Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan in brutal new fallout after ugly dispute

Kelly Ryan has resigned from her role as chief executive of Netball Australia (NA) after a tumultuous period that included a major player boycott of the sport's annual awards night. Ryan has been at the helm of NA during the biggest pay dispute in the sport's history in Australia, having taken the reins in mid-2021.

Reports emerged last week that NA and Super Netball players had finally reached agreement on a new collective player agreement (CPA), however it has yet to be officially ratified. The new agreement came after reports players went unpaid for more than two months as contracts expired before a new deal was struck.

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NA has been widely condemned over its part in the ugly stand-off with players, who were pushing for a revenue share model. The long-running dispute came to a head during NA's awards night last month, where players contracted to the national side were sent letters explaining that their attendance was compulsory.

Many other players not contracted to the Diamonds chose to boycott the awards night in protest against the governing body. Days later, players union boss Kathryn Harby-Williams and Diamonds star Jo Weston fronted an emotional press conference detailing the draining nature of the pay dispute, with the latter reduced to tears explaining the toll it had taken on players.

Kelly Ryan says time is right to step aside

Following agreement on the new CPA, however, NA CEO Ryan believes the time is right to step down from her role, confident the sport is heading in the right direction. "Having reached an in-principle agreement on the CPA pay deal, and watched with pride as our Diamonds won the Commonwealth Games and the Netball World Cup, the timing felt right to hand over the reins to a new leader," Ryan said in a statement on Tuesday.

"During my time as CEO I have delivered on the objectives of the Board. We overcame the challenges of coronavirus pandemic to continue a national competition through border closures, experienced strong growth in the national competition, grew netball's already strong participation numbers, and strengthened the games' finances.

"Netball Australia has a wonderful team of people who work tirelessly for the benefit of the sport, and I thank them for their continued efforts and for their support." Stacey West, NA's executive general manager of performance, will fill Ryan's role on an interim basis.

"Kelly Ryan has made an enormous contribution to our sport in her time leading Netball Australia," the organisation's chair Wendy Archer said. She has shown great resilience and integrity during her leadership over her time as CEO."

NA and players reach 'in-principle' agreement on CPA

The new CPA deal includes a revenue-sharing model for sponsorship money that exceeds projections and is not reliant on the Super Netball competition breaking even. Agreement on a new deal came after Diamonds star and players' union president Weston broke down in tears as players went public with explosive claims about not being paid and blaming NA for the collapse of the multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with Hancock Prospecting.

"It's been real hard," the Melbourne Vixens defender said at the time. "All of us just want to be able to move forward with what we think is fair and reasonable for the playing group. We want to feel like we're valued, respected and listened to."

Ryan conceded the pay battle could affect the 2024 Super Netball season - due to begin in April - and have a lasting impact on the sport in Australia. "We're still in a financial tightrope," she said before the CPA was agreed.

NA was dealt another financial blow recently when Minister for Sport Anika Wells announced that almost $18 million of federal government funding was going to be cut from the sport. The brutal decision came after a key proposal to the Australian Sports Commission was deemed unsatisfactory.

The Minister for Sport confirmed the funds would no longer go exclusively to netball, but would instead be put into a pool for women's sport in general. "I'm focused on outcomes for female athletes and quite simply, this money needs to be directed to areas I'm confident positive outcomes will happen," Ms Wells said at the time.

with AAP

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