Top Aussie Olympics official is sacked after punching a woman in the head eight times during drinking session: ‘She thought she was going to die’

Former professional basketballer Danny Morseu has been sacked from his role with the Australian Olympic Committee after he was found guilty of assault occasioning bodily harm for repeatedly punching a woman in the head.

Morseu – who was inducted into the NBL Hall of Fame in 2002 and became the first Torres Strait Islander to represent Australia at the Olympics in 1980 – was convicted, but attempted to keep the charge a secret.

Last week Morseu, 66, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the offence, suspended after four months.

He pleaded not guilty in the Cairns District Court.

Judge Dean Morzone said Morseu’s offending was out of character, but the victim would endure lasting harm following the ‘sustained attack’, which saw her hit eight times in the head during a drinking session in June 2022.

The two-time Olympian and NBL Hall of Fame star was found guilty of assault occasioning bodily harm after repeatedly punching a woman in the head

‘It was unprovoked and you were far more powerful in your physicality than she was,’ he said.

‘You’ve suffered significant reputational damage with a profound fall from grace as a result of this offending.’

Crown prosecutor Tim Watkins told the court the victim ‘thought she was going to die’ following the vicious attack.

Morseu was found not guilty by a jury of further charges, including common assault and deprivation of liberty.

On May 20, the AOC confirmed it had ‘removed’ the former Olympic basketballer as deputy chair of its Indigenous Advisory Committee, with Paris 2024 chef de mission Anna Meares labelling the development a ‘real shock.’

‘This is a very serious offence – a criminal offence,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘Abuse against anyone, and abuse against women, is just not tolerated. And as soon as the AOC was informed, Danny was removed from his position on the Indigenous Advisory Committee as a result.

‘They [the AOC] weren’t made aware until these charges went to court. It’s a shock. It’s a real shock. And a disappointment, of course.’

Morseu was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the offence, suspended after four months, when his case was heard in Cairns District Court

Paris 2024 chef de mission Anna Meares (pictured left) labelled the development a ‘real shock’

AOC Indigenous Advisory Committee member Kyle Vander-Kuyp was equally stunned at Morseu’s offending.

‘We had no idea. [I’ve] been working alongside Danny for the last four years on the advisory committee, achieving lots of great things,’ the champion hurdler said.

‘I’m still processing what’s happened…I only just have to look at the news – domestic violence in Indigenous communities is not good. It has to be tackled. And it’s not just Indigenous, it’s violence against anyone. Violence against women.

‘You have to stop it, do something about it.’

Morseu represented Australia in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, and won three NBL titles with the St Kilda Saints and Brisbane Bullets.