- Panthers doco shows Jarome Luai’s version of the story
- Reveals how the family dealt with social media abuse
- His fiancee says protecting children from abuse is her priority
Penrith five-eighth Jarome Luai will reveal the shocking toll social media abuse has taken on his family in a new documentary series about the Panthers’ premiership.
Luai played a key role in the Panthers’ three premiership wins and has been a New South Wales mainstay since making his State of Origin debut.
The Samoa international has also been described as “the NRL’s most polarizing player” after incidents on and off the field over the past few years.
A new documentary, premiering on 9Now on Friday, called ‘Undisputed’, reveals how Luai and his family have faced abuse from football fans.
“I’m glad our kids can’t read,” said Luai’s fiancée, Bailey Paris Toleafoa.
Panthers star Jarome Luai is one of the NRL’s most polarizing characters
A new documentary series presents his side of the story and reveals the shocking abuse the Panthers playmaker has received from angry football fans over the years.
‘Some things people just shouldn’t say. The main thing is to protect our children from seeing those things.
“The Romey you see outside is energetic, talks a lot and all that, but he comes home and is completely different.”
Luai received a huge reaction from fans after his message to angry fans following his team’s horror defeat in the second Origin game last year.
He wrote on Instagram ‘Chill all you idiots have work tomorrow morning’ accompanied by several emojis of tears of joy with rapper Tupac Shakur’s song ‘Me Against The World’ playing in the background.
Luai reflected on the post during the docuseries and said he has no regrets about what he did.
“Everyone got mad at that post, but for me it was a laugh,” he said.
“It’s still fun for me and I don’t really regret it. There are a lot of people who can give it but not take it. I don’t know how offensive that post was, but it was directed at people who know who they were and knew what they wrote.
‘I don’t know how many messages there were that night. She reached 999, then (Instagram) puts a limit on her. After that she doesn’t go up anymore.
Luai’s fiancée, Bailey Paris Toleafoa, said she’s glad her children won’t be able to read about the abuse.
‘All the messages are bad: racism, that’s all you can think of. I’m glad it’s me. It could be one of the youngsters in the club who doesn’t have the same stamina or strength.
‘They (the family) were the ones who always told me how angry they were about (the abuse). I try to teach them that I can also use it as motivation.
‘I don’t want the emotions of rugby league to come back and affect my family; I want to make sure they never see me frustrated; It’s about leaving football out.’
The three-time premiership winner will join the Tigers at the end of the 2024 season.