Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan has resigned after a tumultuous time in charge

After an ugly and emotional standoff with players was finally resolved a major player in netball’s ugly civil war has fallen on their sword.

Embattled Netball Australia chief executive Kelly Ryan has resigned in the wake of a tumultuous time in charge, including the recent ugly and emotional standoff with players over their new pay deal.

Ryan, who took on the job in 2021, informed the Board of Netball Australia of her decision, which is effective immediately, on Tuesday.

She came under fire from Australian Diamonds star Jo Weston at the height of the dispute which had left players unpaid for nine weeks and some sleeping in cars and unable to pay rent.

Weston, the president of the players’ union, broke down when talking about legal threats made to players ahead of their awards night and even after the deal was signed, Australian netball legend Joyce Brown called for cleanout of management at NA.

Jo Weston was in tears over netball's bitter civil war.

Brown, in a letter published amid a call for change, declared Ryan’s leadership had “taken our sport to its lowest point. It has fractured the fabric of netball and irreparably damaged relationships”.

In light of the growing criticisms, and with the pay deal agreed to last week, Ryan said it was time to “hand over the reins to a new leader”.

“Having reached an in-principle agreement on the CPA pay deal, and watched with pride as our Diamonds won the Commonwealth Games and the Netball World Cup, the timing felt right to hand over the reins to a new leader,” she said.

Netball Australia chief executive Kelly Ryan has quit.

“During my time as CEO I have delivered on the objectives of the board. We overcame the challenges of coronavirus pandemic to continue a national competition through border closures, experienced strong growth in the national competition, grew netball’s already strong participation numbers and strengthened the game’s finances.

“Netball Australia has a wonderful team of people who work tirelessly for the benefit of the sport, and I thank them for their continued efforts and for their support.”

Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan has informed the Board of Netball Australia of her resignation, effective immediately.https://t.co/6YL6bbUYGypic.twitter.com/Skt85sLdfe

— Netball Australia (@NetballAust) December 12, 2023

While Netball Australia chair Wendy Archer thanked Ryan for her commitment to the sport and said she had shown “great resilience and integrity during her leadership”, the outgoing CEO also endured criticism over selling the Super Netball Grand Final to the highest bidder.

Ryan also came under fire after the federal government stripped the already cash-strapped organisation of almost $18m in funding because it was unconvinced it would spend it wisely.

That came months after Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart withdrew a $15m sponsorship for the sport which left NA in a deep financial hole, still trying to recover a debt of over $4 million..

Originally published as Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan has resigned after a tumultuous time in charge