AFL Hall of Fame 2023: AFL Commission officially remove Barry Cable from Hall of Fame

The AFL commission has voted unanimously to officially remove Barry Cable from the Australian Football Hall of Fame, with one of Cable’s alleged victims saying the move has come far too late.

Barry Cable has been removed from the Australian Football Hall of Fame. Picture: Tony Gough

The woman who was sexually abused by Barry Cable when she was a child says the AFL’s move to strip the former player and coach of the game’s highest honours has come “25 years too late”.

Former North Melbourne player and coach Cable was on Tuesday immediately removed from the Australian Football Hall of Fame and had his Legend status stripped following harrowing evidence of historical child sexual abuse.

As the league defended its handling of the situation, the AFL commission met on Tuesday afternoon and considered the matter — including a written submission from 79-year-old Cable — before unanimously voting to strip Cable of his football honours.

A recent finding by Judge Mark Herron in the District Court of Western Australia earlier this month found that the ex-North Melbourne coach had sexually assaulted a young girl hundreds of times during his playing career, and raped her in the changerooms at Perth Football Club in August, 1971.

Four further women have made graphic and disturbing allegations of sexual and predatory behaviour toward them as children.

Barry Cable has been removed from the Australian Football Hall of Fame. Picture: Tony Gough

The woman who took her civil case to court said she would continue to deal with the “damage and trauma” that had been inflicted by Cable.

“Today’s decision by the AFL is nearly a quarter of a century late as far as I am concerned,” the woman, known as ZYX, said.

“If the WA Director of Public Prosecutions had charged Cable on the police evidence presented in 1999, he would not have enjoyed another 25 years of fame and respect.

“For decades I and the other women he preyed upon as children have had to deal with the damage and trauma he caused.

“Meanwhile he has been honoured and promoted throughout sport and the wider community.

“He was never a Legend. He was a paedophile and a liar who bullied and abused children.”

Cable, who has denied abusing the women, has never faced criminal charges.

The AFL’s decision came after what AFL chairman Richard Goyder described as “horrific” claims.

“The recent civil case and Judge Herron’s findings make it very clear that as per the rules we enacted at the last commission meeting in terms of the Hall of Fame that this is the appropriate thing to do,” Goyder said.

“Our thoughts are with the woman involved and others who were courageous enough to come forward in the civil action and air the issues that occurred in their lives.

“It’s horrific, and I think it left the AFL with no option to do what we did.

“From what I’ve read, I would commend Judge Herron for the standards of evidence that he required in terms of coming up with his findings, as well. I don’t think there was much doubt in what we read.”

AFL Commission chairman, Richard Goyder defended the AFL’s handling of proceedings. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The AFL, North Melbourne and Perth football clubs were last week lashed by the lawyer representing four of the women as “inept and callous” for their silence over the historical sex offences, saying none of the organisations had reached out to the women despite knowing since February of the depraved behaviour.

Michael Magazanik, partner at Rightside Legal which represents the woman, said he was mystified by the AFL’s call to wait until Tuesday – just hours before this year’s Hall of Fame event – to show compassion to the women at the centre of the decades of trauma.

“The AFL has now followed other organisations who have withdrawn Cable’s honours but neither the AFL nor the North Melbourne and Perth clubs have offered any support to these women. The AFL has known for months that one of its coaches molested children while coaching,” Magazanik said.

“Despite the increasing role of women in the leadership of the AFL and its teams, they are sending a terrible message to the women who follow AFL football.”

Goyder and league chief executive Gillon McLachlan defended the AFL’s handling.

“There needs always to be process, and I think you’ve got to wait for a judgment to be handed down and then there needs to be a level of natural process,” McLachlan said.

“Today, the commission has been decisive, strong, and efficient. I think the process has been tight and fast, relatively, but it respected the process of natural justice.”

Cable’s removal from the Hall of Fame was unanimous. Picture: Tony Gough

He said “the women are anonymous” but that the door of AFL headquarters was open to them.

“Our thoughts and sympathies and the horror that they’ve been through is expressed publicly … we respect their anonymity and we’re here if they want to talk,” he said.

“That’s all we can do, I think.”

At the request of the commission, the AFL executive wrote to Cable for a response as to why he shouldn’t be removed from the Hall of Fame.

His response was considered by the commission but Goyder refused to reveal the letter’s contents.

The commission’s recent alteration to its rules to allow exclusion of Hall of Fame members surrounds bringing the game or Hall of Fame into disrepute, if an inductee is charged with an indictable offence, is found guilty of an indictable offence or is “otherwise engaged in conduct which the commission considers is prejudicial to the interests of the AFL”.

Originally published as AFL Hall of Fame 2023: AFL Commission officially remove Barry Cable from Hall of Fame