The Rugby League Commission in Australia may strip Jarryd Hayne of his Dally M awards after he was found guilty of sexual assault.
Hayne was sentenced on Thursday, May 6, to five years and nine months in prison for sexually assaulting a then 26-year-old woman in September, 2018.
He has a non-parole period of three years and eight months.
The Dally M Medal is one of NRL's most prestigious awards, and is awarded to the player of the year for the whole of the NRL season.
Hayne received the award in 2009, and again in 2014 alongside Jonathan Thurston.
Hayne to appeal
Hayne has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has given notice that he intends to appeal his case.
Today his legal team lodged a notice of intention to appeal in the NSW Supreme Court after he was jailed for sexually assaulting a young woman who said the footballer destroyed her life.
His legal team now has 12 months to lodge a formal appeal.
Hayne's wife, Amellia Bonnici, is standing by him. The couple met in 2016 and have a four-year-old daughter together.
The couple survived a civil rape lawsuit which was settled in 2019. The lawsuit occured after Hayne was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at his apartment in California in 2015 while he was playing for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
The 2018 NRL grand final
In March, the ex-Parramatta NRL star was convicted of attacking the woman in her NSW home on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final and forcibly performing oral and digital sexual intercourse on her.
Even though it is reported the woman invited Hayne over to her home, she told the court she did not consent to having sex and repeatedly said no.
NSW District Court Judge Helen Syme noted Hayne, only stopped attacking the 28-year-old victim when she started to bleed.
"The fact is she said no to the sexual activity the offender was forcing on her... the offender was fully aware the victim was not consenting," the judge said.
Judge Syme said Hayne had to be jailed because non-consensual sexual intercourse was an extreme form of violence.