Roosters forward Spencer Leniu has been charged by the NRL after being accused of hitting Broncos star Ezra Mam with a shocking racial slur during the teams’ match in Las Vegas on Sunday. The NRL’s match review committee has charged the 23-year-old with contrary conduct after Mam alleged he called him a ‘monkey’. In a worrying sign for Leniu, there is no grading on the charge, meaning he will have to attend a judicial hearing where the Broncos will be able to table evidence against him, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The news comes after Leniu was involved in a confrontation with Broncos players including Kotoni Staggs in the Vegas hotel the two teams were staying in. A Roosters star secretly apologised to Mam after the alleged incident and two more Broncos players have said they heard the slur, the publication reported.
Players exchanged words as they passed each other at the Hilton at Resorts World in Las Vegas after arriving back from the game. Witnesses said there was no threat of a physical altercation, and Leniu was ushered down the corridor by club staff as words were exchanged. Leniu first clashed with Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs before Patrick Carrigan and Mam came out of a team room to see what was happening, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
When pressed further on whether he was worried about the potential fallout, Leniu replied: ‘Not worried at all’. Indigenous South Sydney half Cody Walker called out Leniu on social media, sharing the image of that interview with the caption: ‘Fun and games they reckon gammin’.
Following the match, Leniu offered a bizarre response when asked about the racial slur on the field. ‘I think it’s all fun and games when we’re on the field. That’s it,’ he said. Gammin or gammon is an Aboriginal word that means fake, cheap or broken. Mam’s superstar teammate Reece Walsh also supported the half following the incident, posting: ‘Got you always my brother’.
