Brett Stewart shows courage to speak honestly about his NRL exit
Brett Stewart showed plenty of bravery over his 233-game NRL career. But no amount of on-field nerve could match what the former Manly Sea Eagles star did this week.
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Brett Stewart showed plenty of pluck and bravery over his 233-game NRL career for Manly.
Weighing in as light as 86kg at times, he was fearless on the field. But no amount of on-field nerve or boldness could match what he did this week.
An explosive interview with The Daily Telegraph took true courage.
Stewart wanted the world to know of his anguish at being fined and stood down by the NRL, before he had faced court over sexual assault allegations in 2009 — for which he was found not guilty.
One Manly official described it as a “cleansing of the soul.”
Stewart said he was “heartbroken”.
“There will always be something burning inside me. It is too big of a thing in my life just to block out. I could sit here and say I’ve blocked it out but I’d be lying. It affected me then and is probably still affecting me now,” he said.
“I don’t trust many people any more where before it happened I was pretty open and talked to anyone. Now I’m a bit more cut off, a closed book.”
This was a man who wanted to unburden himself, put a human face to a confronting issue He knew it would cause headlines, he knew it would unsettle the NRL — he did it anyway.
It was commendable. He was honest, open and forthright in the interview; that meant more than any frowns from the NRL.
Stewart wanted other players facing allegations to know they had an ally. He wasn’t prejudging their innocence or guilt — he just wanted them to have a voice.
He rang Des Hasler on Thursday to seek the Manly coach’s thoughts on the story. Hasler has been a genuine mentor to Stewart now for 16 years.
The Sea Eagles coach asked whether Stewart felt better now that he has finally told his story.
Stewart claimed he didn’t necessarily feel better but knew the story would help other players facing judicial cases.
Confessing such pain in public can be difficult but he pushed through it.
That’s guts.