Is the St Kilda sex scandal done and dusted?

[Dogwatcher]

By ROB McLEAN

Well, it’s 2011 and 60 Minutes’ story on the teenager previously known as ‘the St Kilda schoolgirl’ has wrapped up the scandal that careered across our television screens for the past year into a neat 15 minute package.
Now it’s time to look for the Gen Z phenomena of the new year.
Sunday night’s expose saw Kim Duthie tell her side of the story, and in it she revealed to the world that she was, cue gasp, a liar.
Journalist Liz Hayes did her best impersonation of a nodding dog during the interview; her head wobbling as she attempting to keep a serious face while Duthie took us through her motivations.
But for all the gravitas journo Hayes could muster, you couldn’t help but think about what a joke this whole story was.
60 Minutes rolled into A Current Affair territory as it delved into the salacious ins and outs of the schoolgirl’s accusations.
In the wash up, as she told us herself, all of Duthie’s claims, except the fact that the stupidly egocentric Ricky Nixon had slept with her and plied her with drugs and alcohol, proved to be lies.
At this point, Nixon has not told his side of the story but given the situation he is in, and I’m not sure that he ever will.
We will be left to view him as a silly old man, who thought he could outwit a teenager and failed.
Maybe absence will make the heart grow fonder and the reprobate Nixon may return and he and Duthie will be reunited in a New Weekly wedding extravaganza, at which Roberta Williams, in her new career as marriage celebrant, will perform the nuptials.
Now that’s a story!
For months now 17-year-old Duthie has strung along the football world and its associated media circus, convincing people that she had a story to tell.
At no point has she been made accountable for the harmful lies that are, ultimately, the only things she has given birth to in this whole sordid tale.
She lied, breached privacy and stole property from St Kilda footballer Sam Gilbert’s computer, ruining reputations in her wake with little or no remorse.
But all that was okay because she was a teenager taking control of her life and getting back at a massive corporate powerbroker, an organisation which provides more media accreditations than Parliament House.
While footballers were castigated and lampooned for their buffoonery, this young lady was lauded as a new feminist icon.
Now, any young ladies who have concerns about the way they have been treated by a footballer will have to travel in the long shadow cast by Duthie.
Far from being a role model for women, she has made life tougher for them.
Duthie, as of Sunday night’s report, is still staying in a hotel room paid for by the Saint Kilda Football Club.
Her notoriety is likely to gain her some employment, with several media outlets desperate to gain a commercial edge apparently sniffing around her.
Is it possible that, given her ‘exclusive’ aired on Channel 9, the network might have a future planned for her?
Given the manner in which she has garnered attention, it would be fair to ask whether the network paid for her yarn and what else the contract might entail.
Generally what happens with these stories once the exclusive is delivered is that the notoriety lasts for slightly longer than Warhol’s proverbial 15 minutes.
There’s also the probability of a cover shoot with a lads mag.
Funnily enough, slightly less of her will be revealed in any future photo shoot than there was of St Nick Riewoldt and his mates in the files she professes to have illegally procured from Sam Gilbert’s computer.
The media will use her and spit her out (just as she claimed her former lover Gilbert did).
Will she seek revenge then? Or will she just disappear into the sunset, like a gunslinger whose nerves and wit have deserted them?
Don’t get me wrong, there is a narcissistic element in top flight sport and some boys will be boys and treat girls like playthings.
There is no doubt our sportsmen should assess the way they treat women.
But the fall out from this girl’s anger has gone far beyond the hurt that she claims to have felt when she was originally rejected by the object of her affections.
The St Kilda Football Club and all others involved in this lurid story will be tainted for years to come.
It hardly seems fair when Duthie, herself, has revealed how much of her story is a lie.
Farewell Kim. In five years time we’ll be wondering what did happen to that schoolgirl.
Some of us may even wonder if she wears a school uniform whilst making guest appearances at football club fundraisers.
My guess is, she will be sitting at a bar with 2008’s social network phenomena Corey Delaney and the 2009 Generation Z champion Claire ‘Chk, chk boom’ Werbeloff, and wondering how they can once again be the apple in the eye of a hungry media.
The question is, who will be the next Generation Z celebrity to emerge in this new social media world we find ourselves?

[OnSong]

Bindi Irwin.

[Dogwatcher]

[Baron Greenback]

Great article DW.
My sentiments exactly.

What p*ssed me off was the fact she said the only person she needed to apologise to was Sam Gilbert.
What about Nick Riewoldt and Nick Dal Santo? Their junk is all over the internet now thanks to her.
She'll get what's coming to her eventually.

[redandblack]

Good article, DW, but in my opinion only, I think this is a situation that reflects badly on nearly all those involved, rather than just the girl.

As you say, some elite footballers' attitudes towards women leaves a lot to be desired. I should say, though, that most of the footballers I have met are good people, well disciplined and good characters. Many of them are outstanding role models, let down as a group by some who are the total opposite.

It's that group who I have no sympathy for. The actions of the girl were for all the wrong reasons, but many wouldn't be upset to see those players (and I'm not necessarily referring to the St Kilda players involved) have someone fight back and put them under the pump a bit.

The girl will later rue the whole episode, of course, so she has the rest of her life to reflect on it.

As for the media, what can you say except that a responsible media is an oxymoron.

The girl involved comes out of this with no credit, but laying all the blame at her doorstep (and I'm not saying you have) is looking at only a part of the problem.

Thanks for the article.

[daicos]

Yes it is done and dusted!

[bayman]

some players may have an ego but when women are throwing themselves at these young men (i saw it time & time again at lennies') they are human & they take the bait, most times everyones happy the next day......occaisionally i got 'one of the friends'

as for kim duthie, she may pop up somewhere, maybe a mag or performing on film in a porno, apart from that yep it's done & dusted