Willie Mason has apologised after adding to a horror off-season for Newcastle when he was charged with drink-driving.
The Knights forward recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.09 after being pulled over for a random breath test on his way to training on Monday morning.
He was charged with a mid-range offence at Newcastle Police Station and is scheduled to appear in Newcastle Local Court on February 20.
On Monday afternoon he took to Twitter to issue an apology.
“Jus want 2 say sorry to everyone. I take full responsibility it was bad judgment. I thought I was fine 2 drive. Obviously not.sorry again.” he wrote.
Mason has been heavily involved in promoting the NRL Nines in New Zealand and Australia in the lead-up to the Eden Park event on February 15 and 16.
But his involvement in the shortform tournament in now under a cloud with the incident under investigation by the NRL Integrity Unit.
“The NRL Integrity Unit is aware of the incident and will work through the proper processes with Newcastle,” an NRL spokesman told AAP.
Last season North Queensland prop James Tamou was hit with a two-match ban and a $20,000 fine by the Integrity Unit after recording a drink-driving reading of 0.197 in Townsville in June.
Mason later told Channel Nine he was preparing to face the music in court.
“No one’s above the law and obviously I’ve broken it and now I’ve got to deal with the consequences,” he said.
“My last drink was at 11.30(pm), so I had about seven hours sleep so I thought I was fine.
“I was a bit shocked … then reality hit straight away and they took me in and arrested me.”
The Mason drama continues a troubling off-season for Newcastle.
The incident comes less than a month after fellow Knights prop Russell Packer was jailed for assaulting a man outside a Sydney bar shortly after joining the club on a four-year contract.
Former New Zealand international Packer, who is appealing against the sentence, had yet to play for the club and was subsequently sacked.
Details also emerged on Sunday of exciting centre Dane Gagai, who joined Newcastle in 2012 after being sacked by Brisbane, going missing at an emerging Queensland Origin camp following a boozy night out.
The 23-year-old had a night out during the January 17-19 camp and didn’t front for training the next day at the camp being run by Knights coach Wayne Bennett at the Queensland Academy of Sport in Brisbane.
Former Knights five-eighth Ben Rogers, who is now employed by the club as a community and charity support manager, was also embroiled in controversy when he was charged with two counts of assault following an incident at a taxi rank late last year.
BlakeW
Guest
Willie just getting ready for the Auckland 0.09's.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Mason is an idiot and so are people who drink and drive,and BTW so are the many of us(men and women) who have at times used a mobile phone whilst driving.Just as dangerous,just that many have not yet been caught..Yet prepared to point a finger at another idiot who is DUI. People never learn.
Muzz
Guest
It would be tough having to look Bennett straight in the eyes and say i'm sorry.....
greg
Guest
DRINKING THE NIGHT BEFORE TRAINING ??? GOOD ONE WILLIE !!!
Storm Boy
Guest
Willie is an ex rah rah player.
casper
Guest
because AFL controls the media better? how much longer can demetrio wield the power over media outlets after his recent gaffes in the essendon affair. The difference to me is AFL media feels the need to protect the integrity of 'their' game whilst NRL (read - Sydney) media climb over each others dead bodies to get a scoop & don't give a toss about the game. You can guarantee there's no balance to reporting of minor misdemeanors which Mason has committed. Not a good lookor trivial event but surely not like it's worth $20k & 2 games - talk about being penalised twice for the same crime.
eagleJack
Guest
Is it a case of League players being more unprofessional? Or is it simply a case of the media knowing what the public wants, and that's a "bad boy" story on a League player? Ill go with the latter. An A-League player getting caught with a 0.09 reading in Sydney would not make the papers. Partly because the police probably would not recognise him to "sell" the story, or if he was recognised the story itself would not be worth buying. And don't get me started on Union who are notorious for sweeping serious issues under the carpet. I'm not defending League players here. But having lived in and around Kings Cross for over a decade, and knowing which drug dealer sells to who, and hearing and seeing some pretty horrific things, I was always amazed that it was the League players who would be singled out by the media.
Davo
Guest
The number of league related articles on this outstrips the other codes.
eagleJack
Guest
Haha yeah cause players from other sports never go out drinking?! I love reading posts from the extremely naive.
Davo
Guest
Driving whilst 0.04 over the limit isn't a genuine mistake, it's bloody stupid! Good to see the professionalism of League players though, getting hammered the night before heading to training, The level of professionalism in League is ridiculous.
Charles NSW
Guest
This is a player who has got caught drink and driving and he will suffer the consequences. Why has that got anything to do with the general public apart from gossip? As far as I am concerned it is a private matter and nothing to do with league!
Magic Sponge
Guest
Drink driving is so overrated unless over .1. Texting and talking on mobile phones is way more dangerous, why it is a criminal record when you do no harm to anyone is ludicrous.
Pot Stirrer
Guest
Exactly, a bloke his size and fitness would feel fine with a reading like that and prob didnt think twice.
Australian Rules
Guest
Non-story. He's a dill, but driving the next morning seems like a genuine mistake. Could happen to anyone.
Benedict Arnold
Guest
Agreed. The guys rap sheet is where I'm coming from with my comment; it's funny that of all NRL players, it just happens to be notorious mason getting the slip. Knowing him, he's probably got away with this multiple times in the past. Maybe he forgot to Listerine in the morning this time?
albo
Guest
Yeah like his name all over the papers and tv.
Ian
Guest
It's not unlucky, it's stupid. And 0.09 is hardly a little slip up, just over the limit.
Sideline Comm.
Guest
Yeah, it really isn't as big a deal as the Tamou incident, though all drink driving is serious. Unlucky and bad judgement, but not deliberate or knowingly criminal.
eagleJack
Guest
Fair point. Society has a drinking problem. Not the NRL specifically.
Benedict Arnold
Guest
0.09 reading for mason (as read elsewhere). I think he was just a bit unlucky there.