Latest news with #AFLVictoria
Daily Mail
21-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Footy great Patrick Dangerfield opens up about the drink-driving tragedy that killed a beloved member of his family
Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield has opened up about the profound impact of losing his uncle in a drink-driving tragedy 29 years ago, as the footy star spearheads a road safety campaign. Dangerfield, who is an ambassador for AFL Victoria's Road Safety Round, lost his uncle Tim in the mid-1990s after he was involved in a car accident while drink-driving. The 35-year-old Cats skipper knows all too well how lives are changed forever by road trauma. 'My uncle died when he was 20 and it reshaped our entire family,' he told News Corp. 'I was only six at the time but it shaped me because it shaped Mum. It was something she never got over. 'He was drink-driving and he shouldn't have been on the road. He didn't cause the accident but he was driving through some traffic lights and someone sped through a red light. It hit him and he died. 'He shouldn't have been on the road to begin with and then through a set of circumstances and poor road management he ended up passing away. 'Talking to dad, he says mum took five or 10 years to get over it and has always been very cautious on the roads. 'His organs were donated and funnily enough it had a positive consequence to other families. So I have a family connection, but you can see it yourself now with kids and their limited attention spans.' Dangerfield wants people to understand the impact that their behaviour can have on others, including children. 'People drive past an accident and you can be angry or stressed about it because you are late to work but it has affected an entire community or family,' he said. 'When that happens to someone you know, your world is changed forever. The road safety message starts with yourself. You can only talk about it if you exhibit good behaviour and live by it. 'It's about having honest conversations with those around you and doing it in a positive way. If you are a terrible driver, pull your head in. 'Be a good role model to your kids. They see everything. The amount of people I see on their phones or texting and driving is amazing.' 'So with road safety round it's about honouring the people impacted by it and spreading that message at community clubs and also honouring the hundreds of Victorians who die on regional roads every year.' This weekend, community clubs and the 10 AFL teams in Victoria will don blue armbands to honour lives lost on the roads. Dangerfield's Cats, who are sitting in the top four, will take on North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
Herald Sun
20-07-2025
- Herald Sun
Patrick Dangerfield leads road safety campaign after uncle Tim Utber's death
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News. Patrick Dangerfield's uncle Tim was drink-driving when a car ploughed through a red light to end his life and change his own family forever. These days as his nephew drives home to Moggs Creek, it is the stream of drivers texting while behind the wheel that shocks and frustrates the Geelong captain. Dangerfield has long been an advocate for responsible drinking given uncle Tim Utber's death 29 years ago, but this week adds a role as an ambassador for AFL Victoria's Road Safety Round. This coming weekend Victorian AFL teams and hundreds of community clubs will wear bold blue armbands to honour lives lost or changed by road trauma. Dangerfield doesn't need a reminder of the road safety message given the events of the mid-1990s as his mother Jeanette's brother took to the road. 'My uncle died when he was 20 and it reshaped our entire family. I was only six at the time but it shaped me because it shaped mum. It was something she never got over,' he told the Herald Sun. 'He was drink-driving and he shouldn't have been on the road. He didn't cause the accident but he was driving through some traffic lights and someone sped through a red light. It hit him and he died. 'He shouldn't have been on the road to begin with and then through a set of circumstances and poor road management he ended up passing away. Talking to dad, he says mum took five or 10 years to get over it and has always been very cautious on the roads. 'His organs were donated and funnily enough it had a positive consequence to other families. So I have a family connection, but you can see it yourself now with kids and their limited attention spans.' Dangerfield and Collingwood captain Darcy Moore will spearhead the campaign, and for the Cats skipper it is a true passion project. 'People drive past an accident and you can be angry or stressed about it because you are late to work but it has affected an entire community or family,' he said. 'When that happens to someone you know, your world is changed forever. The road safety message starts with yourself. You can only talk about it if you exhibit good behaviour and live by it. 'It's about having honest conversations with those around you and doing it in a positive way. If you are a terrible driver, pull your head in. 'Be a good role model to your kids. They see everything. The amount of people I see on their phones or texting and driving is amazing.' 'So with road safety round it's about honouring the people impacted by it and spreading that message at community clubs and also honouring the hundreds of Victorians who die on regional roads every year.'
ABC News
13-06-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Werrimull women's league footballers boycott Millewa centenary game over alleged sexual assault
Female footballers in a north-west Victorian league have boycotted a major event in protest of their club's handling of a sexual assault allegation. The Millewa Centenary Day on June 7 at Lake Cullulleraine drew a crowd of hundreds from across the region.. But notably absent from the football and netball showcase were the majority of the Werrimull Football Netball Club's women's football team, who refused to play. Werrimull FNC player Jemma Jo Johnson, who uses the pronouns they/them, said the boycott was a response to the club's decision not to suspend a male player under investigation by AFL Victoria following a sexual assault allegation. Johnson said eight women from the Magpies squad had chosen to quit playing for the club as a result. "Our safe place has been absolutely just stripped from us," they said. "It is time — they [Werrimull Football Netball Club] really have a chance to not just protect us and look after us, but show the rest of the league that the people in power aren't going to allow the females to feel unsafe." The ABC understands the allegation was reported to the club and AFL Victoria but not to police. Werrimull Football Netball Club president Dale Ramsey confirmed AFL Victoria was investigating an incident. In a statement, the club said it was "deeply concerned and saddened by recent allegations". "We take these allegations extremely seriously and are committed to fostering a safe, respectful, welcoming and inclusive environment for all players, members and supporters — both on and off the field," the statement said. The protest has highlighted what University of Canberra sport integrity and ethics associate professor Catherine Ordway said was a grey area for AFL clubs. She said each club should decide in advance what to do in the event of a player facing serious allegations. "It's always better, in the calm time when there hasn't been an incident, to sit down and say 'What do we stand for as a club?'" Dr Ordway said. "If we care about keeping women and girls safe, if we care about keeping young people safe, then let's have some rules and some guidelines so that if this comes up in future then we know how to act." She said a one-size-fits-all rule was difficult to implement. "There are always going to be hard cases where a blanket rule would be completely inappropriate and unfair because it might depend on the age of the [people] involved," Dr Ordway said. The ABC understands Werrimull FNC does not have specific guidelines relating to players under active AFL integrity or police investigations. Johnson said the club had lost key members due to the way it had handled the case. "We've actually lost a couple of really, really valuable and much-loved people in our club," they said. "That's the part that we feel the most heartbroken about, I think, is that one person is prioritised over a whole team that has put nothing but love and energy into the club. "There is a bigger issue here across the league, not just in our club." In a statement sent out to clubs across north-west Victoria, Millewa Football Netball League (MFNL) chairperson Emily Harlock-Knights said the league "unequivocally condemns any form of behaviour that is abusive, disrespectful, or unbecoming — whether on or off the field". But she said the league and clubs were not equipped to investigate serious incidents. "It is not the role of the MFNL or our clubs to act as judge, jury, or executioner," Ms Harlock-Knights said. AFL Victoria has been contacted for comment.
