‘Horrific’: AFL removes Barry Cable from hall of fame

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The AFL has removed Barry Cable from the Australian Football Hall of Fame, effective immediately, and he will no longer be designated as a Legend of the game.

The decision was made at a commission meeting on Tuesday ahead of Tuesday night’s hall of fame dinner, and comes after a ruling made by Judge Mark Herron in the District Court of Western Australia earlier this month that Cable had repeatedly sexually assaulted a girl during his playing career. The judge also found there was compelling evidence Cable also abused other children.

Barry Cable has been removed from the hall of fame.

As reported earlier in June by this masthead, the AFL changed 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 who have engaged in serious misconduct that brought the game into disrepute.

“As a result, the commission unanimously resolved today to remove Barry Cable from the Australian Football Hall of Fame, effective immediately,” commission chair Richard Goyder said

In a statement, Goyder said the commission had considered the matter at the earliest opportunity on Tuesday, after he had asked the AFL executive to write to Cable last week for any response Cable was prepared to provide the hall of fame committee and the AFL Commission regarding the ruling.

Cable provided a written response, which was considered as part of the commission’s deliberations.

“The finding of Judge Herron was incredibly serious and distressing and the thoughts of the AFL Commission are entirely with the victim, who bravely told her story and the other women who courageously came forward during the course of the trial to tell their stories. We acknowledge the courage it has taken to reach an outcome through the courts in WA,” Goyder said.

“Once the court ruling was handed down it was incumbent on the commission and the game to immediately examine the facts of this matter and the horrific nature of these events required that Barry Cable can no longer be considered for any honours that the hall of fame or football can bestow.

“At our last commission meeting we moved to alter the charter for the Australian Football Hall of Fame, to include a new section that allows for the AFL Commission to remove any person for conduct which brings the AFL, the hall of fame inductee, any AFL club or Australian football into disrepute.

“Induction into the hall of fame and designation of Legend status will immediately be removed,” he said.

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