South Sydney sexting scandal: Sam Burgess’ brother Tom leaps to his defence
RABBITOHS star Tom Burgess has revealed Sam “made a mistake” after it was revealed by The Daily Telegraph that his brother’s verified social media accounts were used in video chats that sparked a young woman’s complaints about lewd behaviour.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Sam Burgess: Offending images on his account
- Phoebe Burgess cancels races after Sam’s sexting scandal
RABBITOHS star Tom Burgess has leapt to the defence of his under-fire brother Sam, saying he was coping with the furore of his sexting probe by just getting “on with the job”.
Speaking after South Sydney’s one-point victory ended the Dragons’ season on Saturday night, Tom revealed his brother had shown a stiff upper lip to put the drama to one side and concentrate on helping his team reach a showdown with the Roosters for a grand final spot.
Tom told Nine News that his brother Sam Burgess had “made a mistake.”
“He’s disappointed you know, obviously he’s made a mistake,” he told Nine.
“He’s going to be all right and there’s an investigation going on now and they’ll sort it out.”
The Rabbitoh’s win came after it was revealed by The Daily Telegraph that Sam’s verified social media accounts were used in video chats that sparked a young woman’s complaints about lewd behaviour.
MORE NEWS:
The woman at the centre of the South Sydney Rabbitohs scandal
Sam Burgess caught up in Rabbitohs ‘sexting’ scandal
Tom said: “(Sam) is all right and got on with the job. We’re professional, so we just had to stick to what we know. That’s all we do, we come in, train and then turn up to the game.
“I don’t really want to talk about it, if I’m honest.
“There’s a lot of media in our sport and you have to expect it.”
The Daily Telegraph exclusively published screenshots taken of the married England international’s Facebook Messenger account during the video exchanges with a 23-year-old woman showing a naked man baring his genitalia from the torso down and another man with his pants down flashing his backside.
The men’s faces cannot be seen. South Sydney has refused to confirm the identities of the naked players.
The Rabbitohs’ chief executive Blake Solly said he had held “constructive and helpful” discussions with the woman, who first contacted Souths four months ago, saying she felt violated and disgusted by the online encounter.
Burgess’s heavily pregnant wife Phoebe was a no-show for her scheduled appearance at Randwick Racecourse on Saturday.
The former journalist and mum-of-one was expected to attend Colgate Optic White Stakes Day in her role as a Colgate ambassador but opted out. She also failed to make an appearance at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.
There is now a question mark over whether the couple will attend the Dally M Awards, amid the belief Phoebe has cancelled her red-carpet dress for the September 26 event.
Fans have flocked to social media with messages of support, with one saying: “Stay strong beautiful lady”.