NRL CEO Todd Greenberg to warn every player about their behaviour
In the wake of Ben Barba’s deregistration, NRL CEO Todd Greenberg will personally warn every player at every club of the consequences of increasing misbehaviour and violence against women.
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NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg will personally address every player at every club to sternly warn against increasing misbehaviour after throwing superstar Ben Barba out of the game.
Just two hours after announcing he had deregistered North Queensland’s Barba, Greenberg arrived at the headquarters of Manly — who face their own domestic violence matter involving Dylan Walker — to address the players on their responsibilities and expectations.
The meeting, held at the Sea Eagles’ Narrabeen headquarters, was the first Greenberg, head of football Graham Annesley and chief operating officer Nick Weeks, will have with every club and every player.
The Daily Telegraph has been told Greenberg didn’t hold back, discussing a range of issues at Manly, including gambling. But the most pressing was player conduct.
Greenberg spoke at length to Manly’s senior playing group, including Daly Cherry-Evans and Marty Taupau, while the three senior NRL executives also talked with Manly staff and board members. They will visit all other clubs in coming weeks.
Walker is due to face Manly Court on February 26 where he will plead not guilty to domestic violence charges.
Manly chief executive Lyall Gorman said the Sea Eagles were “committed” to ensuring their players behaved on and off the field to help “the game grow.”
NRL players were told they “wouldn’t play the game” if they severely damaged rugby league’s brand and image, and that careers and livelihoods would be over if they disgraced the game through ugly misbehaviour.
Greenberg revealed Barba would never play NRL again after the game’s integrity unit flew to north Queensland to view footage of a “physical altercation” on Australia Day at Townsville Casino involving his partner Ainslie Currie, the mother of his four children.
“It’s probably time for Ben Barba to find a new vocation,” Greenberg said.
“They (integrity unit) have reported back to me and I can confirm there was a physical altercation between the player and his partner. I can’t see a time — any time in the future — that he will be welcome back.”
The English Super League, where Barba played last season and won the premiership with St Helens, has announced it would respect any NRL sanction.
“These decisions affect people’s livelihood,” Greenberg said.
“They affect families, children, they are big moments and you want to make sure you get them right. This is an enormous outcome because this is a guy who now loses his livelihood and career in the game.
“It’s a very clear message for a lot of players in our sport that it is a great privilege to play rugby league, to put on a jersey, to earn a significant income which they deserve as footballers, but it comes with real responsibility.
“If you’re going to earn an income through rugby league and you’re going to play in the NRL, understand the risks that come with that. If you don’t want at associate those risks, find another job.”
Player behaviour will headline a club CEOs meeting Melbourne on Friday week.
“We’re not asking you to play if you don’t want to. If you want to come, enjoy the benefits that go with being an NRL player but stand up to the responsibilities that go with it,” Greenberg said.
“I understand that when we get things wrong and players make mistakes, that’s the (media) headline. We simply cannot afford to make an error. The game has been damaged significantly over this period of time. I referred to it as a train wreck and I stand by those comments.
“If you start to step outside the crease you are going to put your livelihood at risk and this is a prime example. Where we see violence — particularly violence against women — we will act and we will act in the strongest terms.”
Greenberg said he understood the complexities of social media but stressed players could not use that as an excuse for poor behaviour.
“We are living in a complex world, our community is full of social media, phone cameras, heightened speculation on people in this environment has never been as significant as it is. But that’s no excuse and no reason — it’s just part of the landscape which we work,” Greenberg said.
“That message (warning players) I thought had been pretty clear over a significant period of time but if it hasn’t been clear before, it’s clear today. Our rugby league players have an enormous amount of education and training.
“We will continue to get stronger in our actions as people damage the game. I can’t give a deeper warning to our players; think carefully before you make a poor decision. Make good choices, that is my primary message to the players.”
Prompted to reveal what he saw on the Barba-Currie tape, Greenberg said: “I need to be a little careful here because this will now form a police investigation which is currently ongoing today. But it was a physical altercation and that is all I needed to see and all I needed to be told in order to make the decision we have made.”
Greenberg hasn’t spoken personally to Barba — and didn’t plan to — but had “reached out” through a third-party to check on Currie’s welfare.
“We will treat every case on its merits. But where there is violence — and where there is violence against women — it will sit on the very tip of the scale,” he said. “And if you’re going to have those sorts of things apply to your career, you won’t play in the game. I can’t make it simpler.
“Players get an enormous amount of education and training and they know what is right and wrong. They’ve got to make the right decisions. Whether it’s alcohol involved, or something involved, they have to make sure they understand their responsibilities as players as well as people.
“I have been around the game long enough to know players make poor decisions from time to time. What we have to do is hold them to account, the club (North Queensland) has done that, we have done that. There is no doubt I am trying to balance, in my leadership style, the ability for players to find the game and to find ways in the game to better prepare and better themselves.
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