It hurt being away from family but [my foster parents] showed me the love I needed … I was never around drugs or anything before that,” Mr Hayes said.
Daniel Hayes was a promising young player who was chosen to play for the Australian Indigenous youth team in South Africa.
(Getty Images: Sean Garnsworthy)
Mr Heaney has not faced any criminal charges in relation to Mr Hayes’s accusations but is being sued in the civil division of the Victorian Supreme Court, alongside AFL Victoria.
He was, however, jailed in 2014 for grooming Liam Foster, a then-13-year-old in the Sydney Swans Academy.
Those charges were laid after an investigation stemming from a tip-off by Mr Foster’s father.
Now an adult, Mr Foster has chosen to waive his anonymity and he and his father are now suing Mr Heaney and the Sydney Swans.
Liam Foster is suing Mark Heaney in the New South Wales Supreme Court. (Supplied: Liam Foster)
“Seeing someone else speak up about what happened made me realise that what I experienced wasn’t something I had to carry alone,” Mr Foster said.
“It gave me the confidence to confront what happened and pursue accountability.
“Speaking out isn’t easy, and Daniel deserves a lot of credit for the courage he showed.”