@SSTID,
. couldn’t agree more , especially re Latrell Mitchell …. pay him according to his effort and then WATCH him improve !!

Three comments so far and all no doubt from people that have no spiritual or religious beliefs.
.. Besides the fact that one thing has nothing to do with the other (that whole apples and oranges thing) .. I have to wonder how you cope with the really tough and often tragic moments in life that eventually and unfortunately happen to us all. And what do you teach your children to believe in ?
…
Once again, Haumole Olakau’atu has shown that he is a truth teller and has the courage of his convictions , qualities that we should encourage in all people no matter what the subject matter. .. We certainly shouldn’t be trying to tear them down for being truthful , or showing empathy to someone who is under such enormous attack (even if , like Leniu , he has unwittingly brought it on himself!)
…
The fact that many of the Pacifica players are misguided in their attitude to this kind of banter is much clearer to them all after this “blow-up” and , by extension, to their wider community. ….
I’ve no doubt that all NRL clubs will make every effort to educate all players that indulge in this so-called “banter” . .. And you can bet every club already knows who they need to “educate” and every club will have some. ..
..
Who knows , hopefully at least some of those players that will now be forced to change their ways (if they want to continue to receive the hefty pay packet that their Islander mate slugging it out as a labourer would die for!) , might even influence some of their mates in that wider community to change their attitudes and get with the 21st century . ..
…
You three might think I’m dreaming , but that’s where a bit of faith comes in . … Faith in mankind’s ability to change and adapt , .. faith that good things can come out of a bad situation , .. faith in God. …
…
One thing IS for sure , .. if anyone is going to learn to be more respectful and change for the better and maybe even pass on what he has learned to his peers and wider community it will be the brave and God fearing men in our League such as Haumole Olakau”atu.

Spot on TB ! …. Pickett , you ask HTF would I/we know ?
.
That’s been answered here by others rather gently and adequately. … But I’m left wondering how long you’ve been on this earth . Can’t you tell BS when you see it ? … Can’t you smell it ? …. Sure , there are some very “cunning and aware” tricksters out there that still manage to dupe some of us sometimes but Spencer Leniu falls miles outside that category . …. He was more concerned with making excuses and Patting Himself On The Back – “at least I’m puttng my hand up and taking ownership”!
WHEN ? .. Can’t you smell that ??
.
You say 8 weeks is “ludicrous” . If the racial comment was the only disrepect Leniu was guilty of then I wouldn’t bother responding to you , but the disrespect he has shown afterwards to everyone with his interviews, his seeking out Mam at the hotel so that he could abuse him further for “not leaving it on the field” (and then at his hearing saying that ‘I’m glad Ezra has raised the matter” …. Oh that smell again) , and then his p!ssweak apology , has brought our game into more disrepute than any one onfield racial slur could ever do.
.
You’re right about one thing though Pickett … 8 weeks is ludicrous.
. It should have been much more.

And you can bet your left testicle that all teams do have those compulsory programs already in place …. don’t be mislead by Joe Lying His Face Off Kelly !

No no Gordo , not the NRL . …. the Roosters and the (lying his face off) CEO Joe Kelly are the ones exposed here for their complete lack of “fair dinkum”!

And they are the ones that failed miserably to manage this situation and protect their player . It became their responsibility to manage this from the 69th minute of the game because the fool they failed to protect (from the media and himself) had NO Idea !!

Convicted before he left the field Albo ?
Either you haven’t been following this, or you don’t think about what you say before you say it.
Leniu’s disrespect for the game that provides him with the money and lifestyle that an uneducated, ignorant fool like him could NEVER attain elsewhere only started with his racial slur.
He then went on to show the world that was now watching exactly how unaware he is of his good fortune by doing interviews that put his ignorance and absolute lack of respect (for everyone) on full display.
Then, back at the hotel, he went looking for his “victim” so that he could abuse him some more….. even after so many around him had warned him about the gravity of his situation and the importance of not making it any worse.
Then came his most inadequate, insincere “apology” that only added to the mounting evidence of just how ignorant the fool really is ! (The irony is that by this point even monkeys have been seen to have more wisdom and intelligence than this meathead and his advisors)
AND , Albo , none of this so far can be blamed on the public & media venting . It’s ALL ON HIM .

James McLeod – The ONLY time Leniu has been genuine and honest was in his interview whilst he was still on the field. Admittedly he did also say, a week later, that his fellow countrymen often, or always use those words , but what he left out is that it’s ALWAYS meant to be derogitory and always directed at Aborigines.
The racial slur was just the start , the real harm was done later as he went on to make himself the headline, demeaning the heroic efforts of 95 other players and just as many club and NRL officials to promote our magnificent sport to the U.S.
This is what he should have got –
4 weeks for the use of “monkey”
4 weeks for the post-match interviews
4 weeks for the hotel confrontation , yelling that Ezra should have left it on the field.
4 weeks for the farcical “apology”
4 weeks for smearing the NRL’s image in the U.S. that Everyone put so much effort & money into and treating the Judiciary like he (and the Roosters) thinks they’re idiots. His statement also says that he’s “Happy that Ezra has brought the issue up “… quite a contradiction to how he Truthfully felt after time to reflect back at the Vegas hotel !
25% off for the not-so-early guilty plea makes …
15 weeks on the sideline , 👍 👍
And the Roosters need to sack their public relations and media advisors who could have kept it to 4 weeks if they had jumped into damage control after the 69th minute of the match !

“I won’t condemn the entire club over the actions of one person but I will expect them to bring him quickly into line”.
Watty , they need to bring themselves into line.
MOST of the damage was done way after the idiot’s use of the word monkey.
Roosters management, especially their media people , should have ushered him into the sheds like the big dumb ox that he is !
They had Plenty of time before the final whistle to get ready for that … it was in Vegas! … and our International Reputation was going Really Well until that point !
…
And THEN they let Stoopid Trent say “Derr , just ’cause Mam said it, doesn’t mean it’s right ” …. they had Plenty of time to advise him also .
…
And Then , instead of putting the Big Dumb Ox in a lockdown to put a deadly virus to shame , they let him wander the halls looking for some Broncos to abuse !
…
And THEN they let Leniu 4 (FOUR) , not 1 or 2 or 3 days later make the most insincere apology I’ve heard in a long,long time , saying “Derr, at least I’m putting my hand up straight away … blah blah”…. “I didn’t realize it was a racist word … blah, blah”.
If ANY head should roll at the Roosters ( and it SHOULD) , it’s the guy who should have taken control at the 69th minute of the game and prevented this embarrassing blight on our beloved sport !!!!!

I laughed out loud when the Roosters CEO came on and said – ” Spencer’s Incredibly Remorseful and won’t be speaking tonight … HAHA …. he left out – “or ever again !!”
If big dumb Spencer had never been let near a microphone or journo in the first place , it might have been 4 weeks.
But that’s the fault of the Roosters management team. The leson here is just as big for them and for YOU Trent Robinson !

I laughed out loud when the Roosters CEO came on and said – ” Spencer’s Incredibly Remorseful and won’t be speaking tonight … HAHA …. he left out – “or ever again !!”
If big dumb Spencer had never been let near a microphone or journo in the first place , it might have been 4 weeks.
But that’s the fault of the Roosters management team. The lesson here is just as big for them and for YOU Trent Robinson !

“NRL players need to reflect on this” .. You’re dead right there Glory !
Emotions run high onfield at this level , and some have more trouble than others controlling that.
The biggest lesson, especially for the “hot heads” is too Shut Up as Quickly as Possible and Don’t Do Post Match Interviews !!
And Don’t try to lie your way out of it later …. Your club has professional liars who are paid handsomely to do that for you , don’t they Joe Kelly ?!!

“NRL players need to reflect on this “… dead right Glory Bound !
Emotions onfield run high sometimes and definitely more for some than others.
The biggest lesson here for all other players , especially the “hot-heads” , is to shut up as quickly as you can and don’t do an interview post match and don’t lie and try to bullsh!t your way out of it afterwards.
Your club has expert bullsh!tters who are paid handsomely to do that for you , don’t they Joe Kelly?!!

Thank heavens it won’t come down to what you think would be fair.
Leniu had his shot at a sincere apology , albeit four days too late , and he failed miserably.
Ideology , on the other hand seems to see things much more clearly.

ALL denial Plus issuing a challenge to Mam and his team-mates that they knew where to find him if they wanted to take it further.
In other words, inviting them to make a bad situation worse …. and when they didn;t take him up on it , he confronted them instead, yelling that Mam should have ‘left it on the field”.
Just a further indication that Leniu has zero regard for the efforts and investment that every player from all four teams had put in to present such a good image of our game , all playing their hearts out , all on their best behaviour.
And what about the disrespect he has shown to v’Landys, Abdo, and the rest of the NRL.,
single-handedly smearing our image in the U.S. and virtually making himself the headline!

An apology four days later that sounded more like patting himself on the back and indicating that he’s still confused about what he did wrong , and all of that only because his advisors had told him his goose was already cooked and burning in the oven ?
….. Throw the book at him AND his gas-lighting coach !
Where was Robinson’s apology ?

His guilty plea means nothing Cam … ZERO !
If he’d have been contrite and apologetic in his first couple of interviews after the match I would agree , but he was the opposite. … he was arrogantly dismissive saying he was definitely NOT worried at all, ignorantly calling it “fun and games on the field” but certainly not denying it.
Then , also immediately post match, arrogantly inviting Mam or his team-mates that if “they want to take it further they know where to find me” , “we’re staying at the same hotel” !….. an obvious indication that he’s happy to make this bad situation even worse, like he was on a one man mission to destroy all the goodwill and good publicity that the NRL had invested millions in building, not to mention the extreme efforts that all the players from all four teams had put into presenting a flawless and hard fought image to the U.S. viewers.
… Then this idiot confronts Mam and two of his Brisbane team-mates at the Hotel , yelling at them that Mam should have just “left it on the field”.
Trent Robinson’s contribution was to throw fuel on the fire by trying to “gaslight” Ezra by suggesting that “making the accusation doesn’t mean it’s right”.
Robinson should be sanctioned also , .. don’t tell me he didn’t know about Leniu’s post match virtual admission before he’d even left the field !!
The fool and his coach have clearly demonstrated that they Just Don’t Get It … and so The NRL and the Judiciary need to double, no , triple any normal punishment to make sure these (dangerous to the game’s image) imbeciles DO GET IT , that coming out FOUR days later when media advisors have finally been able to get it through their thick skulls that Everyone Already KNOWS the truth and that Leniu should apologize.
Where was ROBINSON”S apology by the way ?!
And even Then Leniu couldn’t get it right , between indicating that he still doesn’t think it was racist whilst patting himself on the back for “putting his hand up”.
FAR too little FAR too LATE from the Roosters and from Leniu …..
Throw the book at them I say !

Spot on Cam.
100% is as exact.

The day we start listening to Anthony Mundine’s advice for any other reason than to have a really good scoff is the day we should all just pack it in.

Overly dramatic ? .. let’s examine that.
I was offended the moment Ezra raised the matter on the field.
Then I became “strongly offended” when I saw Leniu interviewed whilst still onfield dismissing the whole incident as “nothing at all to worry about”,” just fun and games”.
Then I became more offended when I saw his coach gas-lighting Mam and saying that “just because he’s made an official complaint doesn’t make it right”!
Then I became “as strongly offended as possible” When it was reported that the bully Leniu had confronted Mam and others in the hotel , shouting that he should have just left it on the field.
Now that Leniu’s manager and the “damage control” arm of the Roosters have managed to convince Leniu that the best course of action might be to apologize and he has offered to fly to Brisbane “at his own expense” to offer his most insincere apologies in person, I am beyond “as strongly offended as possible” and as happy as possible that this whole farce is going to cost Spencer Leniu and the Rooster’s coach a whole lot more than a return flight from Sydney to Brisbane ! .. 😂 😂 😂

I was offended because we have supposedly become better than that as a code in 2024.
I became “Strongly offended” when Leniu tried to dismiss it as “nothing to worry about”,
and then I became “as strongly offended As Possible” when Leniu’s idiot coach immediately after the match suggested that Mam’s complaint is “not right”… may “not be right”!
Now I am beyond “as strongly offended as possible” since Leniu’s bullying tactics back at the hotel have now done a backflip because his manager has realized that an apology might be his only chance to play this year . …. 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂

Right on mushi,
Trent Robinson ,in particular , is a disgrace in his post match interview !

You seem a little confused Picket ,… but that’s not surprising . 😂