
AFL legend Nicky Winmar accused of choking, assaults
The former St Kilda star, 59, had been listed for an application to revoke bail at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, which could have seen him thrown in jail.
However, a prosecutor asked for this to be struck out.
"The court made the decision to bail Mr Winmar on the 19th of July based on that application," she said, as the magistrate agreed to strike it out.
Winmar faced court charged with three offences, however details of what these allege were not aired during the short hearing.
He has been charged with allegedly committing two assaults on July 18.
He is also charged with "without lawful excuse intentionally choke, strangle or suffocate" a person on the same date, according to court documents.
Winmar, whose legal name is Neil, was represented in court on Tuesday morning by his lawyer Tess Theocharous and both of them appeared via video link.
Ms Theocharous said Winmar was undergoing a court integrated services program (CISP) as a condition of his bail, which had been granted on July 18.
She asked for his matter to be adjourned so he can have time to engage with the program.
Ms Theocharous said Winmar had attended an initial appointment at the court for CISP and had another scheduled for later on Tuesday.
Magistrate Vincenzo Caltabiano agreed to adjourn his case for a month.
Winmar will next face the court on August 28.
The AFL legend became the first Aboriginal footballer to play 200 games in the league, finishing his career with 230 games at St Kilda and 21 for the Western Bulldogs.
Winmar has faced court before - he avoided a jail sentence and was handed a community work order in 2019 for his drunken assault of a cab driver.
He fought back against a number of acts of racism throughout his football career, including standing in front of a Collingwood crowd in 1993 where he was abused.
"I'm black and I'm proud to be black," he told the crowd, lifting his guernsey and pointing at his skin.
In March, he was asked to co-lead a landmark racism class action in the Supreme Court, brought by other retired Indigenous players including Phil Krakouer.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

News.com.au
14 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Top jockey stood down as disturbing video of Noel Callow racially abusing Indigenous man emerges
WARNING: This article contains offensive language Group 1-winning jockey Noel Callow has been charged by racing stewards and stood down from riding after a disturbing video emerged of him ridiculing an Indigenous man. On Friday, the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission charged the controversial jockey with two charges of conduct prejudicial to the image of racing, after a video of the 50-year-old, recorded in Darwin last year, surfaced online in which he filmed himself racially abusing Indigenous people. The video shows Callow striking up a conversation with an Aboriginal man he passed on the street, offering him some pizza, before the seemingly friendly conversation turned offensive. 'What's doing, crackers?' Callow says, before asking, 'Have you showered? F*** you stink like f***.' You can watch the video in the player above The man says back, 'Nah, I haven't got a job (inaudible).' 'You stink like f***. Have some pizza. Take the pizza. Eat. Eat the pizza,' Callow continues. 'I don't want to eat,' the man responded. 'Have a shower then, do me a favour. Have a shower. You stink like f***,' Callow said. The chat continues. Man: '(inaudible) I sleep on the street.' Callow: 'So you don't want a pizza … what do you want?' Man: 'I want a beer.' Callow: 'You want a beer … if you have a shower, I'll buy you a beer.' Man: '(inaudible) I don't have a shower. There's no shower in the friggin area.' Callow: 'Well, jump in the f---ing creek … for f--- sake man.' And acting swiftly on Friday evening, the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) stood the veteran hoop down effective immediately. 'The Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) has today convened a Stewards' Inquiry and issued two charges under Australian Rule of Racing AR 228(a) against licensed jockey Mr Noel Callow,' a QRIC statement reads. 'The charges relate to conduct alleged to have occurred approximately one year ago while Mr Callow was not riding at, or attending, a race meeting and was not at any racecourse. 'It is alleged Mr Callow engaged in conduct prejudicial to the image of racing. 'Acting under AR 23(a), the Stewards have suspended Mr Callow's jockey licence in full, pending the outcome of the inquiry. Mr Callow has been informed of his right of appeal in respect of this decision. 'QRIC takes matters concerning conduct, welfare, and integrity seriously and will continue to ensure all participants are held to the highest professional and behavioural standards.' Callow – with five Group 1s to his name in Australia – had only just returned to riding after being banned for a physical altercation with fellow Group 1 winning jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor in the jockeys' room during a race meeting in the Queensland winter carnival. After more than two months out of the saddle, Callow made a winning return to racing this week when riding Stormfront to victory in Darwin for Gold Coast trainer Peter Robl.

ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Spit hoods return to the NT as chief minister sprays critics as 'offender apologists'
The Royal Darwin Show usually makes headlines for its prize-winning pumpkins and scones, not setting the political agenda in the Top End of Australia. But when the show became a crime scene on Saturday night, that's exactly what transpired, after a 15-year-old boy was allegedly stabbed by another 15-year-old boy and left in a serious condition. Cue the Northern Territory government's political rhetoric on social media: It would make "no apologies" for toughening up a "broken system" by changing the Youth Justice Act. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro led the charge by saying she expected the "usual offender apologists to criticise our efforts". "They should look Territorians in the eye and say that kids witnessing senseless violence at a family show is okay," she wrote on social media. The statement laid out the blueprint for the week ahead — you're with us, or you're against us. By the end of the week, the government had rolled out its planned changes, including bringing back spit hoods in youth detention settings and removing the principle of detention as a last resort. Both are measures the royal commission into youth detention in the Northern Territory, sparked by a 2016 Four Corners investigation, explicitly recommended against. On social media and radio text lines, voters commended the government's tough stance. On the other side of the debate, there were condemnations of the changes — from health and justice advocacy groups, not-for-profit organisations and Aboriginal peak bodies — as a "catastrophic step backwards" for young First Nations people. The new chief executive of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, Ben Grimes, warned of a flood of youths into detention before the system was properly bolstered to deal with the influx. "It's sort of like saying you're going to increase a school population by a thousand children, but not hiring any more teachers, building any more rooms or providing any more resources," he said. So-called "offender apologists" were offered limited airtime within parliament house. Ms Finocchiaro told a group of NT paediatricians who had written to her expressing "deep concern" over this week's changes that they were wasting their time. "I will do my job, which is to run the NT, and they can do their job, which is to look after sick children," she said. The chief also sledged Opposition Leader Selena Uibo in parliament, saying while her party did not win the election, "she wins the award for being the biggest gutter trash politician in the chamber". And an all-out "personal" attack on NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage by Prevention of Domestic Violence Minister Robyn Cahill drew the ire of the sector. Eight months after a landmark inquiry into four murdered women, the minister's official response accused the coroner of lacking humility and delivering "uninspiring" recommendations. Alarmed lawyers and advocates returned serve, accusing the minister of "undermining" Judge Armitage's judicial role. Deputy Opposition Leader Chansey Paech also weighed in, saying Territorians expected accountability and action from the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government. "What they're getting from the CLP is blame-shifting, bullying and finger-pointing," he said. "The CLP government has no credible plan to make our communities safer, no strategy to improve the justice system and no willingness to accept responsibility — so instead, they attack the coroner." The NT government won last year's territory election with a massive landslide, and it is continuing to deliver on the tough-on-crime law changes it promised, no matter the concern or criticism. "This Youth Justice Legislation Amendment Bill … is part of our election commitments," Ms Finocchiaro said this week. "It is a part of our plan to continue to reduce crime across the Northern Territory." And, according to Ms Finocchiaro, the changes are something that have won the applause of "tens of thousands of Territorians who agree with us". She may well be right. But ignoring or undermining experts and judicial officials may also come with great risk. Earlier this week, the ABC revealed more than 400 youths had been taken into custody at police watch houses during the first six months of the government's time in power. The laws passed this week will likely see that number climb even higher — but anyone who raises that point is likely to be shot down as an "apologist" by a government hell-bent on pursuing its agenda.

Courier-Mail
18 hours ago
- Courier-Mail
Noel Callow stood down by Queensland stewards over racist video rant
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. By Ben Dorries and Gilbert Gardiner Group 1-winning jockey Noel Callow has been charged by racing stewards and stood down from riding in the wake of a racially-fuelled video that has been circulating of him ridiculing an Indigenous man. News Corp revealed on Thursday that a street talk-style exchange, understood to have been recorded in Darwin last year, was being investigated by Queensland stewards. On Friday, the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission charged the controversial jockey with two charges of conduct prejudicial to the image of racing. The matter was adjourned by stewards to allow Callow to seek legal advice before he enters a plea to the charges. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! However, Callow was immediately stood down by stewards, with his riding license suspended in full, pending the outcome of the stewards inquiry. 'The Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) has today convened a Stewards' Inquiry and issued two charges under Australian Rule of Racing AR 228(a) against licensed jockey Mr Noel Callow,' a QRIC statement reads. 'The charges relate to conduct alleged to have occurred approximately one year ago while Mr Callow was not riding at, or attending, a race meeting and was not at any racecourse. 'It is alleged Mr Callow engaged in conduct prejudicial to the image of racing. 'Acting under AR 23(a), the Stewards have suspended Mr Callow's jockey licence in full, pending the outcome of the inquiry. Mr Callow has been informed of his right of appeal in respect of this decision. 'QRIC takes matters concerning conduct, welfare, and integrity seriously and will continue to ensure all participants are held to the highest professional and behavioural standards.' Noel Callow has been stood down over a racially-fuelled video that has been circulating. It means Callow cannot fulfil his rides during the Darwin Cup carnival, with Nash Rawiller replacing him on Bear Story in Monday's $200,000 Darwin Cup. Callow – with five Group 1s to his name in Australia – had only just returned to riding after being banned for a physical altercation with fellow Group 1 winning jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor in the jockeys' room during a race meeting in the Queensland winter carnival. With big-race wins all over the world including a prolific stint in Singapore, former Victorian Callow moved to Queensland several years ago and was starting to re-establish himself as a serious riding force in the metropolitan scene. In the street talk video, Callow engaged with an Indigenous man rather playfully at first, 'what's doing crackers', then proceeded with insensitive commentary on hygiene and culture. In a separate 17-second clip, which also came to the attention of racing authorities this week, Callow is heard but not pictured in the frame. Callow it appears filmed the vision riding a bicycle on a footpath, holding a jockey whip in the left hand, and fired off offensive racist four-letter slurs at two pedestrians after inaudible verballing. After more than two months out of the saddle, Callow made a winning return to racing this week when riding Stormfront to victory in Darwin for Gold Coast trainer Peter Robl. Originally published as Jockey Noel Callow stood down by Queensland stewards over racist video rant