Billionaire Gina Rinehart's mining company Hancock Prospecting has pulled the plug on its controversial sponsorship of Netball Australia in a major blow to the sport's financial future.
Hancock had agreed a $15 million sponsorship deal over four years, due to go directly to the high-performance program, with netball's cash-strapped governing body.
The deal appeared to be a lifeline after Netball Australia (NA) suffered losses of more than $7 million in two COVID-impacted years, but it caused ructions within the Diamonds.
Indigenous player Donnell Wallam, a Noongar woman from Western Australia, had raised concern over the company's record on Indigenous matters, which date back 40 years to offensive comments by Rinehart's late father Lang Hancock.
Wallam was reportedly considering seeking an exemption from wearing the sponsor's logo, as athletes in other sports have done when a sponsor doesn't align with their beliefs or religion.
But the issue flared when it was reported Wallam's teammates wanted to stand with her.
It prompted a week of turmoil and while NA and Diamonds skipper Liz Watson both stressed their support for the Hancock deal amid the turmoil, it wasn't enough to save the sponsorship.
NA chief executive Kelly Ryan lamented Saturday's announcement, which also confirmed Roy Hill, majority-owned by Hancock, will withdraw its planned sponsorship of Netball WA and the West Coast Fever.
"We acknowledge the difficulties and impact of recent discussions and are disappointed to see them withdraw the partnership," Ryan said in a statement.
"This is a loss for our whole sport, from grassroots through to the elite program.
"Netball Australia is a strong, resilient organisation and we will continue working around the clock to secure the future of the sport and explore all opportunities that are available."
NA chair Wendy Archer said "every effort has been made from all parties to resolve the issues surrounding the sensitivities of the partnership" but a mutually satisfactory agreement couldn't be reached.
The companies have offered NA and Netball WA a four-month sponsorship to fund athletes while they look for new partners.
The mining company released a statement on Saturday confirming they were pulling out of the deal, taking a dig at tensions between NA and the Players Association, especially the union's bid for pay rises.
"Hancock and Roy Hill do not wish to add to Netball's disunity problems, and accordingly Hancock has advised Netball Australia that it has withdrawn from its proposed partnership effective immediately," Hancock said in a statement.
Hancock said it hadn't insisted the Diamonds wear their branding, and were confident players had supported the sponsorship.
The Hancock company logo had been expected to feature on the Diamonds' uniforms through the Constellation Cup series against New Zealand but ultimately only featured on a press conference background banner in Melbourne.
The news comes a day before the final Constellation Cup game against New Zealand, with Sunday's clash on the Gold Coast to determine the series winner.
