ID :
52909
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 16:27
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/52909
The shortlink copeid
Cowley denies sparking D`Arcy attack
Simon Cowley, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist who suffered horrific injuries
when fellow swimmer Nick D'Arcy attacked him in a Sydney bar, denies he started the
fateful incident.
Cowley, 28, was left with fractures to his jaw, eye socket, hard palate, cheekbone
and nose after the pair clashed in an inner-Sydney bar in March 2008.
D'Arcy, 21, was given a suspended jail term of 14 months and 12 days and placed on a
conditional good behaviour bond in a Sydney court on Friday after pleading guilty to
recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm on Cowley.
He also lost his place on the Olympic swimming team for the Beijing games last year.
On the Nine Network's A Current Affair program on Monday, Cowley denied a version of
events relied upon by the magistrate that sentenced D'Arcy - that he slapped D'Arcy,
sparking the incident.
"I definitely did nothing to deserve what Nick D'Arcy did to me," he said.
Cowley has no memory of the attack but says friends have told him he gave D'Arcy a
light tap on the back of the head, a gentle admonishment for goading fellow swimmer
Eamon Sullivan to drink with him.
"It's quite difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that people were
suggesting that I slapped him first and that I was the aggressor, and that's
something that has kept me up for many nights," he said.
"For me to come out and slap someone across the face, someone who I've never met
before, someone who I don't know anything about, I find that very hard to believe."
Cowley says he believes D'Arcy is not sorry for attacking him, adding there were no
wishes for his speedy recovery from D'Arcy or his family until after last week's
hearing.
"Twelve months is a long time before apologising for something like this, for
causing this much damage. I could have been killed," Cowley said.
"I don't think that jail is necessarily the answer for Nick D'Arcy, but I guess it
doesn't do any good if he goes out and swims really, really well and he breaks
Australian records and Commonwealth records and wins medals for Australia, all that
will mean nothing if he goes out and does this again to somebody else."
On ABC TV's Australian Story program on Monday night, D'Arcy admits he has a problem
with binge drinking, but says he has grown up since his attack on Cowley.
when fellow swimmer Nick D'Arcy attacked him in a Sydney bar, denies he started the
fateful incident.
Cowley, 28, was left with fractures to his jaw, eye socket, hard palate, cheekbone
and nose after the pair clashed in an inner-Sydney bar in March 2008.
D'Arcy, 21, was given a suspended jail term of 14 months and 12 days and placed on a
conditional good behaviour bond in a Sydney court on Friday after pleading guilty to
recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm on Cowley.
He also lost his place on the Olympic swimming team for the Beijing games last year.
On the Nine Network's A Current Affair program on Monday, Cowley denied a version of
events relied upon by the magistrate that sentenced D'Arcy - that he slapped D'Arcy,
sparking the incident.
"I definitely did nothing to deserve what Nick D'Arcy did to me," he said.
Cowley has no memory of the attack but says friends have told him he gave D'Arcy a
light tap on the back of the head, a gentle admonishment for goading fellow swimmer
Eamon Sullivan to drink with him.
"It's quite difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that people were
suggesting that I slapped him first and that I was the aggressor, and that's
something that has kept me up for many nights," he said.
"For me to come out and slap someone across the face, someone who I've never met
before, someone who I don't know anything about, I find that very hard to believe."
Cowley says he believes D'Arcy is not sorry for attacking him, adding there were no
wishes for his speedy recovery from D'Arcy or his family until after last week's
hearing.
"Twelve months is a long time before apologising for something like this, for
causing this much damage. I could have been killed," Cowley said.
"I don't think that jail is necessarily the answer for Nick D'Arcy, but I guess it
doesn't do any good if he goes out and swims really, really well and he breaks
Australian records and Commonwealth records and wins medals for Australia, all that
will mean nothing if he goes out and does this again to somebody else."
On ABC TV's Australian Story program on Monday night, D'Arcy admits he has a problem
with binge drinking, but says he has grown up since his attack on Cowley.
