Players from Brisbane and the Sydney Roosters have verbally clashed in the corridors of their Las Vegas hotel as the fallout continues over allegations of a racial slur by Spencer Leniu.
Leniu was on Saturday night accused of directing a racist remark at Brisbane’s Indigenous star Ezra Mam, an allegation that marred the NRL’s march into Las Vegas.
The alleged incident is being reviewed, with the return from the USA creating some logistical hurdles for the NRL.
But tensions between the clubs remain high.
Players exchanged words as they passed each other at the Hilton at Resorts World in Las Vegas after arriving back from the game.
Witnesses told AAP there was no threat of a physical altercation, and Leniu was ushered down the corridor by club staff as words were exchanged.
The teams are sharing the same floor at the hotel.
The NRL has yet to decide if the on-field allegation will fall to the match review committee or its own integrity unit, under the anti-vilification code.
Mam could be heard saying to referee Adam Gee on Saturday night “he called me a monkey” late in the second half of the Broncos’ 20-10 loss to the Roosters.
When placed on report by Gee, Leniu responded, “Why would I say that?”.
Leniu told Triple M after the match he was not “worried at all”, and that the incident was “just fun and games on the field, that’s it”.
But an upset Mam has since told Broncos officials he is adamant the alleged slur was made.
Indigenous All Stars captain Latrell Mitchell has demanded the NRL take action, while posting “typical” alongside a headline detailing the alleged incident.
“I stand with you Bala,” Mitchell posted on an Instagram story.
“NRL better deal with this s**t.”
Johnathan Thurston said he had been left upset by the allegation, and reported Mam was “in tears”.
“A little bit emotional … that in this day and age one of our players will be allegedly saying what he said,” Thurston said on Nine.
“After coming here, 40,000 people. Two massive cracking games, and now we’re dealing with this. We didn’t need it after round one.”
The NRL has largely avoided any on-field racial incidents in the past decade, with Mitchell Barnett the last accused of a slur – by Tyrone Peachey in 2020.
Barnett denied the allegation, and the investigation was closed when a review of footage and audio uncovered no evidence.
Paul Gallen was fined $10,000 for a racial slur against St George Illawarra’s Mickey Paea in 2009.
Gallen made a public apology over the incident, and stood down as Cronulla captain.
Warriors winger Marcelo Montoya was suspended for four games in 2022 for a homophobic slur in a match against North Queensland, after being hit with a contrary conduct charge.
Source Agencies
