The NRL has launched an investigation into an alleged drunken altercation involving Brisbane Broncos star Kotoni Staggs.
The league is probing the alleged drunken clash between Staggs, 22, and another patron at the Eatons Hill Hotel in Brisbane’s north over the Easter weekend.
Video evidence will form part of the investigation, Nine News reported.
A day before the probe emerged, video appeared on social media which is alleged to show a Parramatta Eels player having sex with a woman in a public toilet.
The Gold Coast Titans on Thursday also pulled a three-year $2.1million deal for Staggs, with the young gun expected to sign a $2.8million off-contract extension with the Broncos instead.
NRL star forward Kotoni Staggs. The league has launched an investigation into the alleged drunken off-field behaviour of the Brisbane Broncos player
NRL officials are still searching for CCTV footage of the alleged pub confrontation – which may have involved a woman, News Corp reported.
The investigation comes just months after a teenage girl leaked a sex tape of herself with Staggs after he allegedly rejected her proposal of a threesome.
McKenzie Lorraine Robinson, 18, was fined $600 after pleading guilty to sharing the ‘first person’ footage of her engaged in an intimate act with Staggs between June 14 and August 5 without his consent.
The court heard Ms Robinson sent the vision to one person, is at least double her own age, and that person then distributed the video further.
Staggs last year opened up about the harrowing experience of learning the tape had been released, and said telling his tight-knit family about what had happened was his worst nightmare.
The 21-year-old said he was ‘shattered’ that his private life had been thrust into public domain.
‘I was embarrassed it came out. I didn’t want my family to see it, that was the one thing that I was worried about,’ he told The Courier Mail.
The league is probing the alleged drunken clash between Staggs, 22, (pictured) and another patron at the Easter Hill Hotel in Brisbane
The Gold Coast Titans on Thursday pulled a three-year $2.1million deal for Staggs – with the NRL star expected to stay with the Brisbane Broncos
McKenzie Lorraine Robinson, 18, last year leaked a sex tape of herself with Staggs, 22, after he allegedly rejected her proposal of a threesome
‘They had my back through it all. I was surprised by how well they took it and that made me feel a bit better.’
Despite the embarrassment for the up-and-coming Bronco, Staggs was cleared of any wrongdoing by the NRL’s integrity unit after the video was released.
‘It wasn’t my fault but I was still involved… there’s always ups and downs. You learn from your mistakes,’ he said.
Staggs was also served with a breach notice by the NRL following an altercation at a pub in Dubbo in November.
The breach notice said Staggs was required to complete appropriate education after he allegedly provoked the altercation by using a homophobic slur when asked for a photo by a patron at the venue.
‘I’m in the progress of doing that now with the welfare officer,’ Staggs said about the proposed meeting with NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo.
‘What I did is in the past now. I’ve got nothing against the bloke it happened to.’
On Wednesday, the video of the Parramatta Eels player emerged online after it was filmed over the toilet door by a bystander for five seconds.
A high-profile rugby league player is at the centre of a newly leaked sex tape, which the Parramatta Eels claim was filmed without his consent (pictured, an image from the video)
The Parramatta Eels on Wednesday confirmed the video involved one of their players.
‘We understand that those on the video have been illegally filmed by another person without consent and that an attempt has been made to distribute the video to media outlet and on social media platforms,’ the club said.
The club said they contacted the NRL Integrity Unit, who are investigating.
Both the Eels and the NRL Integrity Unit are taking the matter ‘very seriously’ as the video is a ‘potential invasion of privacy of those involved’.