South Sydney chairman Nick Pappas has had his say on the latest cyclone of drama engulfing superstar Latrell Mitchell.
As league fans know all-too well this week, Mitchell avoided any official sanction for his profanity-laced post-match interview following Souths’ loss to the Broncos last Thursday.
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The decision has set off an avalanche of commentary, with some applauding it and others saying it screamed of hypocrisy amid suggestions Mitchell is a protected species.
Now Pappas, a lawyer and long-time chairman of the Rabbitohs, has spoken about the drama, conceding Mitchell’s interview “could have been handled better”.
“The club internally is dealing with him appropriately,” Pappas told The Daily Telegraph.
“I am satisfied that the football department and (chief executive) Blake (Solly) are putting the right things in place to give him the support he needs at this time.
“I have every faith in him delivering for this club this season and beyond.
“He always has our support. At the same time it doesn’t mean I don’t believe that moment could have been handled better.
“Absolutely it could have been and I am sure Latrell would say that.”
Mitchell will reportedly be spoken to by NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo on Wednesday evening about his infamous interview.
The fullback dropped a series of F-bombs and then stated “I don’t care if I’m swearing boys, honestly” before the interview was cut short.
Prior to that he had also beamed over his milestone 100th try that occurred in that match.
Journalist Paul Kent teed off on the latest Mitchell saga on Tuesday amid news Triple M has been sanctioned over the superstar’s infamous foul-mouthed interview.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Tuesday that the NRL had blocked Triple M from shooting post-match interviews in a response to complaints from the Rabbitohs and Channel 9.
Triple M has also deleted the interview from its social media pages.
Speaking on Fox League’s NRL 360 show on Tuesday night, Daily Telegraph journalist Kent slammed the inconsistency from NRL headquarters, referencing Spencer Leniu’s eight-week ban for racially abusing Broncos star Ezra Mam.
“I’m just disappointed with the whole woke politics the NRL is carrying on with these days,” Kent said.
“On the one hand you’ve got Spencer Leniu and (NRL chief executive) Andrew Abdo says you need to be mindful of the things we say so we’re going to wack Spencer Leniu.
“Next question (to Abdo), Latrell Mitchell. (He replies) ‘well, we all make mistakes’.
“Come on now. There has to be a consistency in the application of the rules.
“We all get the s**ts on the field when you don’t see consistency, off the field it’s even worse.”
Earlier that day, Abdo made a comment that had ruffled a number of feathers.
“I’ve been the CEO for four seasons and we play a lot of matches,” he said.
“The players talk to the media on huge occasions, so from time to time to get instances where the language used is regrettable is quite isolated in my view.
“We’re encouraging players to be themselves and be authentic and genuine, but I’ll go back to the word I used earlier, with ‘respect’.
“We all make mistakes, and we have to take it in the context of from time to time there will be things said that players regret. I’ve heard Latrell acknowledge the fact that he does regret that, and I will have a chat with him in due course.”
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