The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) faces an interim court order that bars it from publishing a story revealing alleged vulgar comments made in a group chat by three high-profile athletes. The NSW Supreme Court has suppressed the identities of the men, referred to in court as AB, CD, and EF, who are described as highly credentialed in their respective sports.
The messages in question reportedly contain jokes, insults directed at others in their sport, and crude descriptions of sexual acts and domestic violence. The ABC came into possession of these messages when an ex-partner of one of the athletes, identified in court as GH, leaked a series of texts to ABC reporter Marnie Vinall. GH stated she felt a strong moral obligation to reveal the content of the messages.
Two of the athletes are reportedly married with children. One of these married men holds multiple high-profile ambassadorial, commercial sponsorship, and media roles. He argued that the publication of his messages would be devastating to his advocacy work. All three athletes claimed that the disclosure would cause serious harm to their reputations, standings, and financial interests. They also acknowledged potential breaches of their contracts and disciplinary action from their sports' governing bodies.
Justice Anthony McGrath, who granted the interim injunction, stated there was no urgent public interest in the ABC publishing the story at this time. He rejected the ABC's assertion that the messages were mere "trivial tittle-tattle," deeming it a serious legal issue. Justice McGrath noted that the text messages appeared to be private thoughts shared among the individuals and were not intended for public consumption.
The court heard that GH accessed the group chat on an old mobile phone belonging to AB. GH claims AB provided the password, while AB denies this. After their relationship ended acrimoniously, GH retained the phone, allowing her to access the chat. She later referred the messages to Ms. Vinall, believing her to be the most appropriate reporter.
An ABC spokesperson expressed concern about the broader implications of the court's decision on investigative journalism and the public's right to know. The spokesperson asserted that the ABC stands by the conduct of its journalists acting in the public interest. The injunction remains in effect pending a final hearing, which will examine the means by which the messages were obtained.