In recent years South Australia has witnessed the rise of Hoopla, a new elite sport which is attracting attention to rival the AFL and has a marketing hype which is turning the players into high profile media personalities. The 2008 season recently ended with the Diamonds taking out the premiership and hosting a typically glitzy „Victory Gala‟ which went spectacularly wrong.
The Event
Hoopla had received celebrity endorsement from Brad Pitt and there were rumours that the Victory Gala would be attended by both Brad and Angelina. As a result the streets were lined with eager crowds keen to catch sight of both their Hollywood and sporting heroes. There was also a strong media contingent present. All started out quite well with the Club Manager, Albert being the first to walk the „golden carpet of victory‟ where he paused to thank the crowd for supporting the team and coming along. He was quickly followed by the players, each with a stunning wife/partner on his arm. Cameras flashed and crowds cheered until, in the midst of the spectacle a paint filled balloon was flung from the crowd. Brawn, the Captain of the team, saw the balloon heading his way and flung up his arm and deflected it onto Corwen, his wife. The balloon landed on Corwen‟s head, bursting on impact and covering her in purple paint, she was furious and turned and fled back down the carpet towards the car she had just left. Unfortunately in her rush her shoe flew off and struck Deena, a spectator, in the eye. It is later discovered that Erwin, a former Diamond player had thrown the balloon in a deliberate attempt to sabotage the night (he had earlier been dropped from the team for suspected substance abuse).
The Gala itself was a relatively uneventful affair but, once it became apparent that Brad and Angelina were not attending (and indeed had never intended to attend) the media became disgruntled and decided to set their sights on the players and management of the Club.
The Reports
Finn was the pretty boy/bad boy of the Club and the press had spent much of the season tracking his many, high profile entanglements with married women. He was a notorious womaniser and had been in the middle of at least three marriage breakdowns over the previous six months. Finn appeared at the gala with a typically beautiful woman on his arm. This woman (Gloria) is a childhood friend of Finn‟s and is in fact happily married to one of his best friends. There was, in truth, no romantic entanglement at all and he had chosen Gloria as his date viewing her as a safe choice and a means to avoid the gossip. This was not to be the case. The „Adelaide Acrobat‟ ran a headline story, detailing Finn‟s latest and most offensive betrayal of a close friend by flaunting his relationship with a mate‟s wife and „strutting his stuff on the golden carpet.‟ The subsequent media frenzy has indeed placed a strain on Gloria‟s previously happy marriage and caused Finn to become a recluse.
The Acrobat also ran a series of „exposes‟ on the Club, not naming individuals but making claims about links with organised crime, frenzied drug parties and an environment of debauched and depraved behaviour. This has caused a great deal of distress amongst the core of the team players who pride themselves on the active role they have played in a „Be Active in Schools‟ programme and Youth Ministry work they had carried out.
The Final Scandal
Albert (the Club Manager) had invested a significant amount of money in the Club in the expectation of significant income from off season endorsements and revenue raising activities. Unfortunately the taint from the media reports of the Gala has meant that revenue raising opportunities have been limited and Albert is facing financial ruin. His wife had been loaned a million dollar diamond necklace for the Victory Gala and in the hectic days following the event Hugh, the owner of the necklace had been reluctant to bother Albert with a request for the necklace and had then been unexpectedly called away overseas. Six months have now passed, Hugh is back in the country and has asked Albert to return his necklace – that will be a little difficult to achieve!
Albert recently took the necklace to Ignatius, „auctioneer to the stars.‟ Ignatius had conducted an online auction for the piece and knocked it down to Kelvin who immediately transferred the funds electronically and demanded delivery. Unfortunately, Ignatius arranged for the necklace to be delivered to another of his clients, Jerome, who, barely able to believe his luck, immediately on-sold it to Kelvin who bought it in good faith, believing that Jerome had full title in the necklace. Albert continues to be in financial difficulty and has now written to Jerome claiming that the necklace is actually his (enclosing a photo of the Victory Gala with his wife wearing the necklace) and Jerome has made some enquiries which have raised doubts regarding who, in fact, has a claim to the necklace. He is very concerned about what he should do.
Advise generally.