NRL great Lote Tuqiri has accused Roosters coach Trent Robinson of “gaslighting” Ezra Mam after the Broncos youngster made a complaint of racial abuse.
Robinson raised eyebrows with his response to Mam accusing Roosters prop Spencer Leniu of racially abusing him during the side’s clash on Sunday.
Robinson was told Mam was “adamant” he’d been racially abused, which prompted a peculiar response from the Roosters coach.
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“So Ezra is adamant… that doesn’t mean it’s right. He obviously made the complaint but that doesn’t mean that it’s right, it will go through the formal process as it should,” Robinson said.
Leniu has since been charged by the NRL and sent straight to the judiciary where he’ll likely face a lengthy suspension for allegedly calling Mam “a monkey”.
Mam has received widespread support while Leniu’s alleged slur has been condemned but Tuqiri saved most of his criticism for Robinson.
“If a player says he’s been racially vilified on a footy field, it’s happened!!,” Tuqiri tweeted.
‘That doesn’t mean that it’s right…’ | 14:16
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“You can mask it and say it’s in the heat of the battle, etc etc. But I don’t get how Trent Robinson sits in a post match press conference and accuses Ezra of not being right
“(The ‘doesn’t mean it’s right’ comment) is some sort of gaslighting rubbish I didn’t think would come out of Trent Robinson’s mouth.
“Especially after the great way he handled Latrell’s abuse from his own fans last year.
“I’m behind Ezra all the way calling this stuff out.”
Ref mic the moment Mam makes complaint | 00:26
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