Ricky Nixon
Encyclopedia
Ricky L. Nixon is a former Australian rules football
er in the VFL/AFL and now a high profile Australian sports agent
. He is currently serving a two year suspension following an investigation by the AFL Players Association Accreditation Board.
in the Bendigo Football League
, Nixon played four games for the Carlton Football Club
between 1983 and 1985, for one goal, amid limited opportunities (he was an emergency 13 times in their 1982 premiership year). The half-back
flanker then moved to St Kilda, where he played 51 games including one final, with 32 goals, between 1986 and 1991, but Nixon was never really able to establish himself with the club. A contractual dispute with the Saints in March 1992 saw him move to the Hawthorn Football Club
, where he played eight games, including one final, for six goals, before his retirement in 1993.
, Jason Dunstall
, Tony Lockett
and Garry Lyon
. He is widely acknowledged as a major leader in the innovative marketing of athletes and has been rated by The Age
newspaper as the fourth most influential person of the past decade in the AFL. Flying Start’s players includes Matthew Richardson, Ben Cousins
, Nick Riewoldt
and Tom Hawkins
. Nixon started a fitness club at Docklands Stadium, where he also co-owns the Locker Room Bar and Cougars Sports Bar with Michael Gudinski
. He also commentates AFL on radio station Triple M and has been awarded the Australia Day Sports Medal for services to sport by the prime minister. He has entered the education business with Flying Start providing online courses, including "How to be a Sports Agent".
In 2008 Nixon began a well-publicised campaign to escalate the Irish experiment
and set up a formal system for recruiting promising young Irish Gaelic football
ers for AFL teams. The plan was criticised by many Gaelic football officials and players, including Sydney's Tadhg Kennelly
. Some consider that the campaign, which included screening camps in Ireland in August 2008, will result in a talent drain from Ireland to Australia, something that Nixon refutes.
He was given a two year suspension by the AFL Players' Association Accreditation Board, on 18 March 2011.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er in the VFL/AFL and now a high profile Australian sports agent
Sports agent
A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...
. He is currently serving a two year suspension following an investigation by the AFL Players Association Accreditation Board.
Football career
Recruited from Golden SquareGolden Square Football Club
The Golden Square Football Club are an Australian rules football club which compete in the Bendigo Football League.They are based in the Bendigo suburb Golden Square and have participated in the Bendigo Football League since 1935.-Notable players:...
in the Bendigo Football League
Bendigo Football League
The Bendigo Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Bendigo region of Victoria, Australia.Formed in 1880, it is one of the oldest football leagues in Australia, and among its members are some of the oldest football clubs in Australia, including the Castlemaine...
, Nixon played four games for the Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
between 1983 and 1985, for one goal, amid limited opportunities (he was an emergency 13 times in their 1982 premiership year). The half-back
Half-back line
In the sport of Australian rules football, the half-back line refers to the positions of the 3 players on the field that occupy the centre-half back and left and right half-back flank positions....
flanker then moved to St Kilda, where he played 51 games including one final, with 32 goals, between 1986 and 1991, but Nixon was never really able to establish himself with the club. A contractual dispute with the Saints in March 1992 saw him move to the Hawthorn Football Club
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
, where he played eight games, including one final, for six goals, before his retirement in 1993.
Sports agent career
Possibly the most high-profile sports agent in Australia, Nixon established his sports management company, Flying Start, in 1994 after eight years of teaching physical education at Carey Grammar. Since then the company has grown considerably to become one of the leading sports management companies in Australia. Nixon was a pioneer of group marketing of prominent athletes in Australia with his Club 10 team of AFL players, which included Gary Ablett, Sr., Wayne CareyWayne Carey
Wayne Carey is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne and Adelaide Football Clubs in the Australian Football League ....
, Jason Dunstall
Jason Dunstall
Jason Hadfield Dunstall is a former Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club of the AFL. He is the third greatest goalkicker in the history of the VFL/AFL. Dunstall is regarded as one of the greatest full-forwards to have ever played, kicking 1254 goals, a feat only...
, Tony Lockett
Tony Lockett
Anthony Howard "Tony" Lockett is a former Australian rules football player. Lockett is the highest goal scorer in the history of the VFL/AFL with 1,360 goals in a career of 281 games, that commenced in 1983 with the St Kilda Football Club, and finished in 2002 with the Sydney Swans...
and Garry Lyon
Garry Lyon
Garry Peter Lyon is a former professional Australian rules football player and was captain of the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League. Since his retirement from football, he has been mainly an Australian rules football media personality, featuring on television, radio and in...
. He is widely acknowledged as a major leader in the innovative marketing of athletes and has been rated by The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
newspaper as the fourth most influential person of the past decade in the AFL. Flying Start’s players includes Matthew Richardson, Ben Cousins
Ben Cousins
Benjamin Luke "Ben" Cousins is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his 270-game career with and in the Australian Football League ....
, Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt is an Australian rules footballer who is the current captain of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League . He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL Draft.-Early life:...
and Tom Hawkins
Tom Hawkins (footballer)
Thomas "Tom" Jack Hawkins is an Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League...
. Nixon started a fitness club at Docklands Stadium, where he also co-owns the Locker Room Bar and Cougars Sports Bar with Michael Gudinski
Michael Gudinski
Michael Solomon Gudinski, AM is an Australian entrepreneur and businessman currently based in Melbourne who is a leading figure in the Australian music industry...
. He also commentates AFL on radio station Triple M and has been awarded the Australia Day Sports Medal for services to sport by the prime minister. He has entered the education business with Flying Start providing online courses, including "How to be a Sports Agent".
In 2008 Nixon began a well-publicised campaign to escalate the Irish experiment
Irish experiment
The Irish Experiment is the popular name for the interest, primarily from VFL/AFL clubs, in bringing Irish sportspeople to Australia to play Australian Rules Football professionally ....
and set up a formal system for recruiting promising young Irish Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
ers for AFL teams. The plan was criticised by many Gaelic football officials and players, including Sydney's Tadhg Kennelly
Tadhg Kennelly
Tadhg Kennelly is an Irish sportsperson known for his top level careers in both Gaelic football and Australian rules football....
. Some consider that the campaign, which included screening camps in Ireland in August 2008, will result in a talent drain from Ireland to Australia, something that Nixon refutes.
Controversy
On 19 February 2011, it was claimed by a number of press agencies that Nixon had an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old girl. The girl had previously been embroiled in a series of controversies involving players from the St Kilda Football Club, including one of Nixon's major client's, Nick Riewoldt. Nixon admitted to visiting the girl at her hotel room on at least three occasions – including Valentine's Day – and providing her with alcohol. The girl characterised the relationship as an "affair" and indicated that she was unaware at the time that Nixon was married. The controversy follows Nixon's drink driving charge in 2009 when he left the scene of an accident that he was involved in.He was given a two year suspension by the AFL Players' Association Accreditation Board, on 18 March 2011.
Further reading
- Nixon, Ricky; Weston, James (2010). It's a Jungle Out There: The Inside Story of Managing and Marketing the AFL. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia. ISBN 1405037415