Games cyclist 'forced to remove bra in taxi'

Cyclist Liz Williams was forced to partially undress in the back of a taxi and was later urinated on in the controversial incident during the Commonwealth Games in March, her mother says.

But Williams decided not to press charges against her teammates because, if convicted, they could potentially face a jail sentence.

Williams' mother Patricia has finally broken her silence on the events of that night in the Games village in Melbourne.

She has done so because the fallout from the incident is continuing to affect her daughter - and because she says Liz is still being portrayed as a villain in an incident where she was a victim. She said her daughter will still not speak publicly on the matter.

Last month, a Cycling New Zealand inquiry into the incident said the two male cyclists involved - Marc Ryan and Tim Gudsell - would not be punished for the incident as long as they underwent counselling and caused no further trouble.

Ryan said Williams' mother's version of events was "a long way from what happened".

Patricia Williams says Liz did not want to press charges at the time and sought advice from a friend, a police officer in Melbourne.

Mrs Williams was present when Liz told the off-duty police officer of the events on March 19, after a night of carousing which ended at 4am when a number of athletes from various countries left a Melbourne nightclub. Mrs Williams says Liz was not "going out" with either of her track cyclist teammates, Ryan, 23, or Gudsell, 22, during the evening but was in a large group of celebrating athletes.

She decided, however, out of what her family now says was "misguided team loyalty" to share a taxi back to the village with the two cyclists and another man, New Zealand triathlete Kris Gemmell. Gemmell played no part in the events in the taxi and tried to help Liz but, according to Mrs Williams, could do little about it as he was sitting on the other side of Liz in the back of the cab. Ryan was in the front and Gudsell in the back, with Liz Williams between him and Gemmell.

Gemmell's role in the incident is viewed as exemplary and he tried to help Williams.

Mrs Williams said Liz told police that Gudsell and Ryan were drunk and abusive towards her after the night out. "They were saying things like: 'Liz, show us your tits'," Mrs Williams said. "They had no money to pay the cab, apparently, and then one of them got the idea that Liz could take off her bra and give it to the driver as payment."

"Liz said it was Ryan's idea, Gudsell started trying to take her bra off and eventually got it undone.

"She was rocking forwards, with her arms across her chest, saying: 'Leave me alone, leave me alone'. But he got it undone and was continuing to take it off, so she just finished the job to make him stop."

When the taxi arrived at the village, the second half of the incident took place, with Ryan urinating on Williams as she walked past after she helped Gemmell pay the taxi driver. This was seen by a security guard, who called police. Ryan then picked Williams up and dumped her in a pond.

The Herald on Sunday contacted Ryan with the new details of the incident but he refused to comment. "We all know what happened and that is a long way from what happened," he said. He refused to elaborate further.

Declined

Gudsell is currently riding in France and requests for a phone number for him were declined by family.

Asked why her daughter had not made the details clear, Mrs Williams said Liz had found the whole experience traumatic and had not wanted it pursued further. "The detective we were talking to said that what we were describing could be viewed as a sexual assault and told us it could carry a prison sentence. That really freaked Liz out - she always thinks of other people first."

Liz decided not to press charges partly because she did not think the cyclists should be exposed to the possibility, if convicted, of a jail sentence. She never had problems with Gudsell before and did not want to take matters further because of that.

After the security guard had called the police, Williams was taken to a police station the next day where she made it clear that she did not want to lay an official complaint. "She didn't want that - she is not a vengeful person - and, as is the case with a lot of women in this position, she just wanted the whole thing to be kept out of the news media," her mother said.

She said, however, that she had advised her daughter to press charges and now wishes that Liz had done so. The aftermath of the incident was shrouded in secrecy but that secrecy had helped some misinformation gather currency - painting Liz in a bad light. Mrs Williams said she had been particularly upset about the use of the word "high-jinks" in official explanations - a term which she said made it seem as though Liz had been a willing party and made it seem she was part of the problem and not the victim. She denied reports that Liz had also been drunk, to the point of falling down. Liz had told her she had stopped drinking two hours before getting in the taxi.

After news of the incident broke in a Melbourne newspaper, Commonwealth Games chef de mission Dave Currie called a press conference outside the gates of the village. Currie had been quoted in the Melbourne Herald Sun saying: "I wouldn't say it was an incident. There hasn't been an incident. She has not made a complaint."

At a later press conference, he said there had been an incident but played matters down, saying that the cyclists had no intention of undressing Williams and urinating on her.

"That is not the case," he said at the time. "There were some high-jinks that were a result of alcohol.

"It wasn't something that we, and I am sure they, subsequently, are very proud of."

Currie would not divulge any details of the incident but stressed that the matter had not resulted in any police action.

A statement in Williams' name was read out by team psychologist Gary Hermansson which included the words: "She had no intention of making a complaint of any sort and the police became involved unnecessarily when informed of the incident by a witnessing security guard. In her view, the incident was a non-event which should never have become an issue outside the team. [Williams] does not wish the matter to be perpetuated by the media because it is closed and the other members of the team did not mean any harm or disrespect to her."

'Non-event'

Asked why she and Liz had since made statements making it clear that the incident was more than a "non-event," her mother said: "She was traumatised at the time and just wanted it to go away. It is pretty humiliating and upsetting when someone urinates on you."

Currie and the Games team management referred the matter to Cycling New Zealand for an internal inquiry. While Liz was exonerated from any misconduct by the Cycling New Zealand inquiry, the two male cyclists escaped punishment and were referred to counselling - but none of the details were made public. Because of that non-disclosure, Mrs Williams said Liz had been held up to ridicule and further verbal abuse - and could not speak up without fear of jeopardising her cycling career.

Cycling New Zealand president Wayne Hudson said: "We have a media shutdown in place and we are not going to comment." Later, however, Rodger Thompson, chief executive of parent body BikeNZ, said: "With any incident there will always be multiple explanations of the event and it is almost impossible to ascertain which, if any, are fully the correct versions. BikeNZ... acknowledges the seriousness of any such situation and are taking appropriate steps in order to prevent similar occurrences arising in the future."

He said a review of the Games was taking place and all team management and athletes would be able to take part in a confidential interview conducted by an independent consultant.

Mrs Williams believed the male cyclists should have been stood down for a period or lost privileges.

"No one wanted them to go to jail or anything but to understand that they could not do what they did," she said. "What sort of message is this sending to other people?"

The incident had continued to affect Liz, said Mrs Williams. She had been told not to appear at a primary school speaking engagement and promotional work because she was not a good role-model.

Mrs Williams said people did not realise how the official silence and the lack of action had affected Liz, who had been deeply hurt by the whispering campaign. "This whole thing has just about destroyed her and that's why she won't talk about it, because she wants it to go away - but she is the one being punished."