Penrith Panthers star Tyrone May’s sex tape reference after grand final win

Premiership player Tyrone May has posted a veiled reference on social media to the sex tape controversy that saw him spend the 2019 season on the sidelines.

Newly crowned premiership star Tyrone May has made a veiled reference to his high-profile sex tape court case on Instagram just hours after Penriths historic win.

May, 25, was sentenced to 300 hours community service and placed on a three-year good behaviour bond early last year over the intimate video he admitted filming of a woman in 2018.

On the day he was sentenced in Parramatta Local Court last January, he was supported by his coach Ivan Cleary and his star son Nathan.

In the hours after playing a role in his side’s narrow 14-12 win over South Sydney, May took to Instagram to share several posts thanking both the Clearys for supporting him.

Newly crowned premiership player Tyrone May has posted a veiled reference on social media to the sex tape controversy that saw him spend the entire 2019 season on the sidelines. Picture: Instagram

The first photo showed May walking into one of his court appearances alongside coach Ivan Cleary.

Quoting lyrics from the song Fair Trade by Drake, the newly crowned premiership player seemed to make a reference to his rollercoaster journey.

“And the dirt that they threw on my name turned to soil and I grew up out it,” May wrote.

May was forced to sit out the entire 2019 NRL season under the game’s no-fault stand down policy aimed at avoiding the potentially negative coverage that came with players continuing to play rugby league while facing charges.

In another post-grand final photo, May thanked his star teammate Nathan Cleary for his support.

“Through it all,” May wrote, as the pair posed alongside the Provan-Summons trophy.

May last year pleaded guilty to four counts of intentionally recording an intimate image without consent.

May (right) leaves Parramatta Local Court last January after being sentenced, having pleaded guilty to four counts of intentionally recording an intimate image without consent. Picture: AAP Image/Peter Rae

During sentencing he was lectured by Magistrate Robyn Denes over the “reprehensible” act of filming the woman with consent.

Earlier this year May’s victim launched civil legal action against him, seeking a pay out for damages against him.

“It’s a claim for damages in defamation, a claim for damages in a breach of privacy and a claim for damages in personal injury,” Brydens Lawyers senior associate Wes Ranson, who is acting for the woman, told The Daily Telegraph earlier this year.

“She’s seeking aggravated damages – in layman terms it’s essentially a higher degree of damages.”

The woman has claimed her distress has been exacerbated by her knowledge that the images have been placed on the porn sites where they can be viewed and downloaded by thousands of people.