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Veteran Australian Diamonds defender Jo Weston is adamant the playing group wouldn’t change they way they have approached and handled the furore over losing a $15m sponsorship despite growing fallout.
The players have copped both criticism and support amid varying degrees of backlash following a decision from Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, to pull her support through Hancock Prospecting after pushback from players about wearing the logo of her mining company on their playing uniforms.
It is believed questions were initially raised by Indigenous player Donnell Wallam, who was named to make her Australian debut against England on Wednesday night after joining the team camp on the Gold Coast this week, when she didn’t feel comfortable wearing a uniform with the logo as a result of shocking comments made by Ms Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock in the 1980s.
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Wallam didn’t play in the Constellation Cup series against New Zealand, during which the massive cash injection was withdrawn by Hancock Prospecting and led some esteemed sporting figures, including swimming legend Dawn Fraser, to question the players’ motives.
“Mrs G (Rinehart) has done a hell of a lot for not only swimming, but she’s looked after beach volleyball, she’s looked after women’s rowing and women’s synchronised swimming, Fraser told 4BC Drive.
“I mean heavens above – what are these women doing.”
But Weston, who is also the president of the players’ association, said while they “couldn’t have imagined” the ongoing fallout, the players were united in their stance.
“I don’t think any of us could have imagined what has transpired over the last few weeks, becoming such a big news story,” she told Fox Sports.
“What we’ve tried to put forward and try and negotiate, I don’t know if I would change anything.
“I feel like we will move forward as the playing group in conjunction with Netball Australia and really just continue to instil the values we have as a playing group in the Diamonds that come after us as well.
“We are very united as a playing group and on the same page, and I think it’s been different narratives have been out there in the media. We know what has happened in our playing group and what we stand for.
“And I think, for us as the Diamonds, that’s what’s most important.”
Weston hoped that if anything, more open lines of communication between Netball Australia management and the players would be a big lesson from the saga.
“You know, there’s been a lot of talk about the way that information is communicated between us as the playing group and Netball Australia,” she said.
“But I think this has really helped us take a step forward and be able to change hopefully in the future that we have a more fluent form of communication.
“They always say Diamonds are made under pressure. And I think this has been really galvanising for our playing group as well as our coaching staff to be able to focus on the performance element when there has been so much outside noise.”
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