Latrell Mitchell hits back at online trolls and vows to name and shame racists
Too often, social media trolls think they can post vile abuse and get away with it. But Roosters superstar Latrell Mitchell won’t back down from calling out racist abuse.
Sydney Roosters superstar Latrell Mitchell has vowed to continue to “name and shame’’ anyone who racially abuses him.
The NRL’s integrity unit is still investigating vile comments directed at Mitchell on social media, after he publicly outed the offender.
A man named Jeff Maddock posted a comment on Facebook saying he wished someone would break Mitchell’s neck and he would “laugh my guts up”.
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Fellow indigenous star Blake Ferguson was also racially vilified earlier this season, with the NSW winger alerting Parramatta to the offensive messages.
“There is no place for racism it is 2019. I am a proud Aboriginal man and I will continue to name (and) shame anyone that has an opinion against me or my race,’’ Mitchell wrote on Instagram.
“I have had enough, we cannot keep allowing this ‘casualness’ to happen.
“Wake up Australia and stop being ignorant and just embrace everyone for who they are!! #racismstopswithme!!”
Mitchell’s father Matt broke down in tears over the social media abuse.
“For everything that’s been going on the past couple of days has been so hard for my family and I, but it wouldn’t be the first time that this has happened,’’ Mitchell said.
“I would really love to take the time to thank everyone that sent me a message.”
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga urged Mitchell to not let the trolls bring him down.
“I have dealt with racism a lot in my life, on the field and off the field. It is a difficult thing to brush off, and to not let it get to you,” he writes in his exclusive column.
“My father told me once that racial abuse is water off a duck’s back, because it was a sign of weakness from the abuser, and proof that you had the better of them if they had to resort to personal attacks.
“I guess that would be my advice to Latrell or anyone in similar situations this morning. As difficult as it is, don’t let it get to you. The hate is there because they are trying to bring you down.’’
Club bosses discussed the issue at the NRL’s CEOs meeting on Wednesday, and backed a stance to ban any person who racially abuses a player online from games.
“We’ve got an opportunity as a sport, to stand up and stand for something,” NRL boss Todd Greenberg said.
“And when we see it, we’ll call it out.
“If we can find ways to make sure they’re unwelcome in the game, whether that’s a membership, simply buying a ticket, we’ll do that.
“It’s not easy (to find them). But we’ll put some resources into it where we can.
“We’ve got a pretty sophisticated system in our integrity unit. We’ve got some smart people, and if we find them, we’ll do something about it.”
The NRL have previously banned fans.
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