Here's the link

JT It was done by The West Australian, not by one of Tiny's sons. His son Cameron was just interviewed for a segment in it.

Has anyone watched this yet? Is it worth subscribing to the WA for?

Wow, Tiny made the front page of The West.

I have free access so will check it out later, not sure if online content is included though.

The West Australian, Tuesday, June 14, 2022; Section: News, Page: 4
THE RISE & FALL OF A ROCK STAR ATHLETE
DARYNA ZADVIRNA

Before the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers — there was the Perth Wildcats.

"I've signed butts and boobs, mate," inaugural captain of the local NBL franchise, which is now one of the most successful sports teams in Australian history, Mike Ellis tells The West Australian in a new documentary launching today.

“AFL? Forget about that. They weren’t interested. We were rock stars back then.” At the peak of their popularity in the late 80s and early 90s, the stars of the Wildcats would need police escorts to get around town.

Their games were the only place to be on a Friday night. Fans even slept outside what was then the Perth Entertainment Centre to ensure they got tickets. “We’d have rows of people lining up for two days before our games to buy tickets,” Ellis said. “We were the absolute A-grade ticket in town.”

Former coach Cal Bruton said that when they won their first championship in 1990 it was “pandemonium” when they returned from Brisbane where the deciding match against the Bullets had been played.

“We couldn’t land at (the Perth Airport) terminal that night because we were told there was 8000 people at the airport waiting for us,” he said.

“It was pandemonium... I don’t think anyone slept that night.”

The team flaunted the trophy at a city parade the next day as crowds of the Red Army cheered.

The celebrations lasted for a week.

“They were like the Beatles,” former player and one-time owner of the Wildcats Andrew Vlahov said. “It was crazy.”

Former editor of The West Australian newspaper Paul Murray said the Wildcats had a grip on the State like AFL club Collingwood did in Victoria.

“I became editor of The West Australian in 1990 — the year of the Cats’ first NBL championship — and I remembered something from working out of the offices of the Herald Sun newspaper in Melbourne many years before,” he said.

“Old hands in the newsroom used to say, 'What’s good for the Collingwood Football Club is good for the Herald Sun’.”

But it wasn’t always like that.

The kings of the jungle started out in the humble Perry Lakes stadium. It only seated about 800 people.

“The thing that resonates with me more than anything from that memory is that I could walk into that stadium and pretty much name every person in the stand,” Ellis said.

“For the first few years we struggled as a club.”

The team wasn’t officially in the NBL until 1982.

And basketball didn’t “arrive” as something popular in Perth until about 1987.

It wasn’t until WA construction mogul and the first owner of the Wildcats, Bob Williams, snapped up the silky American-born Bruton that things changed.

Williams opened up his chequebook and Bruton, known as the “black pearl”, brought in other US imports.

“That’s when I called James Crawford and Tiny Pinder to come join me in the quest,” Bruton said.

“We came up with a slogan, ‘run, stun and have some fun’. We started doing jingles, we had a rap song.

“Everybody that looked at us thought, ‘Damn’. We were the new team on the block. We had the threads that turned their heads.”

With new kits, cheerleaders, T-shirt cannons, and a couple of “walking PR machines” — the Wildcats were well on their way to stardom.

It helped that Pinder and Crawford were the best players in the competition, too.

“Without Tiny, I don’t think the Wildcats would have won championships in those early days,” Bruton said.

The former Harlem Globetrotter became the “show pony” of the team. “Tiny was incredibly competitive, he was someone that knew how to play hard,” Vlahov said.

“He was aggressive by nature. . . he loved beating people and let everyone know about it, too.”

At six foot eight, (2.03m) Pinder was described as a “beast” on court and a “mystery man” outside it.

No one knew much about the towering athlete or his life outside of basketball.

“He would do some crazy stuff... some really crazy stuff and you look back now and do go, ‘Hmm’,” Ellis said.

“But everyone liked him in the locker room.”

The duality of the man came across in an interview he gave on TV at the time. “My lifestyle is very quiet,” he told reporters. “I live a quiet, quiet life.”

However, he went on to say that “besides basketball” he enjoyed going out to discos and hitting the gym to keep his body in peak condition.

As success on the court came and popularity off it followed, a dark cloud would hang over the team. Another side of Pinder was about to play out in front of the whole nation.

It would send shock waves across Perth and the basketball community.

It’s this rise and fall of the champion American basketballer that is the focus of Foul Play: The Tiny Pinder Story — a new five-part online documentary series produced by The West Australian exclusively for digital subscribers.

What a rag.

EPISODE GUIDE

ONE: THE DREAM TEAM

With the help of a couple of imports — including former Harlem Globetrotter Kendal 'Tiny' Pinder — and a shot of entertainment flair, the Wildcats rise from zero to hero status in the late 80s.

Part one of Foul Play: The Tiny Pinder Story lays out the building blocks of that dream team and the first signs that something may be amiss among them.

TWO: TUNNEL VISION

With a dramatic development at half-time in a must-win game, the Wildcats are forced to face the most serious of questions.

Part two of Foul Play: Captain of the team Mike Ellis, pictured, reveals what happened next and how the Wildcats managed to win their first ever championship, despite the "dark cloud" that hung above their heads.

THREE: SECOND CHANCES

Pinder is kicked out of the Wildcats but he gets a second chance elsewhere.

Part three of Foul Play: The story delves into Pinder’s battles and a shocking revelation about how the club was informed of misconduct before it ever came to light.

FOUR: TINA’S STORY

Like every other young girl in Perth in the late 80s, Tina loved the Wildcats, so meeting one of their star players while out celebrating her 18th birthday was pretty exciting.

Part four of Foul Play: She reflects on how this led to the battle of her lifetime against the man formerly hailed a hero.

FIVE: PEDESTAL SYNDROME

Pinder’s story is not an unfamiliar one in today’s sporting culture, so what can be done to make sure it does not happen again?

Part five of Foul Play: Australia’s leading sports psychologist and Pinder’s teammates explore their theories behind what went wrong.

Ummm... there was definitely no 'red army' in 1990!
Otherwise there's nothing new being told in here and the rest of the Pinder saga is also well known. Not worth purchasing for me.

I would be interested to see this, but at the same time not willing to pay the West...

I remember about 15-20 years ago a female lawyer friend of mine had said she'd read the entire case and she said it felt like the accuser was not being 100% authentic with her claims. Whether or not that's true or not, it seems he's had regular trouble in this area anyway.

Another Anon
Ummm... there was definitely no 'red army' in 1990!
Otherwise there's nothing new being told in here and the rest of the Pinder saga is also well known. Not worth purchasing for me.


That's the thing though Another Anon. The rest of the Pinder saga is definitely not well known... yet. Trust me.

"Not 100% truthful" lol, back then in particular, women were rarely believed of anything. If someone asked you exactly what you did yesterday multiple times, it's likely there would be some inconsistencies after repeating it 50 times. These are the things people look for as "proof" assault didn't happen.

Add to that the fact he was an icon and people are even more suspicious. People can't bare to hear anything negative about their heroes.

I'm very skeptical of an attitude from that time (it's bad enough today for victims.)
And as you said, he was known to have troubles in this area multiple times.

Seems pretty clear that Pinder either had the whole female world against him or he got a little hands on more than he should of regardless of how you paint or tell it.

Is that the front page of The West? Papers looking more like a gossip magazine these days.

I'm sure there would be many unknown details to be made public before now in this series. I'd be interested to watch it but too much of a cheapskate to subscribe.

I remember as a kid walking past a sports store he may have owned at some point? I think on Murray street mall. The couple of times i saw him there he was standing at the front doors having a chat to a group of teenage girls that were always hanging around. I was too young at the time and didn't realise what a rock star he was and i guess the temptation was always there. But some of the accusations leveled against him even in his later years are truly despicable if they are true and it seems that he hasn't changed at all since being released from prison.

Bol You know he is currently in prison don't you?

Yes i meant since he was convicted the first time in 92 for sexual assault of a 16 year old girl

I did see it thanks to someone I know with a subscription. Quite an insight, not much new to the story. The ex wildcat players are pleading ignorance these days which I think was a bit of a cop out. There were rumours swirling back in the day and the Wildcats without a doubt ran interference to keep Tiny playing. No doubt they all tried to give him second chances but at what cost? As an organ they obviously learned their lessons well and these days conduct their "due diligence" into any potential signings.

I know for a fact the Harlem Globetrotters rid themselves of Pinder for similar reasons in the early 80's.

I remember Mike Ellis on the Behind the Ball documentary lamenting that Tiny's career was taken away from him by outside forces, and saying it was sad to see it end at the hands of someone else rather than by Tiny choosing to retire.

"Not 100% truthful" lol, back then in particular, women were rarely believed of anything.

Yet Amber Heard was found to be lying and also the abuser in her trial. Quality example used there kr.

You're just proving my point.

Yeah, nah.

You're literally refusing to believe a woman. Fits perfectly with my initial claim that people refuse to believe women.

It's easier to believe anyone of an gender when they are telling the truth. AH was found to be lying

KoR. Kobe's own Rules.

Ah the whole "women aren't believed" thing. Well any time you make a claim that is difficult to prove you're going to be scrutinized. Male victims and alleged victims of sexual assault are not universally believed either. There seems to be this want to make everything about gender, the "believe all women" crowd who think that all women are always infallible, all the time and to claim otherwise is blatant sexism. Clearly that is a take out of touch with reality. And no surprises that KobeRulez is Team Heard. Forget that Johnny's career was entirely decimated by mere accusations and he lost millions on his Pirates deal - because that is definitely evidence that Amber Heard wasn't initially blindly believed! In the end they were both proven to be as abusive and toxic as eachother, and Amber's hypocrisy is being laid bare, and the KobeRulez of the world want to save her from the consequences of her own behaviour for some misplaced sense of equality. Abusers don't get to play the innocent victim anymore - regardless of what they've got going on downstairs.

It's interesting to me that this Tiny Pinder story is now front page of The West. Adelaide could probably do the same for alleged Peeping Tom Al Green.

I did see it thanks to someone I know with a subscription. Quite an insight, not much new to the story.

So by Koberulz logic Kobe should have been in jail for the rest of his life and therefore still alive.

The West Australian
Wed, 15 June 2022 6:28PM

Former Perth Wildcat Kendal 'Tiny' Pinder remains in jail after bail application knocked back
Daryna Zadvirna


Kendal Pinder appeared at the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney on May 13 via video link.


Former championship-winning Perth Wildcat Kendal ‘Tiny’ Pinder will remain behind bars as he awaits trial on domestic violence and sexual assault offences in New South Wales.

Pinder, who has a grim criminal record of sexual offences in WA, NSW and the US, is facing one count of inflicting bodily harm and two counts of sexual assault — one of which allegedly left a woman injured.

The two-time NBL champion and former Harlem Globetrotter appeared at the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney on Wednesday where his lawyer made an application for bail but was knocked back.


Police will allege the 65-year-old had non-consensual sex with a woman in 2009 in "circumstances of aggravation", which relate to allegations that he “intentionally or recklessly inflicted actual bodily harm” on the complainant.

It is further alleged that he raped the same woman in March 2021, shortly after which she made a complaint to police.

The West Australian understands the woman has applied for a violence restraining order against Pinder.

The notorious basketballer was jailed last year after stalking a woman from a train station in Sydney’s southern suburbs in his silver Mercedes and repeatedly demanding that she get in his car.

In 1996, he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in the back of his car in Wollongong, following a similar incident.

Pinder told the girl, who was wearing her school uniform at the time, to get into his car and then drove her to a park, where he forced her to perform oral sex on him.

The assault happened in 1995 while Pinder was playing for the Illawarra Hawks. The team recruited him just months after he was released from jail for sexual offences against two teenagers and a young woman in WA.

He was first convicted in 1992 over a sexual attack on a 17-year-old girl at his Melville unit two years earlier. Pinder was released on a three-year good behaviour bond, but the sentence was overturned by the Court of Appeal, which imposed an 18-month jail term.

He was found guilty of raping a 23-year-old woman several months later. and the following year he was convicted for the third time for raping a 16-year-old girl at his unit after offering her a lift home from the bus stop.

All three offences happened between 1988 and 1990 — while Pinder had been playing with the Perth Wildcats.

His first ever sexual conviction dates back to 1976 in Miami, Florida, when he was found guilty of unlawful carnal knowledge of a teenage girl.

Pinder’s basketball career began in America in the 1970s when he was drafted into the NBA. He went on to play for the Harlem Globetrotters before moving to Australia.

He starred for the Sydney Supersonics, Illawarra Hawks and the Wildcats, where he won championships in 1990 and 1991 before being dumped by the team the following year.

Pinder last month pleaded not guilty to all three fresh charges and is set to face trial next year.

It's easier to believe anyone of an gender when they are telling the truth. AH was found to be lying

Johnny's career was entirely decimated by mere accusations and he lost millions on his Pirates deal

His first ever sexual conviction dates back to 1976 in Miami, Florida, when he was found guilty of unlawful carnal knowledge of a teenage girl.

With a prior criminal record how did he get into Australia?


I wondered this too. You should have seen the hurdles my partner had to get over and under with the Immigration Department to get permanent residency here in Aus, and that was with a squeaky clean, stock standard application.

Yeah how did Tiny get into Australia on 3 separate Harlem Globetrotter tours in early 80's and then get in again in 1985 to play in the NBL for the Sydney Supersonics. Maybe he just didn't declare any criminal past on his application? Wouldn't the Immigration Dept still have been able to check out people's history, even way back then?

Things that make you go hmmm

How is OJ relevant? You claimed no one listened to Heard! No one listened because she lied!! She was hoping to jump on the coat tails of the me too movement to help validate her story. History will show that tactic failed, miserably.

Damn, didn't know his rap sheet was that long, has to be guilty, dude can't keep it in his pants!

How is OJ relevant?

No one listened because she lied!!

She was hoping to jump on the coat tails of the me too movement to help validate her story.

Your rebuttal is a case from 1995, bravo

You might as well go back to Hurricane Carter etc etc if you're talking about bad decisions. Or a squillion other cases. None have any relevance to a female crying foul who lied and wasn’t believed, just because she was female.

If you hold up a jury decision as reason she must have been lying, then other obviously bad jury decisions are the appropriate response.

The decision going against her - and even then only partially - is not proof she lied. It's proof that the jurors and the judge are idiots. The case was over the moment the judge decided not to sequester the jury, exposing them to the massive social media campaign on Depp's behalf, tainting the entire trial.

And even then, to say that she was "found to be the abuser" is entirely false, as that was not a question raised by the trial.

To say she was trying to ride the coattails of a movement that began years after she made her accusations against Depp is nonsensical.

And what exactly is her alleged goal, here? To get money the divorce entitled her to anyway? And in order to pull this off she managed to create some Gone Girl-level frame around Depp, something she started doing immediately their relationship began, and continued to plant seeds for for several years thereafter, convincing many around both her and Depp either of this completely fabricated abuse or that they should lie under oath for her, while getting someone to hack his phone and send dozens of vile messages, then shitting on her own side of a bed in a house Depp wasn't even living in?

Somehow we live in a world where that makes more sense than a guy with a lengthy history of violent outbursts and a known alcohol problem lashing out violently.

The fishing with you is next level. Thank you for the laugh. It's made my Thursday

"His career was not even close to decimated, despite the fact that his last umpteen films flopped and he has long had a reputation for being an absolute pain in the ass to work with. He's off to court again shortly as a result of punching a crew member on a film a couple of years ago."

He lost his pirates of the carribbean role - his most iconic role and most lucrative. I'd say his career was decimated unless you have another word for losing hundreds of millions because of one role and not having something of the same gravitas to fall back on.

"And OJ Simpson was found not guilty."

LOL. He was. And he was found guilty because in the social climate of that day, if he were found guilty - AND EVERYONE KNOWS HE WAS - then there would be blood on the streets. A black juror gave the man a Black Panther salute when the verdict was declared. That is in no way comparable to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Amber Heard's lies have been laid bare for all to see.

"If you can't see the parallel between a jury coming to an obviously bad decision, and a jury coming to an obviously bad decision, I can't help you."

So you think Amber Heard was an innocent victim in this, despite her on tape admitting to dishing out her own abuse... shitting on the bed... the fake bruise photos and then going to a talk show looking immaculate straight after an alleged assault?

Rocks in your head.

"Yeah how did Tiny get into Australia on 3 separate Harlem Globetrotter tours in early 80's and then get in again in 1985 to play in the NBL for the Sydney Supersonics. Maybe he just didn't declare any criminal past on his application? Wouldn't the Immigration Dept still have been able to check out people's history, even way back then?"

I can only imagine that records were harder to access and verify in those times, otherwise how in the world did he get here? I read that article and the guy was persistent and prolific. And with that much smoke there's got to be all sorts of fire.

"You might as well go back to Hurricane Carter etc etc if you're talking about bad decisions. Or a squillion other cases. None have any relevance to a female crying foul who lied and wasn't believed, just because she was female."

She was not believed because she's proven to have a tenuous relationship with honesty. She in fact was immediately believed when she first spilled her story, hence Johnny losing his Pirates role.

"If you hold up a jury decision as reason she must have been lying, then other obviously bad jury decisions are the appropriate response.
"

No one is doing that dude. Most of us watched the court case in some form. If you recall, it was fucking televised!

"And even then, to say that she was "found to be the abuser" is entirely false, as that was not a question raised by the trial."

It wasn't, but it became clear that she was an abuser, not the only abuser in the relationship, but by golly she did abuse, and then went on to play the victim over it in a statement that didn't say Johnny's name BUT DIDNT FUCKEN NEED TO!

"while getting someone to hack his phone and send dozens of vile messages, then shitting on her own side of a bed in a house Depp wasn't even living in?"

LOL here we go. No one even said that someone hacked his phone. Did anyone in the case even allege that? Yes, Johnny said mean things about Amber Heard via text. If you have ever had a cracked ex you might find yourself doing similarly. But NOOooOooOoOo, Kobe thinks all women are infallible, every single time, and if a woman makes a claim against him, the past will retroactively change so that her claim becomes true even if it's not.

Let's bare in mind that this guy is a KOBE BRYANT FAN - a man whose had an on/off again relationship with consent, allegedly...

"Somehow we live in a world where that makes more sense than a guy with a lengthy history of violent outbursts and a known alcohol problem lashing out violently."

Not a single ex of Johnny's alleges abuse. But oh... wait.... Amber Heards FEMALE ex alleges physical abuse and all that is documented well before Johnny was in the picture.

The simping is real with this one. KobeRulez really is the simp prophesized to bring balance to the force.

Decades of cultural influence helped Depp immensely. As previously mentioned, he's due in court next month for assaulting a crew member and his career was long on a downward spiral due to being horrendous on set. Also, a UK High Court found Depp guilty. The most recent case was a defamation suit, not domestic abuse, and was carried out in Virginia where he had the most chance of winning due to their tight laws on defamation.

Whether Heard is guilty or innocent is neither here nor there because she never stood a chance. His cult fandom, money, long time fame and yes the fact he's a man have worked well in his favour. The trial should never have been televised. Misogynists have jumped on this bandwagon to "prove" that men are the real victims and I doubt they've ever protested so hard for a woman when a man has been proven guilty before. It's truly amazing. You also never hear a thing from most of these protesters, now suddenly they're passionate about DV. Interesting stuff.

Yes, Pinder clearly guilty. A rap sheet that long says it all.

"You also never hear a thing from most of these protesters, now suddenly they're passionate about DV. Interesting stuff."

Maybe those men have experienced it themselves. I've watched plenty of abusive relationships where the female is the abuser and the man suffers in silence, knowing that anything they do will be seen as provocation or as the actual abuse. And it's not just physical. It is often remarks, attitude, slowly but surely eroding the man until he is just a husk of who he used to be. There's a reason why the men you label "misogynists" came out for Johnny but don't for female victims - they've experienced abuse themselves. They've been browbeaten and henpecked into submission. They've been divorce screwed. They've had their kids taken from them. They've maybe even been physically assaulted.

Not a single ex of Johnny's alleges abuse.

He lost his pirates of the carribbean role - his most iconic role and most lucrative. I'd say his career was decimated unless you have another word for losing hundreds of millions because of one role and not having something of the same gravitas to fall back on.

And he was found guilty because in the social climate of that day, if he were found guilty - AND EVERYONE KNOWS HE WAS - then there would be blood on the streets. A black juror gave the man a Black Panther salute when the verdict was declared. That is in no way comparable to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

So you think Amber Heard was an innocent victim in this, despite... shitting on the bed... the fake bruise photos

She was not believed because she's proven to have a tenuous relationship with honesty.

No one is doing that dude. Most of us watched the court case in some form. If you recall, it was fucking televised!

It wasn't, but it became clear that she was an abuser, not the only abuser in the relationship, but by golly she did abuse,

No one even said that someone hacked his phone. Did anyone in the case even allege that?

Yes, Johnny said mean things about Amber Heard via text. If you have ever had a cracked ex you might find yourself doing similarly

In the case of Pinder vs. Heard judgement for the plaintiff in the amount of $5000

next case please

Are we all forgetting that Depp was found guilty of being a 'wife beater' in his liable case against newspapers in the UK?

So in essence a judge who knows the law made the decision that Depp did in fact assault Heard.

God I sincerely hope kr doesn't actually believe all the bullshit he typed out today.
Talk about cherry picking certain parts of the Heard-Depp case that suit his narrative.

There really is no point for anyone to debate a person so bankrupt in their arguments.

"So in essence a judge who knows the law made the decision that Depp did in fact assault Heard."

I dont think anyone is saying that he absolutely never hit her. We're saying that she also hit him and played the victim. They were both incredibly toxic, dysfunctional people. I don't see Johnny Depp as any hero but I sure as hell am sick of women playing the victim when they too are equally to blame or just as abusive. She's been called out as the pot calling the kettle black and that happens a lot in domestic violence situations where the violence is reciprocal and yet only one party is seen as to blame for it - the man - as if women are children and not responsible for their actions as well.

Kate Miss will no longer be on Amber Heard's Christmas card list

Me,

Whilst what you are saying is true. It doesn't mean that it is the situation in all cases, or even at a proportionately equivalent level. Currently, it is approximately 40% of men over 15 years of age, but 63% for women. And if you look at convictions, for both groups it is clearly not high enough to be a deterrent.

Just a quick look at stats in Australia shows 55 women were killed by their male partners in 2022. More than 1 per week.

And only 7 men. So even at first glance that is clearly disproportionate.

But when you look deeper, of those seven men, 6 were killed by their male partners. And the 7th was killed by his female partner AND her abusive husband.

Clearly, Amber Heard was not a liar, a judge has found her a victim of abuse by Johnny Depp, hence the right for the newspaper to call him a 'wife beater'. Equally, he was allowed to claim similar but chose not to and rather claimed she was lying and was found liable on the grounds that she also committed abusive acts. Neither is a trustworthy person, but that is only a singular case and cant be used to perpetuate and myth about the role of violence and its cause and effect in any relationship.

It's easy to argue that approximately 60% of all abuse is committed by men on women. But that has nothing to do with any individual case and is just an overall statistic.

Omg! I must be the only person on here who took no notice/ knows nothing about/ doesn't give a shit about the Heard/ Depp trial

Back to work, please!