The suspension of Phil Sims' membership from the Club that controls his beloved Parramatta Eels means that Sim cannot vote or stand for election to the Club which owns the Eels. This is a clear abuse of the Board's power and a transparent attempt to shut down any opposition to the current regime. 

We the undersigned wish to see Phil Sim's membership suspension reversed.

Sim stood for the Football Club elections in December on the ParraFirst ticket. It was shortly after the election that Sim was informed his membership of both the Leagues Club and the Football Club had been suspended.

The Board's actions in suspending Sim's membership appears to be retaliation for content appearing on Sim's social media website 1Eyed Eel. This suggests that it is attempting to stifle any discussion relating to the performance of the Board prior to the elections in May. It has wider ramifications for free speech and democratic elections in Australia. The Board has in effect demanded that Sim fundamentally change the way in which content is generated and filtered on the 1Eyed Eel website to ensure that any negative comments relating to the Club or it’s Board members are not published. 

Sim was told his suspension related to posts by members on his 1Eyed Eel website including a photoshopped picture depicting Chairman Roy Spagnolo controlling a 'puppet' Eric Grothe Junior, who at the time was standing for the Football Club Election on Spagnolo's ticket. Sim refused to remove this post, and others depicting the current Board in a negative light, maintaining that the members of 1Eyed Eel had the fundamental right to express their opinion provided that they did not defame anyone.

Content on 1Eyed Eel is generated by the site's nearly 3,000 members. The site attracts more than 10,000 unique visits per week from members and non-members. Comments are not filtered prior to posting but will be moderated if they don't conform to the site's Code of Conduct. Sim’s moderation policy for the site ensures that political comment is not deleted unless it is deemed to be defamatory. Supporters of any faction within the Club are able to post comment provided it is not deemed to be defamatory.