Sydney Roosters officials will put their entire club through cultural training after Spencer Leniu revealed a common use of racial terms between coloured players across NRL squads during his judicial hearing.
Leniu was on Monday night banned for eight weeks after telling Brisbane’s Indigenous star to “f*** up you monkey” after hearing his name said by Mam in their opening-round clash in Las Vegas.
The suspension means Leniu will return in round 10 against the Warriors on May 12, one week after the rest of the Roosters face the Broncos in a return match in Brisbane.
After pleading guilty, Leniu’s legal team pushed for a lighter four-game ban for the former Penrith premiership winner as the prop claimed he was not aware of the racial connotations of the term.
Included in his argument was the claim that he thought he was “one brown man saying something to another brown man”, and that casual slurs are regularly used between players of colour in NRL squads.
“A lot of people in my circle and in the same skin tone to me, our slang and how we speak to each other has all those words,” Leniu told the panel during a 90-minute hearing.
“Black c***, and all those types of words are used. They are so common in our language that we speak to each other every single day.
“(We say) Blacky, we always have a competition of who is the darkest in the team, Monkey and all that kind of stuff.”
It was in that context, Leniu claimed he believed his comment to Mam was simply “banter”, before he was contacted by an Indigenous woman the next morning to explain the historical connotations.
Leniu’s admission could potentially shine a light on a broader issue across the game.
Spencer Leniu. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for NRL)
After the hearing, Roosters CEO Joe Kelly commended the way Mam and the Broncos had handled the incident, but remained adamant Leniu was not racist.
And in turn, he said more education would be provided on the issue.
“We’ll increase his education about the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander people,” Kelly said.
“We’ll also be supporting all of our other Indigenous players in the club.
“And across the board all staff and players will undergo further education of these cultures as well as the Pacific culture.”
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo also said the league would work with the players’ union on education, adamant the eight-week ban showed the league’s tough stance on racism.
“Racism and vilification have no place in modern society and will not be tolerated in rugby league,” Abdo said.
“The events of last week go against everything the game is built on.
“We all take great pride in the game’s strong links to Indigenous culture, its representation of Indigenous and Pacific Islander players and its ability to meld communities together.
“From this sad event some important lessons can be learned.
“We will work with the players and the RLPA to continue to deliver important awareness and education programs and ensure rugby league continues to be the greatest game for all.”
The NRL had their own gaffe on Monday night, with the league’s counsel Lachlan Gyles repeatedly referring to Samoan representative Leniu as “Spencer Luai” and a Tonga player early in the hearing.
Canterbury are trying to get young halfback Karl Oloapu’s contract taken off their 2024 salary cap as he faces an uncertain future due to a neck injury.
The former Broncos prodigy played seven matches last year but is unlikely to suit up this season after undergoing surgery to repair the bulging disc in his neck.
Canterbury paid a $500,000 transfer fee to get him from the Broncos and are seeking to still pay him all his contract money for this year but to open up a contract spot on their top 30 roster.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary is refusing to panic about his side’s scoreless start to the NRL season as the Panthers make moves to lock down the services of strike centre Izack Tago.
In what represents a coup for the Panthers given the top-line talent that has been picked off by rival clubs in recent seasons, Tago is close to agreeing a new deal at the three-time back-to-back premiers.
Cleary would not confirm Tago had re-committed to the club, but told reporters on Monday: “Izack is one of our juniors and still only 21 and that’s hard to believe.
“He’s already won two comps and played for his country so I can only see better ahead for him and hopefully he will be with us for some time (yet).”
While the Panthers work to extend Tago’s deal, the more immediate concern for Cleary is fixing their attack after an 8-0 defeat away to Melbourne in their season opener.
Reimis Smith celebrates after scoring a try for Melbourne Storm against Penrith Panthers. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Taking their World Club Challenge defeat to Wigan into account, Penrith have not crossed for a try in more than two hours of game-time.
Cleary will be looking for a marked improvement at home on Friday against Parramatta, who beat them in both regular-season meetings between the clubs last year.
“Every team is similar at the start of the season … and we’re no different,” Cleary said.
“Some guys have done more training and played more trials than others and we’re clearly still trying to find our feet in that regard. We also got a little bit clunky, kind of chasing down points at the end of the game.
“We’re probably trying too hard. To the Storm’s credit their scramble was outstanding and they frustrated us as well. (It is) all the stuff you have got to go through games to iron out, and we’ll take plenty from the (Melbourne) game.”
with AAP
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