Tyrendarra Football Netball Club Apologizes After Allowing Convicted Offender
The Tyrendarra Football Netball Club has issued a public apology and banned convicted sex offender James Williams, after a fierce backlash to its decision to allow him back into the club following his release from jail.
The south-west Victorian club, a small community hub built around junior football and netball, has been under heavy scrutiny since an ABC investigation revealed Williams was permitted to return last year. He had been jailed for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl during a post-season football trip, attacking her at a concert in Adelaide in 2022.
Under mounting pressure, the club’s committee released a statement on Wednesday, conceding it had made the wrong call.
“We are sorry,” the committee said, without naming Williams but clearly referring to his case.
Club reverses course after public outcry
The ABC understands Williams has now been kicked out of the club, a move that followed intense media coverage and growing anger within the community.
In its statement, the committee admitted it had failed to properly consider what its members and wider community expected from a club that prides itself on being a safe place for children.
“We accept we did not give enough weight to what our community rightly expects of a Club built around children, and those we let down deserve a straightforward apology,” the statement read.
“We also acknowledge those who have spoken about how this was handled, and the trust we have lost with them.”
The apology was posted on social media ahead of a face-to-face meeting with some club members scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. An earlier meeting, set for Tuesday, had to be abandoned after the venue details were circulated online.
Victim and community at the centre of apology
The club explicitly acknowledged the harm done to Williams’s victim, who was 15 at the time of the assault.
It also extended its apology beyond the inner circle of players and officials.
“To anyone in our community affected by this episode and its coverage, we are sorry for the distress it has caused,” the committee said.
The fallout has already hit the club financially and politically. Sponsors have walked away, including local MP Roma Britnell, who withdrew her support as the controversy deepened.
Questions over “careful process”
The committee insisted it had followed a “careful process” before allowing Williams to return, saying it had sought expert advice and consulted widely within the club.
The ABC, as part of its investigation, asked Tyrendarra to detail what that process involved and what specific steps were taken before Williams was welcomed back. The club did not respond to those questions.
Whatever internal process existed, it has now been overtaken by public reaction and a rapid shift in the club’s stance.
New code of conduct promised
Trying to rebuild trust, the committee has pledged structural change. It says it will introduce a binding code of conduct for players, coaches, officials and volunteers, with clear grounds for removal for breaches both on and off the field.
“We do not expect these commitments to be taken on trust alone. We intend to be judged on what we do from here,” the statement concluded.
For a club that has long sold itself as a family space, what it does next will decide whether its community believes it.
