Mitchell Pearce has come to the defence of Latrell Mitchell following the white powder scandal surrounding the football superstar.
The NRL Integrity Unit has launched an investigation after a leaked photograph appeared to show the injured Rabbitohs full-back leaning over a table with his right hand near an unknown white substance and his left hand on his face.
The grainy image, which was taken after the footballer carried out community service in Dubbo over the weekend, appears to show Mitchell with an unidentified woman.
Former football star Pearce, a reformed addict, and fellow ex-football bad boy Todd Carney spoke on the Half-Time podcast, with Pearce insisting Mitchell is not the main culprit behind the scandal.
Pearce has suffered his own experience of images of himself being shared on social media without his permission. In 2016, he was suspended for eight matches after a video of him simulating a vile act with a dog was leaked.
“I hope someone takes strong action against the person who is filming this stuff,” Pearce said.
‘It would be nice to know what the laws are on this because it’s nonsense. You’d hope it wasn’t his friend, but whoever was there doing that deserves major repercussions.
“The game needs to find out who these people are and take tough action against them. They should name them and shame them because these people get away with it and there are no repercussions.
Latrell Mitchell not the main culprit in white powder scandal, says football legend
Mitchell is reportedly being investigated over an image (pictured) that appears to show him leaning over a table with an unknown white substance in front of him.
‘Poor Latrell will put his hand up and say he did something wrong, but the other person who filmed him should be named and shamed and have their picture on the back page.
‘It’s a horrible feeling to be Latrell and for all this to come to light.
‘I feel sorry for him, but at the same time, if he did this he put himself in an average position, right?
“It’s not good for the game and it’s not good for Latrell. Nobody knows what that white substance was so it’s hard to comment on it, but it’s not good for the game and it’s not good for Souths with the year they’ve had.”
Carney added that he hopes Mitchell has the right people around him to get through this difficult period.
“It’s a horrible feeling to be on the back page at the best time for whatever reason, but it’s sad to see it because, even if we don’t know if he did something wrong or not, it’s sad to see an athlete’s privacy violated again,” said the former eighth-ranked player.
But reformed bad boy Mitchell Pearce (right) has urged the NRL to “take tough action” against the person who filmed the controversial video.
People who hear it will say ‘they shouldn’t have done anything wrong’, but if they’re in an environment with their peers or whatever, it sounds like someone has taken it from a distance.
“For Latrell, obviously this will have massive consequences. He’s one of the biggest stars in our game… so there will be a lot of eyes on him because of that.
‘My concern now is for Latrell and how he handles the situation, what he will do in the next 24 hours and whether he goes out and takes responsibility for the problem or avoids it. That is the concern of a player because we are all human and we make mistakes.
“I hope Latrell has enough support over the next 24 hours or two weeks, because they won’t leave him alone until they get a story. I’m going to defend Latrell and I hope he’s okay.”