Sydney (AFP) – Netball Australia's chief executive resigned on Tuesday in the wake of a protracted contract dispute that allegedly left unpaid players sleeping in their cars.
Australia are netball world champions but the sport in the country is in financial turmoil after struggling to lure major sponsors and losing government funding.
Union officials in November said players in the domestic Super Netball competition had not been paid for two months, the result of a long-running contract dispute with Netball Australia.
Although an agreement was eventually hammered out earlier this month, Netball Australia chief executive Kelly Ryan on Tuesday said the "timing felt right to hand over the reins".
"Netball Australia has a wonderful team of people who work tirelessly for the benefit of the sport and I thank them for their continued efforts and for their support," she said.
The pay row ignited when Australian Netball Players' Association official Kathryn Harby-Williams accused the national governing body of ignoring struggling players.
"I have had them weeping. Players have slept in their cars, players have had to move out of their homes and move across the country back to families," the former captain told reporters.
"That's the toll that this is taking on these players." Respected former player Liz Ellis recently said the saga was "poisonous" and questioned whether administrators were "up to the task".
Players eventually secured an 11 percent pay rise and a greater share of competition revenue. Netball Australia was recently stripped of Aus$18 million (US$12 million) in government funding after failing to meet criteria.
An Australian mining company pulled an Aus$15 million sponsorship last year after players protested over its founder's past treatment of Aboriginal people.