“I’d hate to see someone else go through what me and my family were put through. The emotional and financial pressure it puts on people,that’s why I’m speaking out so loudly about it,” he said.
“It’s quite an intimidating thing to come up against the police force with endless amounts of money and endless amounts of support for them.”
Tom Starling playing for Canberra in 2021.Credit:NRL Photos
He said the charges were a “step in the right direction” but also criticised them as being on the “low end”.
Starling’s mother Joanne previously told Fordham her world was turned upside down by the allegations against her son. She said she feared the incident would destroy his career.
“It definitely has taken its toll on us … I was there and I witnessed the majority of it and to see that on the front page of the news was just devastating,” she said. “The NRL were very close to standing him down.”
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Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart stuck by Starling during the investigation and said publicly that he believed his player’s version of events.
Starling’s lawyer,Paul McGirr – who also acts for the footballer’s brothers Jackson and Josh – said the family could seek up to $1 million in their civil case against NSW Police.
“It’s significant,and it’s not outside the realms for it to be hundreds of thousands of dollars per plaintiff. The family could be looking at a sum up to $1 million,” McGirr said.
“The delay and lack of information have only added to the burden of the pain and suffering that they’ve had hanging over their heads.”
The Raiders have a strained relationship with the police after a series of incidents with current and former players.
Also in 2020,Curtis Scott was asleep in Moore Park when he was approached by officers and eventually handcuffed,pepper sprayed and shot with a Taser during the arrest.
He was charged with multiple offences,butall were withdrawn or dismissed after the court was shown bodycam footage of the incident.
Scott appeared drunk and disoriented in the video. Magistrate Jennifer Giles labelled the arrest as “unlawful”.
Scott was also cleared of assaulting a patron in a Canberra nightclub in 2021.
Another former Canberra player,South Sydney recruit Jack Wighton, is considering civil action after fighting charges against him and Rabbitohs teammate Latrell Mitchell,which were withdrawn.
“It’s very disappointing,” Raiders CEO David Furner said of the latest Starling developments. “We always drill into the players to respect and co-operate with the police and always have in the past.
“We’ve had this and some other incidents recently;that is why this is so disappointing.”
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