- Wayne Bennett mocked the NRL as a racist sport
- He believes the hysteria around Spencer Leniu must end
- Labeled many current NRL players ‘drama queens’
NRL super coach Wayne Bennett has raised eyebrows by labeling many current players ‘drama queens’ after they publicly weighed in on the conversation surrounding Spencer Leniu’s racial attack on Ezra Mam.
Bennett, 74, has coached some of the code’s top Indigenous athletes, including Mitchell when he was in charge at South Sydney between 2019 and 2021, as well as former Broncos manager Steve Renouf in the early 1990s. .
He has also supported players such as Renouf, Mitchell and Wendell Sailor when they were previously racially attacked by rival players or fans.
The seven-time premiership-winning mentor remains adamant rugby league is not a racist code and called for calm after Leniu quickly became public enemy number one following his on-field insult in Las Vegas.
Leniu has since pleaded guilty to calling Man a “monkey” and expressed his disappointment for causing “distress” to the Broncos’ young gun.
NRL super coach Wayne Bennett has raised eyebrows by labeling some current players ‘drama queens’
It comes after Indigenous star Latrell Mitchell called for Roosters prop Spencer Leniu to be suspended for at least 12 weeks following his racist insult directed at Ezra Mam.
The Roosters prop will face a court hearing on March 12 and is expected to be sidelined for at least three weeks, if not half the season.
Speaking ahead of Leniu’s development, Bennett said common sense, not hysteria, was key.
‘The game doesn’t have to take a firm stance on this. The game has always taken a stance on racism. “It is foolish to think otherwise,” he said.
“We do not tolerate racism in our game…all drama queens should stay out of the discussion.”
Bennett also stated that he believes that the sentence imposed on Leniu does not have to be “exaggerated”, since “many people ask for his blood.”
“We’ve all been guilty of saying something stupid in our lives,” he said. ‘He (Leniu) cannot take it back.
“Of course you feel for the players who suffer racial abuse, it hurts them.
“I’ve had guys like Steve Renouf, Wendell Sailor and Sam Thaiday, great indigenous players that I coached, and they took their share.”
“They will always remember their insults, but we protected and supported them as much as we could.”
Roosters prop Spencer Leniu (right) pleaded guilty to calling Man a “monkey” and expressed his disappointment for causing the Broncos center “distress.”
Mitchell has called for Leniu to be given an extended suspension of up to 12 weeks, and proud Indigenous and South Sydney teammate Cody Walker is on the same page.
After the game against the Roosters in Sin City last Sunday AEDT, Broncos coach Kevin Walters said Mum was visibly emotional in the sheds.
“He’s pretty upset but we’ll leave it to the NRL to watch and decide,” he said.
‘We support Ezra and our player in everything related to that. It is inflexible. We’ll leave that to the NRL. They are looking at it.
“We don’t accept that at our club, of course. It’s not our doing. We won’t take any more questions about it, except that we support Ezra in every way. “We respect the NRL and they will deal with it.
Tensions then rose at the team hotel just hours after the game, with the two NRL clubs staying on the same floor of the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas.
An excited Leniu reunited with Mam and Broncos teammates Pat Carrigan and Kotoni Staggs and reportedly went on a rant in the fifth-eighth about the serious on-field accusation he had made hours earlier.
NRL officials were then reportedly forced to keep both teams’ stars separate. after being booked on the same flight from Las Vegas.
