Nicky Winmar’s fall from grace after attacking woman in Victoria

Once a dominant AFL star with a lasting legacy on the field, former St Kilda player Nicky Winmar has been stripped of his honours in a dramatic fall from grace.

The 60-year-old, who played 251 games over a 13-season career, was sentenced to a six month jail term this week over a violent alcohol-fuelled assault on a woman last May.

Winmar, who maintains his innocence, remains on bail pending an appeal against both his conviction and sentence.

Following a hearing in which he vigorously defended the charges in July, Winmar was found guilty of three assault charges stemming from an incident at a motel in northern Victoria.

The woman, who cannot be named, described being afraid for her life and said she has now “lost faith and trust in everybody”.

The court was told Winmar had been drinking when he began screaming and attacking the woman “out of nowhere”.

He was found to have twisted the woman’s arm, dragged her by the hair and smashed her head into a door four times in the violent outburst.

The woman said she managed to lock herself in a motel room and call triple-0, waiting an hour for police to arrive while cowering under a blanket with Winmar circling outside.

Following the verdict, Winmar’s actions were condemned by the AFL, with the sport’s governing body, the AFL Commission, removing him from the game’s Hall of Fame.

AFL Commission chairman Craig Drummond said Winmar’s place was “inappropriate” following the conviction.

“Violence against women has no place. Not in our community, not in our game, and not in the values the Australian Football Hall of Fame seeks to uphold,” he said.

St Kilda, where Winmar played much of his career, also moved to suspend the former two times best and fairest award winner from the club’s Hall of Fame.

A bronze monument outside Perth’s Optus Stadium was also quickly removed, with WA Premier Roger Cook saying it was “important we send a strong message to the community”.

“Following Nicky Winmar’s conviction, I’m of the firm view that it is no longer appropriate for that statue to be displayed,” he said.