The bouncer at the centre of the South Sydney late-night incident in Arizona was given “satisfaction” in order to drop charges against Luke Burgess and John Sutton.
In a City Attorney’s report published by Fairfax Media, it was reported 21-year-old Patrick Scruggs had asked that charges against the Rabbitohs pair be dropped.
Scruggs was left bloodied after a late night incident at Monsoons Chinese Bistro and Sushi in Flagstaff on November 30 which resulted in Burgess and Sutton, there with Souths for a training camp, being arrested.
Charges against the pair were dropped after Scruggs appeared in court on December 9.
Scruggs entered into a misdemeanour compromise with the NRL stars, which allows a victim to a request a case be dismissed if he has received satisfaction, which usually comes in the form of monetary compensation.
It was not made clear what the compensation was but Scruggs stated he was satisfied with the outcome.
The revelation came on the same day NRL chief Dave Smith defended incoming head of strategy Shane Richardson and the code’s integrity unit after an investigation into the US bar brawl was reopened.
The integrity unit was initially satisfied the incident was closed after the pair were released from custody without charges being laid.
But on Tuesday, the NRL announced it had reopened its probe, leading to accusations of a Richardson cover-up.
Richardson will join the NRL from Souths later this month.
However, Smith defended the way the Rabbitohs dealt with the situation which was kept under wraps until a sketchy statement from the club was released last Sunday.
“We were satisfied with the process up until this point,” Smith told reporters on the Gold Coast on Wednesday morning.
“At the end of the day, it’s a judgment call. By and large, if something has gone wrong, we are in a position where clubs do get in contact.
“They tell us what’s going on. There’s a distinction between internal matters within a club and what is in the best interest of the fans and the general public.
“We ask the clubs to err on a side of caution and let us make the judgment call. You can’t know everything about every minor detail.”
Smith also said the issue has no bearing on his decision to bring Richardson on board at Rugby League Central.
“Shane is a very experienced administrator,” Smith told reporters on the Gold Coast on Wednesday.
“He’s been in the game a lot longer than I have and he’s a good guy and a big thinker.
“This isn’t about individuals. This is about a specific issue. It’s happened a long way away, we have to get to the bottom of it.”
Smith also denied the integrity unit should have investigated the incident, which led to Sutton’s axing as skipper and Burgess being offloaded to Manly, more rigorously.
“The integrity unit will look at it and look at it independently and strongly,” he said.
“There are lots of ways of investigating things. You don’t have to always physically go and investigate things.
“The integrity unit will look at it and gather all the facts, within the rules of our game. We’re not a police force.”
Manly on Wednesday defended their decision to sign Burgess, saying the club was given assurances that the incident had been appropriately dealt with by both the Rabbitohs and the NRL integrity unit.
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