Netballer in battle over protection order against umpire ex-boyfriend

Sarah has dreamed of being a Silver Fern since she was 5 years old. But whereas netball used to be her “happy place”, now she says it’s overshadowed by what feels like a lack of support from her netball centre. Sarah* successfully applied for a permanent protection order from the Family Court this year, after a bad breakup with a young man whom the court found had difficulty taking no for an answer. A Family Court judge, deciding whether to impose the order, found that the young man had engaged in acts of family violence against her, including through coercive control. But the young man works as an umpire for the same netball centre where she plays. The judge allowed conditions for him to be present at the netball courts while Sarah was playing, given his work as an umpire, provided there was no contact between them.