Teammates of Latrell Mitchell fear repeated instances of racial abuse will see the NRL superstar walk away from the sport prematurely. Cody Walker and Keaon Koloamatangi were fuming, while Penrith five-eighth Jarome Luai stated: ‘if he’s being attacked, I’ve got his back and he’s got my support.’
Mitchell is under contract with South Sydney until 2027 – but is said to be fed up at being repeatedly targeted by rogue supporters who cross the line, be it on social media or at NRL matches. Rabbitohs fullback Mitchell was allegedly called a ‘black dog’ by a ‘fan’ at Bluebet Stadium on Thursday night, with the 25-year-old and several of his teammates hearing the ugly slur as they walked into the tunnel at halftime during the Panthers clash.
Rabbitohs hooker Damien Cook believes Mitchell might call it quits due to the racist slurs and settle to a life away from the spotlight on his Taree farm, north of Sydney. ‘This is why he might be done at 30….we have a great player who puts bums on seats, everyone wants to see him play, but when you get things like this, and when it comes time to choose the farm or footy, these things come up,’ he said.
‘He’s too strong for that. He’ll get stronger and stronger from this,’ he said. ‘This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen it with Latrell. He understands that’s a part of his life, so as far as I understand I haven’t talked with him about it for a few years – but he understands that. He’ll use it in his way and the right way.’
‘He leads by example for the Indigenous culture and the young kids coming through, it’s an absolute joke this has happened. Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson developed Mitchell into the strike weapon he is today and believes this incident will only steel the Souths star, not drive him away from the game.
‘People don’t like strong Indigenous voices like Latrell. They’d rather he stay quiet and in his box and don’t express it in that way, and that’s how it comes out. That’s unacceptable. It’s really disappointing.
‘Excuse my French, but that’s sh*t. I don’t know why people still do that stuff,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald. ‘It’s disgusting. I feel for him. Latrell is such a pivotal person in our game, but for some reason, people in this world want to be negative.’
‘He’s got his way of expressing himself, and that’s cool, but we’re still not at a point where we’re happy to accept really strong Indigenous voices in this country.’ Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary who plays alongside Mitchell for NSW and Australia labelled the alleged racial slur from the supporter ‘ridiculous.’
It also isn’t the first time Mitchell has been subjected to vile personal attacks due to his Indigenous heritage. In April 2021, two men were charged for sending Mitchell racially abusive messages on social media.
Mitchell’s coach Jason Demetriou was seething in the post game press conference – and it had nothing to do with the 16-10 defeat at the hands of the premiers. ‘This is not something Latrell just cops on the footy field, this is something he’s had to deal with his whole life. All Indigenous people do,’ he said.
‘No room for racism in our game period! Especially at our home ground. We need to learn to embrace each other’s cultures,’ Fisher Harris posted. ‘Got nothing good to say? Then shutup. Your [sic] watching on the sideline for a reason,’ Luai posted.
