‘MY EX ATTACKED ME… THEN PLAYED FOOTY'

KIM IS CALLING TIME ON OFF-PITCH VIOLENCE AMONG SPORTS PLAYERS

- Courtney Greatrex

Kim O’Reilly is on a mission to change the culture within sports, focusing on calling out violence among its players. The 38-year-old was spurred on to campaign after she fell victim to a horrific domestic violence assault two years ago by her then-partner, Jake Frecker. As Kim lay in hospital following the brutal assault, Frecker was out on bail playing for his local footy club.

Frecker was kicking around a ball in the community after leaving Kim with a broken eye socket, horrific bruising and a damaged hip from being dragged along the ground.

Remarkably, she survived, and is now on a mission to encourage a zero-violence policy within sports teams.

Kim O’Reilly’s campaign has local support (left) and from senator, Jenny McAllister (right).

“My ex-partner was out on bail, charged for attacking me and still played for his football club,’’ she tells New Idea. “Ever since then, I’ve been trying to get sporting clubs to sign a ‘non-violence’ policy.”

Kim, from Mildura in Victoria, first met Frecker at a mutual friend’s birthday party in January 2018. The pair, who had the same friends and common goals, hit it off at first. But three weeks into their relationship, Kim started to notice subtle red flags.

“He put other people down a lot, like his family, friends and ex-partners. I couldn’t understand why everything was everyone else’s fault,” she says.