Indigenous NRL star Dean Widders copped a shocking slur on the field – here’s why he believes Spencer Leniu is NOT racist

Former football star Dean Widders fears there will be another racism scandal in the NRL following Spencer Lenius’ “monkey” talk aimed at Ezra Mam.

But the Indigenous hero doesn’t think the Roosters star is racist.

Widders, who played for Parramatta, the Roosters, Souths and Castleford, was present at Monday’s hearing as Leniu was hit with an eight-match ban for his outburst at the Las Vegas game this month.

He now works as player welfare and education manager at the NRL, and the Leniu case brought back bad memories of his own ordeal with racism.

While at the Eels in 2005, Widders was branded a ‘black ****’ by South Sydney’s Bryan Fletcher. The Bunnies star was subsequently stripped of the club captaincy and fined $10,000.

“It can really drain you and take its toll,” Widders told the Sydney Morning Herald of his ordeal, reflecting on Mam’s experience. ‘You only have to read a few comments on any social media post on this topic and it’s appalling.

‘Spencer is not a racist guy. I think it is the systemic racism that exists in this country that allows these slips in NRL games.

‘I have no doubt that in this country that we live in at the moment, this will happen again. In the next 12 to 18 months, we will have another episode. It could be on the pitch, it could be anything.

‘Unfortunately, we have to work on it. We are not where we need to be as a country.’

Widders admitted he struggled not to draw comparisons between himself and Mam on Monday night.

“Watching the replays of Ezra on Monday night, I had flashbacks of myself knowing how that moment just hits you and you have that disbelief,” he said.

‘You think about Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders and whether that’s how people really see us.

‘My motivation when I played was to influence people about how there were many positive things about Aboriginal people. Then you see this and wonder, ‘Are we really getting anywhere?’

‘In rugby league and society we are told to have a thick skin and ‘toughen up’ but (racist) words can get right through to your soul.

‘As blackfellas, we look at the game as a way to prove ourselves, to do something positive to lift our families out of the struggle we’re in.

‘When you play league, it’s a way to prove your worth as a person, to show that you’ve worked hard and made sacrifices.

‘So when you get called that on a field, it takes everything out of you. Your stomach turns and you feel like shit. Your emotions are out of control.’

Souths star Latrell Mitchell has campaigned strongly for a harsh sentence against Leniu and has publicly supported Mam since the complaint was first lodged over a week ago.

Widders praised Mitchell for his unwavering desire to do the right thing.

“Everyone is ready to knock Latrell down, even our own mob, but he keeps getting up,” Widders said. ‘He has been so strong when it comes to standing against racism. Many of our mob need it.

‘Many of our mob suffer in silence and turn to other things to help cope. But he is speaking out, he has always been that voice and I applaud him for that.’