☕️ The allegations against Sydney Swans players

If you looked in the mirror this morning and weren’t crazy about what you saw, at least you didn’t scream at your reflection. (I… hope.)

The same can’t be said for Jinny Lu. She took first place in the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest in California. The contest actually does a lot of good – it’s a promotion for dog adoption.

This is Jinny Lu, who was adopted in South Korea four years ago:

She’s ugly. But she’s not as ugly as Sam, who once won the competition three (3!!!) times.

The quote: “This outcome has been won through the direct efforts of AEU members, who demanded pay and conditions that reflect the value and importance of their work,”
Australian Education Union Victorian Branch President Justin Mullaly, after education staff endorsed the State Government’s latest offer, ending a lengthy dispute. Teachers are expected to vote in favour of a 28.3–32.4% pay rise over four years.

The stat: 8. The number of films that have made more than $US2 billion ($AU2.8b) at the worldwide box office, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day passing the milestone on the weekend. The film joins Titanic and Avatar.

The big question:

Yesterday’s results: 80% of you weren’t interested in this year’s Logie Awards. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [2,284 votes].

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Police are investigating an allegation of sexual assault involving several Sydney Swans players at the team’s hotel in East Melbourne in the early hours of Monday morning.

A statement from Victoria Police said: “Police are investigating a report of a sexual assault in East Melbourne on 17 August. The incident occurred at a hotel on Wellington Parade in the early hours of the morning. The exact circumstances are yet to be established and the investigation into the incident remains ongoing.”

Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich spoke to media for around one minute on Monday afternoon, saying the club is “still piecing together exactly what’s transpired,” and is “extremely shocked and disappointed that this has taken place and that the players have found themselves in this situation.”

The Swans were staying in Melbourne following the club’s 112-76 defeat of Essendon at the MCG on Sunday.

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732.

Reporting by George Finlayson.

🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, we explain what led to the death of Cambridge University’s youngest-ever Black professor. Listen or watch on Apple here, Spotify here, or YouTube here.

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On Saturday, news broke that Jason Arday, until recently a professor at Cambridge University, had been found dead.

It came after weeks of intense media scrutiny and discussion of Arday’s credentials and life story, sparked by a blog post alleging he plagiarised parts of his PhD thesis.

Arday was 41 and is survived by his wife and young children.

Here’s the latest.

Jason Arday was born in 1985 in London to Ghanaian migrant parents, and grew up on a council estate.

According to his memoir, he was diagnosed with autism at three, didn't speak until almost 12, and couldn't read or write until 18. He earned a degree in education in 2008, then a PhD from Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) in 2015.

According to his memoir, before submitting his thesis, doctors found a brain tumour; after its removal, he said short-term memory loss left him “reading [it] as if for the first time.”

His academic work focused on “race, education and society,” per a Cambridge statement. In 2023, he became Cambridge's youngest-ever Black professor. In 2024-25, around 1% of professors in the UK were Black.

Jack Grove, a Times Higher Education journalist, began investigating Arday last year, assembling a 63-page report alleging plagiarism of another student's thesis and other academics’ work.

He submitted his findings to LJMU, which cleared Arday. After emailing Arday for clarification, Grove learned a police complaint had been raised against him.

Before Grove published anything, Nathan Cofnas said in a 21 July blog post that he'd run Arday's PhD through plagiarism software, finding similarities to Paula Zwozdiak-Myers' 2009 thesis.

Cofnas, a self-described “race realist,” had said in 2024 that a true meritocracy would see Black professors “approach 0%.”

Cambridge’s Emmanuel College cut ties with him over this in 2024. A separate university inquiry later found his comments were “offensive” but didn’t breach the law or university rules.

Coverage soon exploded, scrutinising Arday's record and life story; two universities he claimed ties to denied it.

Speaking to The Times of London on 31 July, Arday said he was “accountable for the mistakes I’ve made... We’re talking about academia here. I didn’t murder someone.”

He alleged there was a “racially motivated” campaign to remove him from his professorship at Cambridge.

Arday said he had corrected errors that had previously been found in his work, and that it was more likely that any errors were mistakes than deliberate lies.

Arday resigned from Cambridge on 5 August, the same day the university announced it had begun investigating him.

In a statement, Arday said: “While criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, what I have experienced has gone far beyond scholarly disagreement.”

Media coverage about Arday continued. From 5 August to the day Arday’s death was confirmed, The Times published more than 30 articles about him, including op-eds.

Arday was found unresponsive at a south London home on Friday (local time), according to UK media reports.

“Sadly, a 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene... At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

In a letter to staff and students, Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice said: “We pause to remember [Arday], and to mourn his loss, which will be felt across the collegiate University and beyond.”

A statement from Arday’s family said: “We are in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son.”

“Jason was subjected to a campaign of sustained abuse for more than three years... [this] was too much for Jason.”

They’ve called for privacy and an end to the “harassment which has been waged against Jason and his family for too long.”

For more on this case, listen to this morning’s podcast on Spotify here or Apple here.

Lifeline: 13 11 14.

Reporting by Lucy Tassell and Emma Gillespie.

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Ledecky has never lost a final in the event at the international level, and has only lost a final at the domestic level one other time since 2010. Pallister achieved the feat at the Pan Pacific Championships in California, contested by 12 countries including China, Australia, Canada, and the U.S. Pallister said she had been “the most nervous [she] ever felt in [her] entire life” ahead of the race. Fun fact: Ledecky actually signed an autograph for Pallister 10 years ago, telling her to dream big.

Reporting by Lucy Tassell and George Finlayson.

Have you ever heard of Liechtenstein? Aside from coming up at trivia, the 40,000-person European microstate probably hasn’t come across your desk before.

This week, it’s making headlines by allowing women to inherit the throne. The rule will only apply to any babies born in the future, not the current princesses of Liechtenstein.

I’d rather go to Genovia, tbh 🍐

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.