The CEO of Netball Australia’s Player’s Association has spoken for the first time in the wake of the sponsorship fallout with Hanock Prospecting.
On Saturday, Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting announced it had decided to “regrettably withdraw” its proposed partnership with Netball Australia after revelations Diamonds players had concerns about wearing a team uniform that included sponsorship branding from Ms Rinehart’s company.
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The issue came to a head when Indigenous player Donnell Wallam, who is line to make her Diamonds debut in the upcoming series against England, was said to be uncomfortable wearing a uniform with the Hancock Prospecting logo.
This was reportedly due to comments made by Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock in the 1980s.
Kathryn Harby-Williams, the Players’ Association boss, backed up Wallam for not backing down from her stance and expressed her disappointment over the lack of mediation with the players.
The former Diamonds skipper said the playing group were disappointed with the outcome.
“It’s been a shock, obviously everyone is extremely disappointed but I think we need to clarify here the players position has always been that they were prepared to wear the logo during the Constellation Cup,” Harby-Williams said on ABC Grandstand.
“We had come to an agreement with Netball Australia where everyone was comfortable that would happen and that Donnell and the players would not be required to wear the logo against England in the three-match series starting shortly.
“At no point in time did the players seek to have the deal fall off the table but we were certainly willing to come to a compromise and had agreed to that shortly after the players stood by Donnell.”
Harby-Williams said the players believed an exemption would be granted for Wallam to not wear the logo, but Netball Australia left them disappointed by refusing to hand one out.
“Donnell sought an exemption for herself and that wasn’t forthcoming because there was a meeting where it was made very clear that no exemptions would given to any player,” Harby-Williams said
“That was a disappointing moment because the players thought at the very least that an exemption might be given for Donnell at that point in time.
“Obviously that was a disappointing moment for the players to understand that would not be forthcoming.
“At no point was she given an exemption to wear the logo against England.
“And that’s fundamentally what it came down to in the end, an Indigenous player, our first in almost 25 years, only our third in history, was seeking an exemption for just three games so that she could focus on her debut and then we could get to the table to sort it after the England series.”
In a stunning twist, Harby-Williams said the unrelenting pressure almost saw Wallam decide to stand down from her stance and wear the Hancock Prospecting logo.
“It got to the point where Donnell was going to agree to wear the dress because the pressure was too much to bear,” she said.
“As a sport, I think that should be extremely disappointing for everybody because we need to do better and be inclusive, with no fear of reprisal.”
After a week of controversy, Hancock Prospecting finally pulled the plug, saying in a statement on Saturday that it had “not been made aware” of the issues between Netball Australia and the Players Association and did “not wish to add to Netball’s disunity problems”.
Netball Australia said on Saturday it was “disappointed” by the decision.
The $15 million commercial agreement would have been a lifeline for the governing body, which had lost more than $7 million over the past two years, mostly due to costs associated with Super Netball.
Netball Australia has been given a four-month grace period to arrange alternative funding arrangements.
The Diamonds get back on the court on Sunday night in the fourth and final game of the Constellation Cup against New Zealand. Australia must win to reclaim the Constellation Cup from the Silver Ferns.
