Winmar Assault Conviction
AFL Legend Nicky Winmar Found Guilty of Assault in Victoria Court
Key Points
Magistrate Trieu Huynh presided over the Bendigo case and delivered the verdict convicting Winmar on three charges.
The assault allegations included dragging the woman by the hair, grabbing her arm, twisting it and smashing her head against a wooden door, with prosecutors detailing these actions as central to the charges.
Evidence included a Triple Zero 000 call from the night and photographs showing bruising and swelling on the woman’s arm, which prosecutors said supported her version of events.
The case sits within Winmar’s broader public history as a prominent anti-racism figure, with reports describing him as co-leading a landmark racism class action against the AFL.
AFL legend Nicky Winmar, 60, has been found guilty of assaulting a woman in northern Victoria, a court ruled this week. Magistrate Trieu Huynh convicted Winmar on two counts of common assault and one count of unlawful assault over an incident in Cohuna on May 14, 2025, according to Nine.
The magistrate dismissed a fourth charge of intentionally causing injury, finding the woman's pain insufficient to meet that threshold. Winmar will face a pre-sentence hearing at a later date, SBS reported.
Court Details Hair-Dragging and Head-Slam Against Door
Prosecutors told the court Winmar dragged the woman by her hair during the assault. He also grabbed her arm, twisted it, and smashed her head against a wooden door, Fox Sports reported. The woman cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Evidence included a Triple Zero call made on the night of the incident. Photographs showing bruising and swelling on the woman's arm were also presented, SBS reported. Prosecutors said this physical evidence supported her account of what happened.
Winmar Called the Woman a Liar. The Magistrate Disagreed.
Winmar argued the woman had lied about the assault. But Magistrate Huynh rejected that claim. The magistrate found the woman to be a credible and truthful witness, according to Nine.
The conviction on three charges means Winmar faces a formal sentencing process. The pre-sentence hearing date has not yet been set, SBS reported.
WA Premier Orders Winmar Statue Removed After Verdict
Western Australian Premier Roger Cook moved quickly after the verdict. He ordered a bronze statue of Winmar to be removed, Nine reported. The statue had stood as a tribute to one of the AFL's most celebrated figures.
Winmar played 200 AFL games and is widely known for a landmark anti-racism gesture in 1993. He currently co-leads a racism class action against the AFL, according to Fox Sports. The conviction casts a long shadow over that legacy.
A Celebrated Anti-Racism Figure Now Faces Sentencing
Winmar, a Noongar man, built his reputation fighting racism in Australian football. His 1993 gesture — lifting his jumper and pointing to his skin after a match — became one of the sport's most iconic moments, SBS noted.
His legal troubles now sit alongside that history. The assault case and the ongoing AFL racism class action mean Winmar remains a deeply complex and contested public figure, Nine reported. His sentencing outcome is still to come.
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