When will swimmer Nick D'Arcy have been punished enough for his assault last year on Simon Cowley?
I in no way condone what he did but the matter has been dealt with by the law and he has received his sentence. I don't know what to make of him as a person, whether he's a 21 year old guy with a chip on his shoulder or someone who severely overreacted and has been miscast.
What he did was wrong, possibly either provoked or a knee-jerk reaction to something, and he is paying a heavy penalty. He's probably lucky he's not a rugby league player - they can't seem to stay out of trouble.
(Cowley has also paid a heavy penalty for being seemingly the innocent victim - but I don't know the intimate details obviously I wasn't there at the time of the assault).
Consider that D'Arcy has already been penalised effectively four years as far as the Olympics go.
He's been convicted by the court and now has a record and the warning that if he offends again he goes to jail.
Any chance he had to earn a living through endorsements for being what was potentially an Olympic champion and gold medal winner is gone. It doesn't matter what he does in the pool if he in fact continues swimming, very few companies would risk their reputation by being associated with him.
He's now been thrown off the world championship team.
There has been talk that Cowley may have a civil case against D'Arcy pending.
He could also be suspended or fined by Swimming Australia.
To my mind that's a lot of penalties, you'd think he robbed a bank or held hostages or something.
D'Arcy can take all this two ways. One, he can give up swimming.
Or two, he can cop it and continue training in the hope he can go to the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and the Olympics in 2012.
I hope he realises he has a chance at redemption and to be a role model for troubled youth.
He must really feel like the world is against him at the moment and I just hope he can rise above it all, genuinely, and be a better person.
Above all, I hope he has learned his lesson here because he has too much talent in the pool to step away.
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