- Spencer Leniu claims he didn’t realise ‘monkey’ slur was racist
- Roosters star faced NRL hearing over remark aimed at Ezra Mam
- The NRL called for the forward to cop an eight-match suspension
Spencer Leniu has claimed that he did not realise his ‘monkey’ slur was racist until he was informed by an Indigenous woman on Instagram that the remark was offensive.
Leniu faced the NRL judiciary on Monday to learn his fate after he told Brisbane star to ‘[shut the] f*** up, monkey’ during the Roosters’ win over the Broncos in Las Vegas. He has pleaded guilty to the charge.
Leniue has since been given an eight-match suspension.
Mam provided a 12-paragraph statement to the hearing, but was happy for only four paragraphs to be read out, with the other eight kept confidential.
He said he ‘saw red’ and was ‘so angry’ after copping the slur from Leniu in the second half. Mam admitted: ‘My mind was no longer focused on the game.’
Spencer Leniu has claimed he did not know his ‘monkey’ slur was racist
The Roosters star admitted to calling Ezra Mam a ‘monkey’ in Las Vegas
Leniu confirmed he told Mam to ‘[shut the] f*** up, monkey’ and was extremely sorry for the remark. He was also criticised for telling Triple M after the match that it was ‘all fun and games’, insisting: ‘I thought it was one brown man sledging another brown man.’
The Roosters star claimed he only learnt that the taunt was offensive when informed by an Aboriginal woman at around 6.30am the next morning on Instagram.
Leniu added that it is not uncommon for his mates with the same skin tone to call each other ‘blacky’ and ‘black ****’. He also claimed he’s been called ‘monkey’ and ‘coconut’ but never taken offence.
Such was his disgust with his own actions, Leniu offered to fly to Brisbane to apologise to Mam in person, but the offer was rebuffed.
‘I would have flown to Brisbane and said ‘sorry’, face to face, man to man, without anyone knowing,’ he said.
He said he was informed it was racist by an Aboriginal woman on Instagram after the game
When asked by the NRL counsel if he was aware of AFL star Adam Goodes, or other racial incidents where there have been references to monkeys or apes, Leniu said he was not.
‘Most people who have been in Australia for 15 years [like Leniu] would know it might be racist to call someone monkey,’ NRL counsel said.
More to follow.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk