Former AFL player Ricky Henderson sues AFL and Fox Sports over 2013 change-room footage
Former Adelaide player Ricky Henderson is suing the AFL and Fox Sports for more than $1.2 million over footage of him broadcast on live television in 2013, when he was recorded exposing himself during a match-day break.
Henderson, now 37, filed his claim in South Australia's District Court seeking $1,213,867 in damages. The lawsuit alleges the broadcast was a breach of confidence, an invasion of privacy, and negligent. ABC News
The incident occurred on April 6, 2013 — round two of that AFL season — at the Gabba in Brisbane. Henderson was an Adelaide player at the time. According to court documents seen by the ABC, he was recorded in the change rooms at half-time while pulling down his shorts and athletic support garment, exposing his genitals.
In his statement of claim, Henderson alleges the unauthorised use of the footage caused extreme embarrassment and hurt, and led to a diagnosable mental illness. Court documents state he developed an acute stress disorder, which later became chronic post-traumatic stress disorder following the broadcast.
Fox Sports has responded with a sharply different account of where and how the footage was captured. In its statement of defence, the broadcaster claims the footage was not filmed in the Gabba change rooms at all, but in a "kicking room" — a public warm-up area used by players, coaches, trainers, medical staff, members of the public and media.
Fox Sports also said it did not broadcast the footage itself. It operated the camera in the kicking room and selected, in real time, which camera angles and replays would be included in the feed delivered to Foxtel for live broadcast. The broadcaster admitted Henderson's genitals were exposed on the footage, but denied his claim that he had stepped away from the group to adjust his shorts and undergarment.
The case touches on a longstanding tension in AFL broadcasting: cameras now reach into spaces players once treated as private. Change rooms, warm-up areas and race walk-throughs are routinely filmed as part of match-day coverage. Where the line falls between access and privacy has never been definitively settled by the courts.
Henderson played for Adelaide from 2012 to 2018 before being delisted. He finished his AFL career with 104 senior games. The matter is before the District Court of South Australia, where the parties' competing versions of events will be tested.
