Benji Marshall involved in late-night incident
- Thread starter tigh
- Start date
Frazer4Wests
New member
Benji did nothing wrong he was signing autographs and posing for photos then these 8+ fools abused him, not once, not twice but three times.
I say, good on you Benji.
I'm happy you punched his lights out.
I'm on Benji's side of the fence, Politically correct or not Benji did the Australia thing.
Benji your are a legend in my book stuff the Political correct thing to do!
I say, good on you Benji.
I'm happy you punched his lights out.
I'm on Benji's side of the fence, Politically correct or not Benji did the Australia thing.
Benji your are a legend in my book stuff the Political correct thing to do!
@tiger05 said:
I do agree he has been a great role model and sure he will in the future and I do support him its just he has let himself and the club down. Its just the worse possible timing. He should of walked away but I know that easy to say now. I cant see Benji punching someone because they said another player is better then him. What I struggle to understand why the police believe their wasnt any racial slur. Surely Benji would be trusted by police more then a drunken idiot
@supercoach said:
He's got a split lip not a broken jaw. It's hardly punch of the year. You could get a split lip from a ring just from pushing someone.
Newy_Tiger
New member
Im supporting Benji 100% on this,the timing of the matter could not be worse though…... However i think as a team we need to just focus on the game and not let this distract us.
Taking a stand against racism John Passant
March 7, 2011 - 11:58AM
Comments 39
.
Benji Marshall is a rugby league superstar. He was the face of rugby league at its season launch this week.
On Friday night, after a charity event that raised $250,000 for children with cancer, Marshall and his girlfriend went out and at 3am were at a fast food outlet.
Marshall's manager Martin Tauber told Sunday newspapers that the Tigers' five-eighth had been racially abused by a group of eight to 10 people, with one of them allegedly calling him a "black c–-" several times.
Another started to shout at him and said: "Go back to New Zealand you black c---", Tauber said.
He (Marshall) tried to walk away from him — he tried to make light of it and then the guy did it again. So Marshall allegedly hit him and has now been charged with assault.
Australian capitalism is built on two forms of racism – racism against the original inhabitants and racism against non-whites coming to the country whether as migrants or refugees.
The crimson thread of racism runs through our body politic and major sections of society even today.
Last year rugby league player Timana Tahu quit the NSW State of Origin team to take a stand against racism in rugby league. Andrew Johns, an assistant coach, had called him a "black c---".
Tahu said at the time: "Leaving Origin was a really big decision for me and I'd like to clarify that it was not just one racial comment directed at one individual that offended me.
"The remarks were directed at various races and the situation I encountered was totally unacceptable.
"I believe I am a role model for children and I did this to show my kids this type of behaviour is wrong.
"This isn't about me or Andrew Johns, it's about arresting racism and standing up for my beliefs."
Tahu was battling against racism in rugby league. On Saturday morning Benji Marshall took a stand against racism in society.
The racial abuse Marshall allegedly suffered is just one small part of what blacks in Australia suffer every day. Just ask the 30 per cent of players who are of Pacific Islander descent and the 11 per cent who are indigenous about the racism they suffered and suffer.
But it is not just verbal abuse. In the Northern Territory the Labor government's intervention is destroying more and more Aboriginal lives.
Aborigines continue to die or be killed in police custody. They die on average about 20 years earlier than the rest of the Australian population.The racism is institutionalised and endemic.
Benji Marshall took a swipe at racism. He is a hero, not a criminal.
We must support him and help build the forces of anti-racism in this country first to challenge the racism in Australian society and then the capitalist system that breeds it.
March 7, 2011 - 11:58AM
Comments 39
.
Benji Marshall is a rugby league superstar. He was the face of rugby league at its season launch this week.
On Friday night, after a charity event that raised $250,000 for children with cancer, Marshall and his girlfriend went out and at 3am were at a fast food outlet.
Marshall's manager Martin Tauber told Sunday newspapers that the Tigers' five-eighth had been racially abused by a group of eight to 10 people, with one of them allegedly calling him a "black c–-" several times.
Another started to shout at him and said: "Go back to New Zealand you black c---", Tauber said.
He (Marshall) tried to walk away from him — he tried to make light of it and then the guy did it again. So Marshall allegedly hit him and has now been charged with assault.
Australian capitalism is built on two forms of racism – racism against the original inhabitants and racism against non-whites coming to the country whether as migrants or refugees.
The crimson thread of racism runs through our body politic and major sections of society even today.
Last year rugby league player Timana Tahu quit the NSW State of Origin team to take a stand against racism in rugby league. Andrew Johns, an assistant coach, had called him a "black c---".
Tahu said at the time: "Leaving Origin was a really big decision for me and I'd like to clarify that it was not just one racial comment directed at one individual that offended me.
"The remarks were directed at various races and the situation I encountered was totally unacceptable.
"I believe I am a role model for children and I did this to show my kids this type of behaviour is wrong.
"This isn't about me or Andrew Johns, it's about arresting racism and standing up for my beliefs."
Tahu was battling against racism in rugby league. On Saturday morning Benji Marshall took a stand against racism in society.
The racial abuse Marshall allegedly suffered is just one small part of what blacks in Australia suffer every day. Just ask the 30 per cent of players who are of Pacific Islander descent and the 11 per cent who are indigenous about the racism they suffered and suffer.
But it is not just verbal abuse. In the Northern Territory the Labor government's intervention is destroying more and more Aboriginal lives.
Aborigines continue to die or be killed in police custody. They die on average about 20 years earlier than the rest of the Australian population.The racism is institutionalised and endemic.
Benji Marshall took a swipe at racism. He is a hero, not a criminal.
We must support him and help build the forces of anti-racism in this country first to challenge the racism in Australian society and then the capitalist system that breeds it.
redemption
New member
@tiger05 said:
… and if he was the subject of a king-hit from behind while walking he would have done the right thing?????
Do you live in reality mate?????
You are already judging it as a "mistake" without knowing the full facts - while supporters are saying he is entitled to stick up for & protect himself!!!!
Self-protection does not include giving someone else a potential free-shot!!!
hammertime
Well-known member
@tiger05 said:
Call me stupid, but I honestly think the racist comments and actions from that douchebag are far worse than the reaction.
One doesn't happen without the other. It depends on the level of the reaction. A split lip is hardly something to cry about. Benji didn't deck him, didn't king hit him, did no more damage that the fool would probably inflict on himself.
redemption
New member
@Red Rugby said:
I find it ridiculous that this is being in any way compared to a king-hit on Hookes by a giant!
(Although I note you refer to it in support of Benji RR!!!)
Benji has never thrown his weight around & deserves far more respect & benefit of doubt than many are affording him on this forum!!!
There is a fair bit of pro-benji media today:
Benji Marshall is a rugby league superstar. He was the face of rugby league at its season launch this week.
>
On Friday night, after a charity event that raised $250,000 for children with cancer, Marshall and his girlfriend went out and at 3am were at a fast food outlet.
>
Marshall's manager Martin Tauber told Sunday newspapers that the Tigers' five-eighth had been racially abused by a group of eight to 10 people, with one of them allegedly calling him a "black c–-" several times.
Advertisement: Story continues below
>
Another started to shout at him and said: "Go back to New Zealand you black c---", Tauber said.
>
He (Marshall) tried to walk away from him — he tried to make light of it and then the guy did it again. So Marshall allegedly hit him and has now been charged with assault.
>
Australian capitalism is built on two forms of racism – racism against the original inhabitants and racism against non-whites coming to the country whether as migrants or refugees.
>
The crimson thread of racism runs through our body politic and major sections of society even today.
>
Last year rugby league player Timana Tahu quit the NSW State of Origin team to take a stand against racism in rugby league. Andrew Johns, an assistant coach, had called him a "black c---".
>
Tahu said at the time: "Leaving Origin was a really big decision for me and I'd like to clarify that it was not just one racial comment directed at one individual that offended me.
>
"The remarks were directed at various races and the situation I encountered was totally unacceptable.
>
"I believe I am a role model for children and I did this to show my kids this type of behaviour is wrong.
>
"This isn't about me or Andrew Johns, it's about arresting racism and standing up for my beliefs."
>
Tahu was battling against racism in rugby league. On Saturday morning Benji Marshall took a stand against racism in society.
>
The racial abuse Marshall allegedly suffered is just one small part of what blacks in Australia suffer every day. Just ask the 30 per cent of players who are of Pacific Islander descent and the 11 per cent who are indigenous about the racism they suffered and suffer.
>
But it is not just verbal abuse. In the Northern Territory the Labor government's intervention is destroying more and more Aboriginal lives.
>
Aborigines continue to die or be killed in police custody. They die on average about 20 years earlier than the rest of the Australian population.The racism is institutionalised and endemic.
>
Benji Marshall took a swipe at racism. He is a hero, not a criminal.
>
We must support him and help build the forces of anti-racism in this country first to challenge the racism in Australian society and then the capitalist system that breeds it.
the Punch
Benji Marshall. Hero. Gentleman. Good guy
Anthony Sharwood
>
07 Mar 01:30pm
>
On school visits, Benji Marshall has a fun and disarming way of introducing himself. He says “my name is Benjamin Quentin Marshall” as the kids look on with bemusement. Marshall will no doubt introduce himself with similar formality, minus the cheeky grin, when he fronts court on assault charges on April 20\. But regardless of what happens that day, I’d still invite him to my kids’ school.
>
Marshall, who launched the 2011 NRL season last week, was allegedly racially taunted in the most vulgar possible way on Saturday night. This, after he’d MC’d a charity function for the Children’s Cancer Institute which raised $244,000, then stayed out in town for a few drinks, and a fateful 3am burger, which all made sense as he had a room booked in town.
>
Obviously, The Punch wasn’t there. But let me say this: in five years at Australia’s biggest sporting magazine Alpha, I met numerous topline footballers in all codes. And Benji Marshall was right at the top of the list of the players who struck me as intelligent, wholesome, and thoroughly unlikely to turn feral without the severest provocation.
>
A disclosure: I am a fan of Marshall’s NRL club, the Wests Tigers. But it wouldn’t matter if I hated the Tigers as much as I hate cowards who taunt people with racial epithets. Because in my opinion, Marshall is not just officially the world’s best rugby league player, he’s the game’s best bloke too.
>
Rugby league, plagued as it is by serial idiots, needs figures like Benji. His life story is the classic rise from Struggletown to fame which rugby league prides itself on. That, as much as his success, is why the NRL picked him for the season launch.
>
Brought up by his mother Lydia, who was 15 when she had Benji, the young kid would play football in Whakatane, NZ, with a large group of uncles and cousins who served jointly as father figures but showed him absolutely no mercy whatsoever on the football field. In this tough school, he learned toughness and resolve. He also learned to dance around big dudes with the trademark snappy footwork that would go on to revolutionise the NRL.
>
If you’re an AFL follower who’s never watched league, or entertained the thought it might be entertaining, click this link from 2005\. Or this supremely famous and decisive moment from the 2005 Grand final. Now try this cracker from 2009\. Or this, to the Penbo/Ant corner of Leichhardt. Yes, even the editor-in-chief of this website David Penberthy, an avowed Adelaide Crows fan, has travelled to worship at the altar of Benji.
>
None of which, I say again, is to prejudge Marshall for what happened on Saturday night. But it’s to paint a picture of man who plays the game of football as cleanly and exuberantly as I believe he plays the game of life. A man whom I believe would only lash out under extreme circumstances.
>
Twice before, in 2006 and then in 2008, Marshall was involved in incidents in Sydney nightclubs. Both times, the strong suggestion is that he was “baited”. Again, details are lacking from the nights in question, but in general, the formula can be simple enough.
>
Deliberately spill a footy player’s drink, or spill your own and accuse the player of having done it, shove a little, push a little, and see what happens. Who knows? The player may bite, and whammo! You’ve got incriminating camera phone footage you can sell.
>
On those occasions, Marshall did his best to get out of harm’s way. But whatever happened on Saturday night seemingly pushed him to do the opposite
>
Like all people, Marshall has a breaking point. Funnily enough, I saw it early last year at the media conference when he announced his long term deal to stay with the Tigers until 2015.
>
A young female reporter asked Benji if he thought he a five year deal was a risk for the club given his recurring injury problems. Marshall had indeed had numerous shoulder operations back in 2006 and ’07\. But he’d been on the paddock for almost the entirety of the previous two seasons (and would go on to play every match in 2010), and the question visibly angered him. He didn’t lash out verbally, but clearly, he’d reached the end of his patience.
>
People who live almost their entire lives in the spotlight have a right to reach the point where they switch off the charm. Whether they have the right to start swinging is, as mentioned several times, a matter for the judicial system.
>
As this story goes to print, the Tigers are submitting a report to the NRL on this weekend’s incident. At the very least, you’d hope the game’s ruling body clears him to play his club’s first game this Monday night. After all, the bloke who’s just recorded his 3rd DUI has got the green light.
Benji Marshall is a rugby league superstar. He was the face of rugby league at its season launch this week.
>
On Friday night, after a charity event that raised $250,000 for children with cancer, Marshall and his girlfriend went out and at 3am were at a fast food outlet.
>
Marshall's manager Martin Tauber told Sunday newspapers that the Tigers' five-eighth had been racially abused by a group of eight to 10 people, with one of them allegedly calling him a "black c–-" several times.
Advertisement: Story continues below
>
Another started to shout at him and said: "Go back to New Zealand you black c---", Tauber said.
>
He (Marshall) tried to walk away from him — he tried to make light of it and then the guy did it again. So Marshall allegedly hit him and has now been charged with assault.
>
Australian capitalism is built on two forms of racism – racism against the original inhabitants and racism against non-whites coming to the country whether as migrants or refugees.
>
The crimson thread of racism runs through our body politic and major sections of society even today.
>
Last year rugby league player Timana Tahu quit the NSW State of Origin team to take a stand against racism in rugby league. Andrew Johns, an assistant coach, had called him a "black c---".
>
Tahu said at the time: "Leaving Origin was a really big decision for me and I'd like to clarify that it was not just one racial comment directed at one individual that offended me.
>
"The remarks were directed at various races and the situation I encountered was totally unacceptable.
>
"I believe I am a role model for children and I did this to show my kids this type of behaviour is wrong.
>
"This isn't about me or Andrew Johns, it's about arresting racism and standing up for my beliefs."
>
Tahu was battling against racism in rugby league. On Saturday morning Benji Marshall took a stand against racism in society.
>
The racial abuse Marshall allegedly suffered is just one small part of what blacks in Australia suffer every day. Just ask the 30 per cent of players who are of Pacific Islander descent and the 11 per cent who are indigenous about the racism they suffered and suffer.
>
But it is not just verbal abuse. In the Northern Territory the Labor government's intervention is destroying more and more Aboriginal lives.
>
Aborigines continue to die or be killed in police custody. They die on average about 20 years earlier than the rest of the Australian population.The racism is institutionalised and endemic.
>
Benji Marshall took a swipe at racism. He is a hero, not a criminal.
>
We must support him and help build the forces of anti-racism in this country first to challenge the racism in Australian society and then the capitalist system that breeds it.
the Punch
Benji Marshall. Hero. Gentleman. Good guy
Anthony Sharwood
>
07 Mar 01:30pm
>
On school visits, Benji Marshall has a fun and disarming way of introducing himself. He says “my name is Benjamin Quentin Marshall” as the kids look on with bemusement. Marshall will no doubt introduce himself with similar formality, minus the cheeky grin, when he fronts court on assault charges on April 20\. But regardless of what happens that day, I’d still invite him to my kids’ school.
>
Marshall, who launched the 2011 NRL season last week, was allegedly racially taunted in the most vulgar possible way on Saturday night. This, after he’d MC’d a charity function for the Children’s Cancer Institute which raised $244,000, then stayed out in town for a few drinks, and a fateful 3am burger, which all made sense as he had a room booked in town.
>
Obviously, The Punch wasn’t there. But let me say this: in five years at Australia’s biggest sporting magazine Alpha, I met numerous topline footballers in all codes. And Benji Marshall was right at the top of the list of the players who struck me as intelligent, wholesome, and thoroughly unlikely to turn feral without the severest provocation.
>
A disclosure: I am a fan of Marshall’s NRL club, the Wests Tigers. But it wouldn’t matter if I hated the Tigers as much as I hate cowards who taunt people with racial epithets. Because in my opinion, Marshall is not just officially the world’s best rugby league player, he’s the game’s best bloke too.
>
Rugby league, plagued as it is by serial idiots, needs figures like Benji. His life story is the classic rise from Struggletown to fame which rugby league prides itself on. That, as much as his success, is why the NRL picked him for the season launch.
>
Brought up by his mother Lydia, who was 15 when she had Benji, the young kid would play football in Whakatane, NZ, with a large group of uncles and cousins who served jointly as father figures but showed him absolutely no mercy whatsoever on the football field. In this tough school, he learned toughness and resolve. He also learned to dance around big dudes with the trademark snappy footwork that would go on to revolutionise the NRL.
>
If you’re an AFL follower who’s never watched league, or entertained the thought it might be entertaining, click this link from 2005\. Or this supremely famous and decisive moment from the 2005 Grand final. Now try this cracker from 2009\. Or this, to the Penbo/Ant corner of Leichhardt. Yes, even the editor-in-chief of this website David Penberthy, an avowed Adelaide Crows fan, has travelled to worship at the altar of Benji.
>
None of which, I say again, is to prejudge Marshall for what happened on Saturday night. But it’s to paint a picture of man who plays the game of football as cleanly and exuberantly as I believe he plays the game of life. A man whom I believe would only lash out under extreme circumstances.
>
Twice before, in 2006 and then in 2008, Marshall was involved in incidents in Sydney nightclubs. Both times, the strong suggestion is that he was “baited”. Again, details are lacking from the nights in question, but in general, the formula can be simple enough.
>
Deliberately spill a footy player’s drink, or spill your own and accuse the player of having done it, shove a little, push a little, and see what happens. Who knows? The player may bite, and whammo! You’ve got incriminating camera phone footage you can sell.
>
On those occasions, Marshall did his best to get out of harm’s way. But whatever happened on Saturday night seemingly pushed him to do the opposite
>
Like all people, Marshall has a breaking point. Funnily enough, I saw it early last year at the media conference when he announced his long term deal to stay with the Tigers until 2015.
>
A young female reporter asked Benji if he thought he a five year deal was a risk for the club given his recurring injury problems. Marshall had indeed had numerous shoulder operations back in 2006 and ’07\. But he’d been on the paddock for almost the entirety of the previous two seasons (and would go on to play every match in 2010), and the question visibly angered him. He didn’t lash out verbally, but clearly, he’d reached the end of his patience.
>
People who live almost their entire lives in the spotlight have a right to reach the point where they switch off the charm. Whether they have the right to start swinging is, as mentioned several times, a matter for the judicial system.
>
As this story goes to print, the Tigers are submitting a report to the NRL on this weekend’s incident. At the very least, you’d hope the game’s ruling body clears him to play his club’s first game this Monday night. After all, the bloke who’s just recorded his 3rd DUI has got the green light.
it's not often that the bulk of the media come out and support a player in these kinds of situations. On top of that, it's not often that editorials write a massive character reference like that.
Wow!
hopefully the dropkick douche-bag 24 year-old drops the charges today
Wow!
hopefully the dropkick douche-bag 24 year-old drops the charges today
@redemption said:
If he was hit and was defending himself I have no problems with his actions however that does not appear to be what happened.
I am judging it as a mistake because he hit someone. I think that if he had his time over he would try to avoid the situation. He is on assault charges - is that a good thing ? I think a lot of posters aren't really getting it.
hybrid_tiger
Well-known member
NRL to comment in 10 minutes.
@redemption said:
Anyone that has ever encountered a drunken heckler knows that they are aggressive, persistent and completely unreasonable. If he has pursued him for that single purpose, he rightly deserved a quick jab in the face. It's a pathetic state of affairs when someone has just finished raising over a quarter of a million dollars for sick children can't grab a bite to eat (irrespective of the time,) without being harassed to the point where the victim feels their only way out is to get physical. It's instinctive, if you corner most animals they will often attack in order to defend themselves.
As I said earlier, the only thing I hope comes of this is that Benji exercises a bit thought about frequenting areas where there will be drunken & drugged up fools ready to try and take him on for their 15 seconds of fame.
If this happened outside the Lidcombe Hotel in the 70's everyone would be 100% the player.
redemption
New member
@tiger05 said:
Mate - we all have our own opinions - which are largely based on our own personal experiences/beliefs!
Sorry to dismiss yours as I did - and I have no doubt your intentions are sound - but I am just seeking benefit of the doubt for a bloke who over 8 years has earned it!!!
The term "out of character" is often abused - but in this case it is 100% correct - and given the incident came after he gave more of his time to charity - he deserves all the support we can give him!!!
redemption
New member
Gallop just started speaking…......
No evidence of any other misconduct that night ....
The club & NRL not in a position to take action until court makes a determination....
NO SANCTIONS!!!!!
If assault proven the club will be expected to take strong action - if not - the NRL will step in....
No suggestion of alcohol abuse.....
\
\
\
WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!
No evidence of any other misconduct that night ....
The club & NRL not in a position to take action until court makes a determination....
NO SANCTIONS!!!!!
If assault proven the club will be expected to take strong action - if not - the NRL will step in....
No suggestion of alcohol abuse.....
\
\
\
WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!
hybrid_tiger
Well-known member
Not sanctioned, no other misconduct apart from the assault charge. No action taken by the club. Matter for the courts only.
Phew!
Phew!
NRL Statement regarding Benji Marshall
NRL. Mon, Mar 07, 2011 - 3:44 PM
\
\
The National Rugby League has today received a report from Wests Tigers into the circumstances leading to an assault charge being laid against Benji Marshall yesterday.
The report indicates that after the player had conducted himself in an exemplary manner throughout the evening there was an allegation of an assault.
No other allegation of irresponsible behaviour or alcohol abuse has been suggested.
The NRL has also initiated its own inquiries into the matter and these will continue. To date, they support the Wests Tigers’ findings. The NRL reserves the right to consider and act on any further information that may arise.
NRL Chief Executive, Mr David Gallop, said today that the assault allegation remained a serious one and that given the circumstances it was likely to result in further significant action from the club or the NRL if proven.
The NRL does not at this stage have any evidence of misconduct on the part of Mr Marshall other than in relation to the matters that are the subject of the police charge and which appear to be in considerable dispute between the parties.
In the absence of any such evidence of misconduct, other than the police charge, the NRL is not in a position to take action against Mr Marshall at this stage.
“The only issue that would seem capable of attracting any penalty from the NRL in this matter is the one that will be determined in court,” Mr Gallop said.
“It may well be that Benji can successfully defend the allegation and he is entitled to that opportunity.
“Both he and the Wests Tigers, though, need to be aware that the seriousness of this matter and the importance of the week will dictate the need for strong action if he is unsuccessful in defending the charge.”
The NRL Board, through its most senior ARL and News Limited representatives, today made it clear that they did not wish to examine the matter at Board level at this stage.
The NRL has established clear precedents in relation to matters that are subject to determination by the courts.
In the case of matters where the events relating to a player being charged are in dispute and need to be determined by the court, and where there are no other allegations of serious misconduct, the NRL will await the court’s findings. Examples of this include Sandor Earl and Jake Friend, who faced an assault charge in 2009, and Anthony Laffranchi, who faced serious charges in 2006\. Each was found not guilty and no further action was taken.
In the case of matters where the NRL finds a player’s behaviour has breached the NRL or the club’s code of conduct prior to him being charged, particularly in relation to alcohol abuse, the NRL reserves the right to act in regard to those matters that are not subject to dispute in the court. In the Brett Stewart case, the NRL publicly stated that it was suspending the player over conduct earlier in the evening and that it made no judgment in relation to the charge which was later to result in a ‘not guilty’ verdict. The jury made no finding in relation to events other than the sexual assault allegations.
In the case of an incident where a player is charged but where there are clearly established facts that breach the NRL or the club’s code of conduct, clubs and the NRL reserve the right to act without awaiting the determination of a court. This may or may not require further investigation depending on the severity of the matter and the complexity of its circumstance. Todd Carney’s recent penalty for driving with a low range ‘Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol’ would be such an example.
In all cases the NRL gives the club, as the player’s employer, the opportunity to examine all aspects of a matter and to impose any initial sanction.
The NRL will intervene where it believes the club has not acted appropriately and impose further sanction against the player or the club
NRL. Mon, Mar 07, 2011 - 3:44 PM
\
\
The National Rugby League has today received a report from Wests Tigers into the circumstances leading to an assault charge being laid against Benji Marshall yesterday.
The report indicates that after the player had conducted himself in an exemplary manner throughout the evening there was an allegation of an assault.
No other allegation of irresponsible behaviour or alcohol abuse has been suggested.
The NRL has also initiated its own inquiries into the matter and these will continue. To date, they support the Wests Tigers’ findings. The NRL reserves the right to consider and act on any further information that may arise.
NRL Chief Executive, Mr David Gallop, said today that the assault allegation remained a serious one and that given the circumstances it was likely to result in further significant action from the club or the NRL if proven.
The NRL does not at this stage have any evidence of misconduct on the part of Mr Marshall other than in relation to the matters that are the subject of the police charge and which appear to be in considerable dispute between the parties.
In the absence of any such evidence of misconduct, other than the police charge, the NRL is not in a position to take action against Mr Marshall at this stage.
“The only issue that would seem capable of attracting any penalty from the NRL in this matter is the one that will be determined in court,” Mr Gallop said.
“It may well be that Benji can successfully defend the allegation and he is entitled to that opportunity.
“Both he and the Wests Tigers, though, need to be aware that the seriousness of this matter and the importance of the week will dictate the need for strong action if he is unsuccessful in defending the charge.”
The NRL Board, through its most senior ARL and News Limited representatives, today made it clear that they did not wish to examine the matter at Board level at this stage.
The NRL has established clear precedents in relation to matters that are subject to determination by the courts.
In the case of matters where the events relating to a player being charged are in dispute and need to be determined by the court, and where there are no other allegations of serious misconduct, the NRL will await the court’s findings. Examples of this include Sandor Earl and Jake Friend, who faced an assault charge in 2009, and Anthony Laffranchi, who faced serious charges in 2006\. Each was found not guilty and no further action was taken.
In the case of matters where the NRL finds a player’s behaviour has breached the NRL or the club’s code of conduct prior to him being charged, particularly in relation to alcohol abuse, the NRL reserves the right to act in regard to those matters that are not subject to dispute in the court. In the Brett Stewart case, the NRL publicly stated that it was suspending the player over conduct earlier in the evening and that it made no judgment in relation to the charge which was later to result in a ‘not guilty’ verdict. The jury made no finding in relation to events other than the sexual assault allegations.
In the case of an incident where a player is charged but where there are clearly established facts that breach the NRL or the club’s code of conduct, clubs and the NRL reserve the right to act without awaiting the determination of a court. This may or may not require further investigation depending on the severity of the matter and the complexity of its circumstance. Todd Carney’s recent penalty for driving with a low range ‘Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol’ would be such an example.
In all cases the NRL gives the club, as the player’s employer, the opportunity to examine all aspects of a matter and to impose any initial sanction.
The NRL will intervene where it believes the club has not acted appropriately and impose further sanction against the player or the club
