- Spencer Leniu claims he didn’t realize the “monkey” rant was racist
- The Roosters star faced NRL hearing over a remark directed at Ezra Mam
- The NRL called for the forward to serve an eight-match ban
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Spencer Leniu has claimed he did not realize his “monkey” remark 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 find out his fate after he told the Brisbane star to ‘(shut the hell up, monkey)’ during the Roosters’ win over the Broncos in Las Vegas. He has pleaded guilty to the charge.
Leniue has since received an eight-game suspension.
Mam gave a 12-paragraph statement to the hearing, but was happy that only four paragraphs were read out, while the other eight were kept confidential.
He said he was ‘seeing red’ and was ‘so angry’ after he handled the foul from Leniu in the second half. Mam admitted: ‘My mind was no longer focused on the game.’
Spencer Leniu has claimed he didn’t know his “monkey” remark was racist
The Roosters star admitted calling Ezra Mam a ‘monkey’ in Las Vegas
Leniu confirmed that he told Mam to ‘(shut up, monkey)’ and was extremely upset by the remark. He was also criticized for telling Triple M after the match that it was all ‘fun and games’, insisting: ‘I thought it was a brown man sledging another brown man.’
The Roosters star claimed he only found out the taunt was offensive when he was informed by an Aboriginal woman about 6.30am the next morning on Instagram.
Leniu added that it is not uncommon for his peers with the same skin color to call each other ‘black’ and ‘black ****’. He also claimed that he has been called ‘monkey’ and ‘coconut’ but was never punched.
Such was his disgust at his own actions, Leniu offered to fly to Brisbane to personally apologize to Mam, but the offer was declined.
“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 match
Asked by the NRL adviser 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 that calling someone a monkey could be racist,” the NRL adviser said.
More to follow.