Read the warning footy star's dad sent to club after his son was allegedly forced to wrestle 35 teammates as $4million lawsuit hits court
- A footy star's father allegedly threatened Canterbury Bulldogs
- Jackson Topine was allegedly assaulted by up to 35 teammates
- The former player has taken his old club to court for $4million
The father of Jackson Topine warned a Bulldogs official the club would face a 'civil case unheralded in your industry' after his son was allegedly assaulted by up to 35 teammates.
The 22-year-old has accused the team of hitting him with 'an unlawful corporal punishment' when he was 'detained' at a Sydney gym and made to wrestle 30 to 35 of his fellow Bulldogs as punishment for being eight to 10 minutes late to training.
His lawsuit alleges the disciplinary action carried out on the orders of head trainer Travis Touma amounted to 'assault and battery' and left him with 'psychiatric injury' and 'physical and mental impairment'.
The Bulldogs have filed their defence against the $4million lawsuit, denying liability and arguing that the youngster consented to the wrestling activity whereby he was forced to grapple with the teammates individually.
The outcome of the Supreme Court action is expected to have huge ramifications on the sport, and the parties squared off for the first time on Thursday where it emerged that neither party was willing to take immediate steps to settle the dispute.
The Bulldogs have put forward that Topine's father contacted the club claiming legal action was on the horizon after his son walked out on Canterbury.
The evidence is being used in Canterbury's defence. It claims that Marcus Topine, the player's father, contacted a club welfare official warning of a “civil case unheralded in your industry” and that it was “only out of respect of my son’s request that I am standing down for now,” the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Topine's legal team claim that the Maori All-Star is incapable of making a return to the NRL due to the effects of the incident, seeking huge damages they believe he would have earned over the course of his career spanning another 10 years.
Jackson Topine's father allegedly threatened the Canterbury Bulldogs, a court has heard
Topine is suing the Bulldogs for $4million for an alleged assault during training
The young star is arguing that the psychological effects of the incident means he will never return to footy
The Bulldogs paid the player for three months after he walked out of the club, but his representatives claim no assistance after that was 'contrary to law' and 'improper', given the nature of his psychological injuries.
Topine claims he was unable to stand and walk at the end of the wrestling punishment without assistance, with his lawyers labelling the incident as 'battery', 'assault' and 'humiliation'.
The Bulldogs will argue that wrestling is a standard training punishment across the sport and lasted for no more than six minutes. They will also present video evidence of Topine training unhampered for the following three days.
Canterbury have described the case put against them as 'misconceived and hopelessly embarrassing'.
