The Australian Football League has confirmed it is reviewing Nicky Winmar's Hall of Fame status after the former St Kilda great was found guilty of assaulting a woman. Winmar, 60, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022 following a 251-game career with the Saints and Western Bulldogs.
Assault Conviction Details
Last Friday, Bendigo Magistrate Trieu Huynh convicted Winmar of two charges of common law assault and one count of unlawful assault, finding the prosecution had proven those offences beyond reasonable doubt. The charges stemmed from an incident at Cohuna in northern Victoria in May 2025, where Winmar allegedly grabbed the woman by the arm, dragged her by the hair, and hit her head against a door. He was acquitted on a fourth charge of intentionally causing injury, with the magistrate ruling that the woman's 'substantial pain' did not meet the threshold for that charge.
Statue Removal at Optus Stadium
Following the conviction, West Australian Premier Roger Cook directed VenuesWest to remove the statue of Winmar from Optus Stadium. The statue, which depicted Winmar's iconic stance against racism—lifting his jumper and pointing to his skin—was taken down on Sunday. 'Violence against women is never acceptable, and it is important we send a strong message to the community,' Mr Cook said. 'Following Nicky Winmar's conviction, I'm of the firm view that it is no longer appropriate for that statue to be displayed.' VenuesWest is storing the statue while its future is considered.
Criticism of Hasty Decision
Football historian Sean Gorman, who led an AFL review of vilification laws, criticised the speed of the statue's removal. 'The decision to take it down, I suppose wasn't terribly shocking. The speed with which the statue came down was,' Dr Gorman told the ABC. 'There seems to be very little sort of discussion in terms of consulting with key stakeholders ... it needed further discussion. This (Winmar's stance) is a big iconic moment in Australian history and to take it down in the way that they did it overnight and without the due diligence or messaging that they needed to give to the community I think is, again, problematic.'
Winmar's Career and Legal Context
Recruited by St Kilda from South Fremantle, Winmar was the first Indigenous footballer to play 200 games in the AFL. He played 230 games with the Saints and 21 for the Bulldogs. Winmar is also co-leading a landmark racism class action against the AFL in the Victorian Supreme Court. He would not be the first player stripped of Hall of Fame status. In 2023, former North Melbourne, Perth and East Perth champion Barry Cable's 'Legend' status was revoked after a civil trial found he had sexually abused a young girl during his playing career. In April this year, Cable was acquitted of historical sexual abuse charges in a criminal trial.
