Not Paul Kent
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Jamil Hopoate, who had a promising NRL future before being imprisoned for his role in an assault, was released from Sydney's Long Bay prison on Friday and will soon be lecturing young footballers about the ramifications of alcohol-fuelled violence.
Hopoate, 20, was contracted to Manly when he took part in an assault that was described by Downing Centre Local Court magistrate Jane Mottley as "savage and unprovoked", when he and a group of friends punched and kicked Alexander Christie outside the Ivanhoe Hotel at Manly.
Hopoate was filmed attempting to kick Christie and even though he did not connect he was found equally as culpable as his co-offenders who were dealt with in the District Court.
Another man who tried to stop the attack was assaulted. Hopoate pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company over the attack and served nine months of an 18-month sentence following a successful appeal in the District Court
His manager Tyran Smith said it was important that the son of former rugby league international John Hopoate use his experiences to help other young footballers understand the consequences of their actions.
"He's learnt a very big lesson," said Smith. "And he will be sharing what it meant to young people and it will carry a lot of meaning because the people he speaks to will be learning from someone who has been there and done it ... and, the truth is, it's not a very good story for Jamil to have to tell.
"But he wants people to learn from him and I think that willingness for him to share that message is a powerful thing. He's mature enough to do it and he has genuinely learnt from his mistake."
Smith said Hopoate's barrister Julieanne Levick was organising the lectures and it was hoped he could act as a mentor for young men who were in danger of following a similar dangerous path.
It was expected Hopoate would talk to New Zealand international Suaia Matagi, who will play for Penrith next year, for advice on the best way to deliver his message.
Matagi has been praised for his efforts to use the story of his imprisonment for an assault when he was a teenage gang member in New Zealand to steer vulnerable young men away from a prison cell. He wrote and performs in a one-man show that has been praised for its rawness. "I was in a prison cell with my hands cuffed behind my back," Matagi said of his introduction to prison. "That memory is the permanent mark of a criminal.
"I stayed out of trouble [in prison] even though it's impossible in a place surrounded by dangerous possibilities. You have gangs, drugs ... it's all there, but I was focused on getting out early."
Meanwhile, William Hopoate is still waiting for his case against Parramatta to be heard in the NSW Supreme Court as a result of the Eels not honouring his player's contract after months of protracted negotiations with the club.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...d-violence-20151010-gk5zop.html#ixzz3oOgewGpH
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook
Hopoate, 20, was contracted to Manly when he took part in an assault that was described by Downing Centre Local Court magistrate Jane Mottley as "savage and unprovoked", when he and a group of friends punched and kicked Alexander Christie outside the Ivanhoe Hotel at Manly.
Hopoate was filmed attempting to kick Christie and even though he did not connect he was found equally as culpable as his co-offenders who were dealt with in the District Court.
Another man who tried to stop the attack was assaulted. Hopoate pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company over the attack and served nine months of an 18-month sentence following a successful appeal in the District Court
His manager Tyran Smith said it was important that the son of former rugby league international John Hopoate use his experiences to help other young footballers understand the consequences of their actions.
"He's learnt a very big lesson," said Smith. "And he will be sharing what it meant to young people and it will carry a lot of meaning because the people he speaks to will be learning from someone who has been there and done it ... and, the truth is, it's not a very good story for Jamil to have to tell.
"But he wants people to learn from him and I think that willingness for him to share that message is a powerful thing. He's mature enough to do it and he has genuinely learnt from his mistake."
Smith said Hopoate's barrister Julieanne Levick was organising the lectures and it was hoped he could act as a mentor for young men who were in danger of following a similar dangerous path.
It was expected Hopoate would talk to New Zealand international Suaia Matagi, who will play for Penrith next year, for advice on the best way to deliver his message.
Matagi has been praised for his efforts to use the story of his imprisonment for an assault when he was a teenage gang member in New Zealand to steer vulnerable young men away from a prison cell. He wrote and performs in a one-man show that has been praised for its rawness. "I was in a prison cell with my hands cuffed behind my back," Matagi said of his introduction to prison. "That memory is the permanent mark of a criminal.
"I stayed out of trouble [in prison] even though it's impossible in a place surrounded by dangerous possibilities. You have gangs, drugs ... it's all there, but I was focused on getting out early."
Meanwhile, William Hopoate is still waiting for his case against Parramatta to be heard in the NSW Supreme Court as a result of the Eels not honouring his player's contract after months of protracted negotiations with the club.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...d-violence-20151010-gk5zop.html#ixzz3oOgewGpH
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook
