- Danny Morseu fired by the Australian Olympic Committee
- 66-year-old basketball player imprisoned for attacking a woman in June 2022
- Anna Meares called the development a “real shock”
Former professional basketball player Danny Morseu has been fired from his position with the Australian Olympic Committee after he was found guilty of assault occasioning bodily harm for repeatedly punching a woman in the head.
Morseu, who was inducted into the NBL Hall of Fame in 2002 and became the first Torres Strait Islander to represent Australia at the Olympic Games in 1980, was convicted but tried to keep the charge secret.
Last week, Morseu, 66, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the crime, with the sentence suspended after four months.
He pleaded not guilty in the Cairns District Court.
Judge Dean Morzone said Morseu’s offending was misplaced but the victim would suffer lasting harm following the “sustained attack”, in which she was hit eight times on the head during a drinking session in June 2022.
Former professional basketball player Danny Morseu (pictured) has been sacked from his position with the Australian Olympic Committee.
The two-time Olympian and NBL Hall of Fame star was found guilty of assault occasioning bodily harm after repeatedly punching a woman in the head.
“It was unprovoked and you were much more physically powerful than her,” he said.
“You have suffered significant damage to your reputation with a deep fall from grace as a result of this crime.”
Crown prosecutor Tim Watkins told the court the victim “thought she was going to die” after the brutal attack.
Morseu was found not guilty by a jury of other charges, including common assault and deprivation of liberty.
On May 20, the AOC confirmed that it had “removed” the former Olympic basketball player as vice-president of its Indigenous Advisory Committee, with Paris 2024 chief of mission Anna Meares calling the development a “real shock.”
“This is a very serious crime, a criminal offense,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘Abuse against anyone and abuse against women is simply not tolerated. And as soon as AOC was informed, Danny was removed from his position on the Indigenous Advisory Committee.
‘They (the AOC) didn’t find out until these charges came to court. It’s a shock. It’s a real shock. And a disappointment, of course.
Morseu was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the offence, suspended after four months, when his case was heard in the Cairns District Court.
Paris 2024 head of mission Anna Meares (pictured left) called the development a “real shock”.
Kyle Vander-Kuyp, a member of the AOC Indigenous Advisory Committee, was equally surprised by Morseu’s offending.
‘We had no idea. (I’ve) been working alongside Danny for the past four years on the advisory committee, accomplishing many wonderful things,” the hurdler champion said.
‘I’m still processing what happened… I just have to look at the news: domestic violence in indigenous communities is not good. It must be addressed. And it’s not just indigenous, it’s violence against anyone. Violence against women.
“You have to stop it, do something about it.”
Morseu represented Australia at the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games and won three NBL titles with the St Kilda Saints and Brisbane Bullets.