For the past two weeks there has been an ongoing series of scandals involving Australian rugby league players and allegations of rape. Rugby league players tend to be meatheads who see sport as organised violence and would otherwise be enjoying time at Her Majesty's leisure. It is a stupid sport played by tiny minds but somehow it is enjoyed by large parts of the Australian population. It has now emerged that at an after game hotel a woman was raped. Her full story is here but in brief she went from consensual sex with one player to having a different player raping her AND another player watching the whole thing. Primeval. It has lead to a police investigation which is being stymied by the code of silence. That's the code that says it is more important to stick by your mates than to report a crime. Even worse is this is not an isolated incident.

What is becoming more apparent is that in times past sports stars have been able to get away with it. However now a combination of more assertive women and media not held in thrall of such stars are fighting back. Sadly it's not likely to stop stories like this happening, at least overnight. But for God's sake, the players who won't even report on their "mates" are as guilty as those that commit these crimes. They are guilty of conspiracy and covering-up illegal acts and should also be prosecuted. It is not acceptable for a person to say they don't want to testify against team mates. There is a greater principle of justice involved.

These matters can often be difficult to resolve. If they denigrate into claim and counter-claim with no outside witnesses then they become essentially unsolvable in the absence of physical proof. But clearly one player going out and sending a mate in instead is rape. Groups of players intimidating women into sex is rape. Sports players who think themselves somehow apart from the rest of us are learning that everyone is equal before the law.

The "good old days" for male sports teams are gone. Not before time.