Former NRL stars Mitchell Pearce and Todd Carney have leapt to Latrell Mitchell's defence, with Pearce calling for the NRL to "come down hard" on the individual who took the photo of the Souths star without his permission, then shared it.
The NRL integrity unit is investigating a photograph of the injured fullback leaning over a table with what appears to be a white substance. Mitchell was in the NSW town of Dubbo over the weekend doing community work. There's no suggestion it is an illicit drug.
The photo appears to be taken from a distance without the fullback's knowledge, with The Sydney Morning Herald reporting Mitchell has met with NRL officials and was asked to explain himself. Mitchell's advisor Matt Rose said on Tuesday the star player will address the media soon.
READ MORE: 'Shattered' Dragons star banned for four games
READ MORE: Officials defend Raygun pick amid 'disrespectful' allegation
READ MORE: Aussie Popyrin beats world No.6 to win biggest career title
The photo has sent the NRL and the Rabbitohs into a tailspin, with one of the game's most marketable players in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Speaking on the Half-Time podcast, Pearce admitted Mitchell put himself in an "average position" but the person who took the photo without permission must face repercussions.
"The game needs to find out who these people are and go hard on them. They should name and shame them because these people get away with murder and there's no repercussions," the former Roosters and Knights star said.
Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.
"Poor Latrell will put his hand up and say he's done the wrong thing, but the other person who filmed it needs to be named and shamed and have their photo on the back page.
"It's a horrible feeling right now to be Latrell and to have this stuff surface.
"I feel for him, but at the same time, if he's done this then he's put himself in an average position, hasn't he?
"It's not good for the game and it's not good for Latrell. No one knows what that white substance was, so it's hard to comment on that, but it's not good for the game and it's not good for Souths with the year that they've had."
Pearce and Carney both had their NRL careers impacted when photos or videos were leaked to media without their knowledge.
Carney expressed concern for Mitchell's wellbeing.
"It's a horrible feeling being on the back page at the best of times for anything, but it's just sad to see because while we don't know if he's done the wrong thing or not, it's sad to see the privacy broken again for a sports player," Carney told the podcast.
"People listening will be saying 'they shouldn't have done the wrong thing' but if he's in an environment with his mates or whatever, by the looks of it, someone has taken it from a distance.
"For Latrell, it's obviously going to have massive ramifications on him. He's one of the biggest stars of our game … so there'll be a lot of eyes on him for that.
"My worry is now for Latrell and how he handles it, what he does in the next 24 hours and if he comes out and owns it or shies away from it. That's the concern for a player because we're all human and we make mistakes.
"Hopefully, Latrell has enough support around him over the next 24 hours to two weeks because they won't leave him alone until they get a story. I'm going to stick up for Latrell, and hopefully he's all right."
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga also took aim at the person who snapped the photo without permission, while also acknowledging Mitchell brought "the game into disrepute" for putting himself in that place.
"This fella who has allegedly taken this photo of Latrell with white powder, he's not a mate. He's not a friend, he's a person trying to make money out of this," Meninga told SEN.
"I know that Latrell is not that type of person who uses drugs. Let's be honest, let's make it out straight away. I don't see him as a person who does that sort of stuff …
"For those who stick up for Latrell, we hope he hasn't let us down either, to be honest with you. People of high profile, not just Latrell, this is the society we're living in now. You put yourself in those public situations, you've got to be so careful. So careful."
The NRL has had to deal with players during similar incidents in the past, with players photographed with an unidentified white substance.
Parramatta forward Shaun Lane was fined $17,500 in 2019 following post-season celebrations.
In 2021, Storm trio Cameron Munster, Brandon Smith and Chris Lewis were each suspended for one match and fined a total of $49,000.
And most recently, Valentine Holmes was given a $25,000 fine and a one-match ban in 2023. In Holmes' case, he was the one who posted the photo of himself on social media.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.