AFL changing Hall of Fame rules as Cable faces court decision

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The AFL is changing the rules of the Australian Football Hall of Fame to enable the league to suspend or revoke the membership of those who are convicted of indictable offences or have engaged in serious misconduct that brought the game into disrepute.

The change to the hall of fame rules comes as former North Melbourne and Western Australian football great Barry Cable is about to face a civil court judgement on allegations of child sexual abuse, with the Perth district court handing down a decision on Friday.

AFL legend Barry Cable has faced a civil trial over allegations of child sexual abuse dating back to his playing days in the 1960s and ’70s

The AFL may have to rule on Cable’s status – he was made an official Legend in 2012 and is among the most decorated players in the code – after the next hall of fame induction later this month, if there is a judgment against him in court. The judgment would not be a conviction because it is a civil case.

This masthead has attempted to contact Cable.

The revised rules will not be active until after the June 27 induction dinner.

A senior AFL source, speaking anonymously because the change has not been made public, confirmed that the AFL Commission had approved a change to the Australian Football Hall of Fame rules, which would give the hall of fame committee the power to suspend or revoke the hall of fame membership of a player, coach or official who was convicted of an indictable offence in court, or engaged in conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game.

There would be a process under which the hall of fame member would have an opportunity to respond.

The rule change for the hall of fame would apply to Legend status as well as membership, with the Cable court case highlighting the fact that the AFL had not made any rules to govern misconduct that becomes public after a person is already inducted.

The decision on whether a person’s hall of fame status is suspended or revoked would be made by the AFL Commission, not the hall of fame’s committee, which is chaired by the AFL chairman Richard Goyder.

Cable has been sued by a Perth woman, who alleged in court that Cable abused her as a child during the late 1960s and early 70s. Four other women – another from Perth and three who were based in Melbourne when Cable was at North Melbourne – gave evidence that they also were sexually abused by Cable, who was not represented in the hearing and did not appear.

Police have not charged Cable with any offences. He has strongly denied the allegations.

In the AFL’s official guidelines for the hall of fame, it says the hall of fame committee considers candidates “on the basis of record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship and character.” The AFL considered character-based criteria for entry into the hall of fame, but had not applied those criteria to existing members who fell foul of the law.

Players, coaches, umpires and administrators are eligible to be admitted into the Hall of Fame a minimum of five years after their retirement.

The AFL guidelines says the individuals are eligible for Legend status “if they have caused the game to change significantly for the better.”

In mid-February, three new witnesses, all women, alleged that they were abused by Cable in the 1980s in Victoria. This brought to five the number of children Cable is accused of sexually assaulting while he was either playing or coaching.

The woman who took the legal action against Cable told the court Cable began abusing her she was about 12 or 13. The abuse allegedly continued through her teens.

Cable denies these claims.

One of the women gave evidence that Cable tried to have sex with her in a spa in the 1980s when she was about 11.

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