Small issues "assault" rebuttal
South Africa
February 6, 2001

Former Springbok wing James Small may be heading to Italy to play club rugby after revelations following the recent split with his model girlfriend Christina Storm.

The 31-year-old has said he is considering emigrating to either New York or Italy after damaging press reports forced him to issue a joint statement with his ex-girlfriend ahead of a magazine article, due out this week, by her father that alleged he assaulted her during the four-year relationship.

Small has admitted that he "struck out at her in anger" and that he has received counselling for his violent outbursts but he stressed that Christina was never hurt in what were a couple of isolated incidents.

In a joint statement released to avert any misunderstanding that may result from the magazine article, that has already been widely quoted in South Africa, the couple have said:

"James has done things in the past that he is not proud of. He has, however, confronted these issues and they are no longer a part of his life. Christina is willing to bear testament to this, and James is prepared to stand up to any accusations levelled against him.

"The fact is, we have shared a great love and will remain friends in the future no matter what. We therefore request the media to respect our privacy. We both stand strongly against abuse in any form and ask the following question . . . is this not abuse that we are currently being subjected to?"

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