Benji Marshall involved in late-night incident

[hammertime]

Benji himself has admitted he is in awe of Lockyer. So he himself would probably agree with that.

There is absolutely NO WAY Benji would have punched a bloke for saying Lockyer is better. The telegraph are back with their vendetta.

 

[NJLM78]

**From the Herald Sun website:**

WESTS Tigers have no plans to suspend Benji Marshall and expect the superstar to line up in the club's NRL opener against the Bulldogs next Monday.

Marshall - the face of the NRL - was yesterday charged by police for his part in a McDonald's melee early Saturday.

Tigers chief executive Stephen Humphreys will present a detailed report to the NRL today.

But Humphreys hoped a suitable punishment would be thrashed out between him and NRL chief executive David Gallop, which would not require missing games.

"I don't want to get ahead of David (Gallop) and the decision, but we expect Benji to play in Round 1," Humphreys said.

"The reality is there are facts in dispute, so we wouldn't be advocating that kind of action.

"We need to work with David and the NRL and we'll do that right away and in a collaborative way so we can reach the decision together. Given the circumstances Benji is holding up well. It's been a difficult time and it's unsettled him, there's no question about that, but he's doing OK."

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Humphreys met Marshall late Saturday where he gave a detailed account of what had happened that day.

The pair were joined by club chairman Dave Trodden at North Sydney police station shortly before 2pm where Marshall was charged with assault.

Yesterday, Marshall's manager Martin Tauber claimed the five-eighth was called a "black c–-".

But it is understood the club and Marshall are keen to distance themselves from the claim.

Humphreys said he was yet to speak with Marshall about pursuing a racial vilification claim, and said "it's a case of Benji taking stock and sitting down with his legal advisers".

 

[Muffstar]

Police will allege the victim said to Marshall outside the McDonald's restaurant: "Hey Benji, Lockyer's better than you", and then repeated the same sledge two more times.

He was then allegedly hit in the mouth by Marshall and suffered a split lip, before a second man who appeared to be with Marshall stepped in and hit him on the cheek.

**Police do not believe the attack was racially motivated – despite Marshall's manager Martin Tauber claiming his client was called a "black c . . .".**
The victim is Australian-born but of Middle Eastern background and insisted he had not made racist slurs.

CCTV captured part of the incident but not all of it.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/marshall-to-face-charges/story-fn6b3v4f-1226016740925

I can't imagine people of Middle Eastern background causing any problems ? I hope there is CCTV eviidence.

 

[tigercannon]

you are right those bulldog supporters never cause problems

 

[Kul]

A witness, who would only give her name as Jenny, told Sydney's Sky Sports Radio host Peter Peters yesterday that Marshall had been in good spirits at the restaurant before the fight erupted, signing autographs and posing for photographs.
>
"He arrived with a woman companion and a few friends before a group of eight to 10 men began baiting him, calling him all sorts of awful names," she said.

it just makes me angry. What a complete dropkick this douche-bag 24 year old kid is. No doubt he's just part of the trash that trolls up and down George Street each and every Friday/Saturday night, usually in lowered Subaru WRX's and P-plates, starting fights with anyone and everyone _just_ to inflate their egos.

I feel so sorry for Benji being dragged down to their pitiful level

At 3.15am, the group wandered into McDonalds on George St. It was there they were confronted by a group of 10 revellers.
>
The Daily Telegraph has been told one man from the group, of Middle Eastern extraction, was "in Marshall's face".
>
The man claimed he only said to Marshall: "Hey Benji, Lockyer's better than you." Marshall though said the man racially vilified him.
>
Marshall went to walk away before a third racial taunt incensed the New Zealand skipper.
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**"What are going to do about it?" the man allegedly screamed to Marshall's face.**
>
Marshall - faced with choice to stand his ground in front of his girlfriend or walk away - turned around and allegedly punched the man in the lip.
>
Marshall's friend, who was also at the charity function also allegedly struck the man.
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The man then walked to The Rocks police station to report the incident.
>
Police went to McDonald's and looked at CCTV vision.
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Police allegedly saw footage which showed Marshall inside the fast-food chain but only limited vision of the incident.
>
It is understood the man who was allegedly assaulted had been celebrating a birthday at The Tank nightclub.

That would be right! Tank on a Friday night! The veritable cesspool of sydney's finest roided thugs. There are few more words that could describe the clientele there but i'll refrain from using them…
Hopefully the cops took a blood sample from the guy to determine what he'd shoved up his nose or down his throat in a cubicle earlier that evening. :bash :bash

Jenny, a witness to the drama, said yesterday Marshall was signing autographs, shaking hands and posing for photos inside McDonald's.
>
"He was in wonderful spirits. he was in a suit, all dressed up. So were the people he was with," she told Sky Sports Radio.
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"We weren't close enough to hear but we did hear one voice calling things out to him.
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"For him to turn around, it must have been quite nasty because he was in good spirits.
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"He wasn't intoxicated one bit. It (the altercation) didn't take long. It was so quick.
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"There were about 40 people outside McDonald's. Everyone was so overwhelmed to see him."
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Marshall then disappeared on to busy George St. He feared news would break quickly. He was right.
>
"Benji is devastated. He is really shaken," a friend said.

:bash :bash :bash

 

[Chris]

He helps raise $250,000 for kids with cancer then in the same night he turns into the bad guy after smacking a smart arse in the mouth for calling him a black c… I hate how the media have glossed all over the incident instead of promoting his efforts at the charity night.

 

[sunshine_coast_tiger]

It sounds to me that the smart arse is backpedaling, he knows saying a racist comment is wrong so he and his mates have come up with something else.

Still believe he said something really bad to either Benji or his girlfriend and deserved the to be hit in the face.

Worrying is the talk that the NRL is talking about suspending Benji. We must all write strong e-mails to the NRL to stop this. Trust me emails do work, in the case of Liverpool supporters they wanted their broke former owners out, they clogged up the email servers of any bank or financial institution that looked like bailing those owners out.

Some well written e-mails to the NRL in support of Benji could help.

 

[prattenpark]

i know i may be wrong here but, for marshall to respond i reckon something else was said, the first time i reckon they went on saying s*** such as black c*** and go back to NZ etc, but when they realized that wasn't working i reckon one of em said something about his GF which lead to the response, i may be wrong but that's my prediction.

If Marshall gets suspended for this i will be extremely surprised, maybe if alcohol was an influence in the event it may be a different story but i can see alot of nrl greats, and others getting behind him and supporting him.

Spot on. He walked away twice, obviously something else was said. either about his girlfriend or his mum. typical of this sort of scum to go to the police after the event like that. he should have just walked away, his pride dented in front of his mates.

 

[tiger05]

There seems to be a complete lack of objective thought on this thread. It appears Tauber made up the racist remarks. If so Benji stuffed up even worse than what I initially thought.

 

[diedpretty]

Police will allege the victim said to Marshall outside the McDonald's restaurant: "Hey Benji, Lockyer's better than you", and then repeated the same sledge two more times.

He was then allegedly hit in the mouth by Marshall and suffered a split lip, before a second man who appeared to be with Marshall stepped in and hit him on the cheek.

**Police do not believe the attack was racially motivated – despite Marshall's manager Martin Tauber claiming his client was called a "black c . . .".**
The victim is Australian-born but of Middle Eastern background and insisted he had not made racist slurs.

CCTV captured part of the incident but not all of it.

Link????

Daily Telegraph

Would be nice if it was from a reliable, trusted source rather than the gutter press.

 

[Tommy Magpie]

A call to every one on this forum to email the NRL supporting Benji.

Sounds like the guy got what he deserved. Abuses and provokes Benji, gets hit and runs off to the police to dob. What a dog.

 

[Juro]

I fully support Benji in this and while he was clearly provoked as a member i am more concerned that this could have had a very different ending. How did Benji know that this was going to end in one punch? What if the anal crater spoiling for a fight could actually throw 'em or had training in a martial art and wanted to prove himself? He could have made a mess of Benji and really hurt him- and that scares me more than any media beatup!! Also it just goes to show that nothing good comes out of anything that happens after 2 a.m.

Yeah, this thought struck me yesterday too. What if that punch didn't finish the fight but started it instead? What if the guy pulled a weapon? What if his mates all decided to join in? It could have been a lot worse!

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

At the very least Benji will most certainly know now that nothing good comes good of being out so early. Unfortunately for Benji, he has become a target and will now need to keep his face out of the spotlight. He's not the kind of guy who goes around jobbing people for no reason and while we can only speculate on what was said and what events occured after the fact, we can all sit here like a pack of moralists and say he should have walked away but at the end of the day when you're mobbed by 10 drunken maggots looking for trouble, mitigating circumstances may have warranted the action he took.

I just hope he takes the right steps so that he won't find himself in this position again.

 

[system]

If I had to guess I would say he will be fined by the courts and have no conviction recorded

 

[Aladinsane]

I fully support Benji in this and while he was clearly provoked as a member i am more concerned that this could have had a very different ending. How did Benji know that this was going to end in one punch? What if the anal crater spoiling for a fight could actually throw 'em or had training in a martial art and wanted to prove himself? He could have made a mess of Benji and really hurt him- and that scares me more than any media beatup!! Also it just goes to show that nothing good comes out of anything that happens after 2 a.m.

Yeah, this thought struck me yesterday too. What if that punch didn't finish the fight but started it instead? What if the guy pulled a weapon? What if his mates all decided to join in? It could have been a lot worse!

Exactly Guys , in my son & mine's Martial Atrs Class there are 6 Black Belts and we are always taught you only fight if there is no other option….the best defence is to walk or run away for the situation because you never know if they have weopens etc...the Exit stagedy is always the first option......and you never lose you temper over verbal taunts and start fights

 

[Juro]

And there is a huge difference between throwing a punch on the footy field and outside maccas at 3am. On the footy field, you know who you are fighting. You know there is a referee just over there. You know there are thousands of spectators, hundreds of thousands of viewers at home. You know things can only go so far.

In a street fight in the early hours of the morning, you have no idea…

 

[hybrid_tiger]

If I had to guess I would say he will be fined by the courts and have no conviction recorded

Agreed.

Should probably be fined by the club too, but if the NRL suspend him I will be livid.

He admitted his mistake, fine him and lets move on please.

 

[tigh]

If I had to guess I would say he will be fined by the courts and have no conviction recorded

On AOABH - no chance. Best to plead guilty with an explanation, cop a fine and a GBB. Do that, and it will all blow over within a couple of months. The law is an ass - there is no room for pride. If you did it (ith provocation will certainly help Benjis case), and you admit you did it - stand up, cop it sweet and it will be over quickly.

 

[Guest]

From the SMH website:

'My friend and I took a photo with him 40 seconds before the fight'
March 7, 2011

A witness says Benji Marshall was in a jovial mood in the moments before the altercation that turned his world upside down, writes Glenn Jackson.

When the Footy Rocks dinner began at 7.40pm at the Four Season Hotel on Friday night, Benji Marshall had the world at his feet. Telling almost 400 guests at a fund-raiser for children with cancer of the experience of losing his father, he had much of the audience on their feet.

By 3.20am, as he walked across George Street back to the Four Seasons, where he was staying, part of that world had crumbled around him. In between, Marshall was in high spirits. He had been the host of the charity dinner in the Four Seasons ballroom. When the official function was over, he signed autographs and posed for photographs for about half an hour.

''We had a table of 10 on the night,'' said Angus Kingsmill, the managing director of the Mambo clothing company. ''Us and the surrounding tables, we were all just blown away by how compassionate and caring [Marshall] was. Cancer was so close to his heart. He was getting quite emotional when he was talking about his father.

''He seemed incredibly giving of his time. And what his mother said the other day touched me - this is not even the country of his birth, yet he's supporting Australian kids.

''There were a few on our table who stood and cheered him.''

Leaving the ballroom, and with $244,000 raised for the Children's Cancer Institute, Marshall went downstairs to the foyer bar with friends. He drank some alcohol but those who were with him insist he was not drunk. Still in his suit, flanked by his girlfriend, some teammates and friends, he left to go to Establishment, the hip George Street bar.

About 3am, Marshall felt hungry. He will probably regret that attack of the munchies because after signing about 50 autographs in McDonald's, he was involved in an altercation on the footpath, one witness said.

''We took photographs with him,'' Jenny, a witness in the restaurant, told 2KY yesterday. ''He was signing autographs, shaking everybody's hands. He was in amazing spirits.

''He was in a suit, all dressed up; the people he was with were also in their suits … my friend and I took a photo with him I'd say 40 seconds before the fight broke out. We were about to walk off and watch him sign everybody else's autographs and take photos. We were a little bit star-struck … A few guys came up to him - a lot were shaking his hand. Then we saw Benji Marshall start to cross the road, then he turns around and walked back with a friend. It all broke out. It wasn't that bad. It wasn't a big fight or anything, but it did happen.''

Jenny said Marshall was not intoxicated as he mingled with about 40 fans. ''He could have have just walked away but he was such a good sport,'' she said, adding that the altercation lasted about 10 seconds. ''I hope more people do … give their version because that's how it happened.''

She didn't hear what sparked the fight. ''We weren't close enough to hear what they were saying but we did hear one voice calling out to him. For him to turn around, it must have been quite nasty.''

By 2pm yesterday, Marshall was in a suit again … at North Sydney Police Station.

 

[Guest]

Benji's midnight smack fills hole in NRL's insatiable appetite for self-destruction
RICHARD HINDS
March 7, 2011

What sets the NRL apart from most other big sporting organisations this side of the US National Basketball Association is that you can make this stuff up.

After last week's season launch was overshadowed by spot-fixing charges and the impending punishment of drink-driving Dally M medallist Todd Carney, you could - and did - wonder what else might prompt David Gallop to hold his next news conference at The Gap.

Ray Warren, three Dragons cheerleaders and the Manly mascot shown in a compromising position on YouTube? Hazem El Masri admitting his name was Terry Johnson and he had been working the Muslim angle for the free felafels? Another ''face of the game'' appearing on a wanted poster?

And then, before you can say ''anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law'', it happens. Not Rabbits, the Flames and Egor the Sea Eagle on YouTube. We're having trouble downloading that.

Benji Marshall, the smiling superstar who has the onerous responsibility of representing a group of often vilified and seemingly self-destructive players, performs his Anthony Mundine impression at Burger O'Clock. Supposedly, satisfying the appetite of a foul-mouthed taunter by serving up a McKnuckle sandwich.

At the launch, Marshall had pledged on behalf of NRL players to support disaster victims. The most troubling thing - perhaps even more so than an allegedly stray fist - is how quickly the fleet-footed Wests Tigers' star became one.

Well, Marshall is certainly at the epicentre of the game's latest disaster. A lot of chat-room time will be spent this week debating whether he can be considered a victim.

Possibly so, if you believe in ''the curse of the Face of Rugby League''. This is the compelling theory that promoting a great but too-often-tarnished game is like walking through the streets of Baghdad in a George W. Bush mask.

The sad case of the falsely accused Brett Stewart and now Marshall suggest the NRL's reputation has become self-fulfilling. Troubleshooters become trouble magnets. ''So you're the face of the game? Let me rearrange it for you!''

But even if the secondhand account of the Marshall incident provided by his agent is true, and he was the subject of taunts and racial abuse, can Marshall be cast as the victim rather than the villain if he let his fists do the talking?

On Saturday, a rather pompous scribe who appears regularly in my shaving mirror had the audacity to preach to NRL players: ''So when some drunk picks a fight or when your watch says midnight and your thirst says 'Par-tay!' Use those reflexes that serve you so well on the field. Weave, side-step, surge and try time! Or, in this case, time to try.''

Which, of course, is all very easy to write without walking a mile in Marshall's skin. Just as the kneejerk judgments and apples-and-oranges comparisons with other cases are easy to make without knowing the facts. Hopefully, the Tigers and, if it goes that far, Gallop will make their call based on more than just the customary salacious reconstruction of ''Benji's night of McShame''.

Equally, the usual red herrings thrown out by agents protecting clients and clubs desperate to have players on the park are unhelpful. The old lines about how players have become ''fair game'' for drunks, are not allowed to lead ''normal lives'' and their actions are ''blown out of proportion''.

To test any of those, this time try driving a mile in Benji's convertible. Even as they complain they are underpaid in comparison to other elite sports stars, are the rewards for the NRL's champions not enough to justify the social sacrifices? We don't expect every player to be home on a Friday night counting his calories and peeling the skin from his chicken. But a city Maccas at 3am on a Saturday?

To his credit, Marshall had appeared at a charity event on Friday night. The type of event, the NRL will tell you, in which players participate regularly and generously. Perhaps before winding down with a few quiet drinks. Just as hundreds of players go out and enjoy themselves peacefully every weekend without following a Big Mac with a big smack. The offender is the exception, not the rule.

But this is the NRL. Too often now the exception seems to be the exceptional. The role model becomes the cautionary tale. Whatever happened, it just had to be pin-up boy Benji.