NRL trolls: Latrell Mitchell’s brave stance against social media scourge

NRL players could be asked to consider a social media boycott as Latrell Mitchell speaks out about the scourge of online abuse.

Latrell Mitchell in action for the Rabbitohs. Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell will be asked to consider a social media boycott as the code hits back against trolling of players, including its burgeoning crop of NRLW stars.

While Mitchell may have ignited his own war against cyber-bullying on Monday — declaring “today, I’m taking a stand” — the NRL has also begun discussions with the RLPA about a “unified” approach that sees players encouraged to take police action while also receiving appropriate psychological support.

Questions have also been asked about the outcomes for those fans found guilty of offending, with options including everything from education and rehabilitation to lengthy bans.

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Elsewhere, there is also a concern around how online bullying will increasingly impact elite female players, with the profiles of athletes like Jess Sergis and Isabelle Kelly growing in tandem with the women’s game.

In the past week, English Premier League players have agreed to boycott social media in response to the relentless online abuse of its players.

The FA announce English football social media boycott from 3pm Friday 30 April to 11.59 Monday 3 May 2021.

Responds to the lack of action from social media companies tackling racist abuse online.

All clubs in PL, EPL, FA WSL, FA WC + LMA, PFA, LMA, PGMOL, Kick it Out & FSA. pic.twitter.com/naZLxrzrth

— Anne-Marie Batson (@AnnemarieBatson) April 24, 2021

The blackout of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will last four days and cover a full round of EPL games.

Quizzed about NRL players taking a similar stand, RLPA chief executive Clint Newton said: “Right now, everything is on the table.

“We need to be aligned in our approach because (online bullying) is a concern.

“But there is also an opportunity here to be very clear with our fan base about what the expectations are. And if those expectations aren’t met, what the repercussions will be.”

Asked about the issue of trolling as it related to the NRLW, Newton continued: “We cannot think for a minute that female players won’t be exposed.

“In certain cases, some have been already.”

South Sydney star Latrell Mitchell says the online abuse of players is uncalled for.

The issue of social media trolling has become an increasing concern for NRL players, with Mitchell, Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary and Roosters centre Josh Morris all opening up recently about separate ordeals.

On Monday, Mitchell fronted media at Rabbitohs HQ in the latest chapter to an incident which over the weekend saw two men arrested and charged after sending the Indigenous All Star vile messages via social media.

“I want to make it clear this stuff on social media, it’s uncalled for,” Mitchell said.

“I say ‘no’ and want it to stop.

“Online bullying, cyber bullying, it only takes that one message for someone not as strong as me, that can’t take the criticism, to go and do self harm.

“So today I’m taking a stand and I want everyone out there to know they can stand up too.

“If you see it, call it out.”

Josh Morris is another player who has spoken out about the impact of online abuse.

Quizzed about the ongoing abuse he has received, Mitchell said: “I’ve been copping this all my life, ever since I was an eight-year-old kid.

“My ancestors before me have as well.

“Nothing is changing.
“I’ve always aired them (trolls) on social media but I think that’s what they wanted and got a kick out of.

“I was wasting my energy doing that.

“So enough is enough
“With these two messages, I sent it to my management and said, ‘can you deal with this?’. And now the police have come in too, I can’t thank them enough”.

Mitchell added that he wanted to be remembered as being more than just a football player.
“I’m doing it for all of us players,” he said. “I know everyone receives it, but nobody has the courage to stand up to it.

“I know they want to.
“So I thought I’d put my hand up and lead the way.″

TROLL HUNTER: PLAYERS MUST FOLLOW MITCHELL’S LEAD

David Riccio

Latrell Mitchell has once again stood up to the bullies for the rest of the NRL.

But the 23-year-old can‘t keep going it alone.

Who else will follow the NRL star’s lead and take on the trolls?
Not for the first time, the South Sydney star has shown leadership on a major social issue that hundreds of other NRL players are acutely aware of — because it’s also happening to them.

The Newcastle Knights went to the NRL two weeks ago after three of their players were targeted with vile abuse on social media after a Newcastle defeat.

The Knights quietly reported the matter to the powerless governing body. What they should’ve done is asked all three players to go public, expose the abuse and then instead of the NRL, report the issue to police.

Just as a brave Mitchell did.

Latrell Mitchell has stood up to online trolls. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

The arrest on Friday by police of two men, aged 22 and 25, who allegedly lambasted Mitchell with racially abusive messages via Instagram is a breakthrough, the size of which fans will only truly understand once the rest of the NRL playing fraternity band together.

Mitchell first went public in 2019 after being targeted by racially abusive messages following a game he had played for former club, the Roosters.

“I’m not going to stand back and take it on the chin. Everything that is said about Aboriginal people really affects me,” Mitchell said.

That was two years ago.

And here Mitchell is again, carting the ball up for the rest of the league to cheer on.

They cheer because it’s happening to them.

It’s as easy as picking up the phone to all 16 clubs to hear stories of sickening and personal attacks sent directly to the inbox of NRL players.

Threatened violence directed at the player and their families, racial and homophobic abuse are occurring every week across social media platforms.

Rabbitohs Statement regarding racial vilification of Latrell Mitchell

👉 https://t.co/QlM3fW5AGUpic.twitter.com/SVqB4FgyBf

— South Sydney Rabbitohs 🐰 (@SSFCRABBITOHS) April 23, 2021

A message will arrive after a game. On the team bus. Sitting in the car with their wife and children. Even as they go to sleep at night.

The trolls target race and religion from behind a fake name and a keyboard.

The impact is real.
Penrith star Nathan Cleary recently spoke of feeling ‘paralysed’ by social media threats.

Because of the abuse, the NRL’s leading halfback and NSW State of Origin star admitted he fell out of love with the game and needed help to overcome his poor mental state.

“Early on in my career, I was pretty lucky, we were going all right,” Cleary said in a podcast with Penrith Panthers high performance director Hayden Knowles.

“We were winning games and I was the young kid on the block and I guess you get away with a few bad games.

“But the first time I got messages was that debut year (2016), I was still 18 and we’d lost to Canberra in the semi (final) and I was on the bus home and I got this message pop up.

“I was still young, so I read everything that I got.

“It (message) was ‘You fxxxxxg cxxx, come down to Penrith station there’s a few guys that want to see you’.

Nathan Cleary has spoken about the toll of social media trolls. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

“I kind of knew that was part of the gig, I laughed about it and tried to get on with it.

“But I guess as soon as I started playing State of Origin, the perception of you changes.

“You have to be playing well every week, which is fair enough and I probably wasn’t mentally prepared for that.

“That next year (2019), I was in pretty bad form, I wasn’t playing well at the start of the year and I read everything I got and it took over my mental state.

“It was affecting the way I was playing.

“Probably the most frustrating thing was that I was reading all this stuff and it was paralysing me.

“It was affecting the way I played, which affected the team, which probably hurt me the most.

“I just wasn’t in the right state to perform well and that’s something that I’ve had to learn.’’

Cleary spoke to Knowles about using different tools to block out the negativity on social media.

“We had a chat about it, and it was the first time that I acknowledged that I had performance anxiety from reading all this stuff – and it put extra pressure on myself,” Cleary said.

“At the end of the day, footy is a tough enough game as it is and there’s a lot of pressure in itself, so if you’re putting more unneeded pressure on just from what people on Twitter or messaging you on Instagram, it just makes it so much harder.

“It became even more frustrating because I realised it was affecting me.

“It was annoying that I‘d let myself get to this state where I was letting random people affect the way I was going about myself.

“I wasn’t even enjoying it (footy) because I was so worried about what was going to happen, or I was going to make mistakes or not play well.

“It was a bad head space to be in.

“It was the first time I had experienced it fully and the first time I’d really been in a bad patch of form and I realised people can be really negative and super ruthless.

“I‘m kind of glad it happened at a young age so I could put in techniques to deal with it and it’s definitely helped me for the future.”

On the back of Cleary‘s words, a Penrith official recently asked a few of the other Panthers players to start calling out the trolls publicly.

The Panthers player replied: “There’s too many … where would you start?”

By following Mitchell’s lead, that’s where.