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7 months ago
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Ex-Bulldogs star Jackson Topine has hit the NRL club with a bombshell $4million lawsuit alleging he was assaulted by up to 35 of his teammates and was deprived of his liberty during a brutal punishment handed out in July last year.
The 22-year-old is accusing the team of hitting him with 'an unlawful corporal punishment' when he was 'detained' at a Sydney gym and made to wrestle 30 to 35 of his fellow Bulldogs as punishment for being eight to 10 minutes late to training.
His lawsuit alleges the disciplinary action carried out on the orders of head trainer Travis Touma amounted to 'assault and battery' and left him with 'psychiatric injury' and 'physical and mental impairment', News Corp reported.
Jackson Topine (pictured right with girlfriend Holly Leppard) has accused the Bulldogs of 'assault and battery' and 'deprivation of liberty' after he was allegedly forced to wrestle up to 35 of his teammates as punishment for being late
The alleged incident in July 2023 left Topine (pictured with Leppard) so physically shattered that he couldn't stand or walk without help
The alleged incident on July 18, 2023 saw him made to wrestle all of the club's senior squad for 30 seconds at a time, leading to one Bulldogs star telling the publication, 'It wasn't wrestling, it was humiliation.'
Now the lawsuit alleges Touma enforced the penalty on Topine after the players had already completed an intense 90-minute wrestling session.
Touma is accused of refusing to end the wrestling punishment despite Topine showing obvious signs of distress and exhaustion, with the court statement saying, 'Each player in the Bulldogs roster, who were the plaintiff's opponents in wrestling match-ups, possessed high levels of fitness and strength.'
The 22-year-old (pictured playing for the Dogs) was allegedly forced to grapple his teammates one after the other for 30 seconds at a time - with other players told not to let up when he showed signs of distress
The grappling continued even though other team members pointed out Topine was suffering and Touma said words along the lines of 'don't let him up if he's down, jump on him straight away', the lawsuit alleges.
Touma is also accused of refusing to let other players help the 22-year-old and saying, 'Don't congratulate or help him. He deserved that. He was f**king late.'
The young star was so physically spent afterwards that he was unable to stand or walk without help, according to the court statement.
The Bulldogs said the club 'will say that there are a number of allegations that we categorically deny' in a statement on the legal action.
Shortly after the alleged incident, media reports surfaced that an unnamed player was made to grapple with several players as punishment for being late.
Topine (pictured centre in a game against the Brisbane Broncos) was a highly rated young talent but he has not played rugby league since the alleged incident
The former representative star (pictured with Leppard) is seeking $4million from the club
Topine's lawyer Abdul Reslan said the lawsuit would have a big effect on the NRL and told the publication, 'Appropriate protections need to be afforded to all workplaces, including within the contact sports domain.'
Topine - who captained the NSW and Australian schoolboy sides and was regarded as one of the brighter young talents at the club - has not played rugby league since the alleged punishment.
He starred in 16 NRL games for the Dogs from 2021-2023, scoring one try, and represented the Maori All Stars in 2021.
The Auckland-born forward first joined the Bulldogs in 2018, when he was playing on a scholarship at Sydney's East Hills Boys High School, and he also starred for the Australian Schoolboys side in 2019.
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