The discharge without conviction of Losi Filipo, a Wellington Under 19 rugby player, highlights how flawed the justice system is when it comes to athletes. Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images
The discharge without conviction of Losi Filipo, a Wellington Under 19 rugby player, highlights how flawed the justice system is when it comes to athletes. Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images
"I have to ask myself; are the courts in the business of destroying people's career prospects?"
This was Judge Bruce Davidson's line of thinking when Losi Filipo, a contracted Wellington Under 19s rugby player, stood before him for sentencing on charges of injuring with reckless disregard, assault with intent to injure and assault on a female.
Filipo was discharged without conviction.
Judge Davidson had noted that the charges demanded a sentencing starting point of at least one-and-a-half years' imprisonment.
But multiple mitigating factors - including remorse, Filipo's age (17 at the time), his willingness to make amends, and community support meant jail was not likely, but a conviction was - under conventional sentencing.
Judge Davidson then concluded that the impact on Filipo's career warranted a discharge without conviction.
Filipo is free to play rugby while his victims continue to suffer from his actions - hardly a fair result.
One of his targets, Greg Morgan, said he had a potential contract with Wellington Rugby, but following the assault he was told he could never play rugby again.
This case followed the same old narrative that surrounds court cases involving athletes: athlete pleads guilty, athlete/lawyer argues that punishment would ruin his career, judge agrees, athlete gets off essentially scot-free.
The only people that come out with a sentence are the victims.
By saying that sentencing the athlete will harm his future aspirations, they are giving the victims a proverbial slap in the face.
Morgan suffers from fatigue and migraines directly caused by concussion suffered from the attack. He can only work three days a week, his building apprenticeship will take a year longer to complete and he can no longer play rugby.
Olivia Samuels, another victim, is a singer. She was punched in the throat and told she may never sing again.
That is life changing damage. And an aggravating - not mitigating - factor.
Why are Morgan's and Samuels' potential careers as a builder and singer less important than Filipo's?
Filipo isn't the first and most certainly won't be the last athlete given a pass due to his chosen career.
Former Blues player Francis Saili was discharged without conviction for driving while his licence was suspended. A conviction would have affected his selection. James Crombie/Photosport
In 2012, an ex-All Black had a conviction of assaulting his son overturned on appeal, with a High Court judge ruling he was at risk of losing employment from speaking engagements overseas.
All Black George Moala was found guilty of assault that same year in a late-night boozy brawl but walked away, discharged without conviction. The judge said a conviction could affect his playing career.
In 2013, former Blues player Francis Saili was discharged without conviction for driving while his licence was suspended. Former coach Sir John Kirwan told the court a criminal record could affect his future selection.
The most recent high profile case of leniency toward athletes was Brock Turner.
A Stanford University swimmer, Turner was given a six-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. He was out of jail in three.
That's an incredibly lenient sentence from Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Pesky, who said "a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him".
Turner's father dismissed his son's behaviour as "20 minutes of action."
That "20 minutes of action" will affect a young woman for the rest of her life. It could have adverse consequences on her own career prospects.
But she and the victims of Filipo's assault are not star athletes. So in the eyes of the courts, they aren't as important.
Athletes seem to be held to a different set of rules to the general public and that is not okay.
If Filipo had been a promising young accountant or architect or scientist, he most likely wouldn't have escaped a conviction and jail time. And therein lies the problem.
Athletes are no different to people working in other professions. It's their job. If they do something that deserves a harsh sentence, they should be sentenced appropriately.
But since the world loves their sporting figures, they continue to be let off as if all they have done is jaywalked.
Filipo stomped on Morgan's head. Had this heinous act taken place on the rugby field, he would have faced a suspension of between two weeks and two years.
