ARU wanted Kurtley Beale sacked over lewd image sent to Wallabies business manager Di Patston
THE ARU have confirmed they sought to terminate Kurtley Beale’s contract over the sending of a lewd text message after slugging him with another fine.
Rugby Union
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby Union. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE ARU have confirmed they sought to terminate Kurtley Beale’s contract over the sending of a lewd text message after today slugging him with another fine.
Beale was fined $3,000 after being found guilty of inappropriate public behaviour for his role in the in-flight argument with former Wallabies business manager Di Patston.
The incident was deemed a “moderate breach” of team protocols and won’t impact on future contract negotiations with Beale, the ARU said.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARU DOCUMENT ON KURTLEY BEALE HEARING
The midair row kicked off the month-long crisis that has rocked the ARU, however, with a subsequent Code of Conduct tribunal hearing into Beale inadvertently sending Patston a crude picture of an obese naked woman while in Wallaby camp in June.
Beale was subsequently fined $45,000 by an independent Code of Conduct tribunal after it was proved he sent one image — but not a second, as alleged by Patston.
After choosing to “not engage in public speculation or promote unsubstantiated claims” during the saga to observe due process, the ARU today released an document outlining its chronology and “summary of issues” in the Beale-Patston controversy.
Among the revelations are that the ARU gave a recommendation to the Code of Conduct tribunal that Beale deserved the sack for sending one offensive image, but agreed to abide by whatever findings the three-man panel made.
The ARU also announced Patston and former Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie were both asked to attend the hearing to give evidence but were “not available”.
Neither could be compelled to turn up due to the fact they were no longer employees.
The ARU said it had made repeated requests to Patston to provide her phone for forensic testing but that she had not provided it. Patston has claimed she handed the phone back to the ARU in August but they have no knowledge of the phone’s whereabouts.
Phone records are inconclusive about who sent the second image, although they do confirm nine text messages — not six — were sent by Patston in the June encounter.
The content of the missing texts is not known, however, given Beale told the ARU he had lost the relevant phone in Argentina.
He could only provide a new one which contained texts from July onwards, and IT experts used by the ARU found the offensive image in the first message stored on Beale’s phone but not the second.
“The ARU notes that neither Ms Patston nor Mr Beale’s mobile phones that they were using at the time the text messages were sent in June have been provided. This is the primary reason why it has not been possible to establish who sent the second MMS,” the ARU document states.
“There has been no evidence submitted to prove any other person created or sent the second image. The ARU would consider reopening the investigation if more information came to light that warranted further action.”
Criticised for failures of due diligence into Patston’s qualifications and background, the ARU laid responsibility at the feet of McKenzie, who brought her down from the Queensland Rugby Union.
“Mr McKenzie has stated that when he hired Ms Patston, he undertook rigorous reference checks, and confirmed her extensive experience working in Government in Queensland for a 12-13 year period in a range of roles,” the document said.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARU DOCUMENT ON KURTLEY BEALE HEARING
35+ pics: All the action from Shore School vs NT at Deadly Rugby
The Shore boys have gone back-to-back at the Deadly Rugby carnival, taking out the title for the second year running. Check out our photo gallery from the final here.
‘Nothing’s off the table’: New NT rugby chief talks sport’s future
NT Rugby’s new general manager says nothing is off limits as she and her team seek to put union back in the limelight. Read what she has in mind here.