Jack de Belin has spoken publicly for the first time about being charged with rape, and the two court trials that followed.
The St George Illawarra NRL player and his co-accused, Callan Sinclair, were charged over the alleged sexual assault of a then-19-year-old woman inside a Wollongong unit in December 2018.
The two men maintained the encounter was consensual.
READ MORE: Former UFC champ arrested on suspicion of attempted murder
READ MORE: Djokovic splits with long-time coach
READ MORE: Anthony Mundine makes surprise admission
The first trial resulted in a hung jury. It went to court a second time, and in May the pair were found not guilty on one charge, but the jury could not make a majority decision on the other five.
https://twitter.com/NRLonNine/status/1498927957859045379?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
De Belin returned to playing in the NRL with the Dragons, but had not spoken to any media about the court case until today.
He spoke to outlets including 9News, where journalists asked if he was remorseful for anything that had happened.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m sorry,” de Belin said.
“Things have happened, and they’ve panned out the way they are.
“I’m sorry for putting my family through this whole situation, my friends. But I’m happy they all stood by me.”
At the time of the alleged incident in 2018, de Belin had a partner, who was pregnant.
They have since had two children together.
De Belin began crying when a journalist asked about his kids.
It was also put to him that despite the outcome from the two juries he faced, people may always look at him in a different light.
“That doesn’t concern me in the slightest. People are entitled to their opinion, that’s just life,” he said.
“But the people who know me and are in my inner circle certainly know for a fact I would never do anything like what I’ve been accused of.
“I’ve always stated from the get-go my innocence. I think that’s what gave me my strength, my innocence, knowing that I didn’t do the wrong thing.
“Three years is a long time. I’ve had to sit back and not say anything for a long time. That’s what you’ve got to do when it plays out in front of the courts I suppose.”
De Belin was asked what he would change if he could revisit the last three years of his life.
“I’d say hindsight is a wonderful thing. There’s mistakes that you make, and that’s something I look back on,” he said.
“I suppose in the three years since I made that mistake I’ve learned a lot about myself. I suppose everything happens for a reason, and I’ve got to look at the positives.
“Because of this thing that’s happened to me, now I’m the father I am today, the partner I am today, the person I am today. I think I’m a little bit more responsible.
“I was a bit selfish for a bit there. I suppose a lot of football players are, you sort of have to be if you’re a professional athlete.
“I was a little bit consumed in my own life, what was best for me, without putting others first. Now that I have two children it’s not all about me.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!