‘It’s bullsh***’: Reformed NRL bad boys Pearce and Carney slam Latrell Mitchell photo leak

Two former NRL bad boys stars who were caught doing the wrong thing have hit out at the Latrell Mitchell photo scandal.

Mitchell Pearce says the person who took the photo of Latrell Mitchell should be punished.

Former NRL star Mitchell Pearce has called on the game to “come down hard” on the person who took a photo of Latrell Mitchell and then shared it without his permission, with the playmaker fed up with people who “get away with murder” by leaking images without any repercussions.

The NRL integrity unit is investigating the photograph, which shows the injured fullback leaning over a table with what appears to be a white substance.

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There is no suggestion that it’s an illicit substance, with the grainy image showing Mitchell in the room with an unidentified woman and what appears to be a raspberry Cruiser.

It is unclear when the image was taken.

Pearce and former teammate Todd Carney, both reformed NRL bad boys, spoke on the Half-Time podcast and called out the person who distributed the image, with both men having their own experiences with footage that was shared on social media without their permission.

Pearce was banned for eight matches and received a heavy fine from the NRL in 2016 after a leaked video showed him simulating a lewd act with a dog, while Carney’s NRL career ended in 2014 after a video showed him doing “the bubbler” in a bathroom.

“I hope someone comes down hard on the person who’s filming these things,” Pearce told the podcast.

An image that alleges to show NRL star Latrell Mitchell with a white powder substance. Picture: Supplied

“It would be good to know what the laws are around this because it’s bulls--t. You’d hope it’s not his mate, but whoever was in there and doing that stuff needs big repercussions.

“The game needs to find out who these people are and go hard on them. They should name and shame them because these people get away with murder and there’s no repercussions.

“Poor Latrell will put his hand up and say he’s done the wrong thing, but the other person who filmed it needs to be named and shamed and have their photo on the back page.

“It’s a horrible feeling right now to be Latrell and to have this stuff surface.

“I feel for him, but at the same time, if he’s done this then he’s put himself in an average position, hasn’t he?

“It’s not good for the game and it’s not good for Latrell. No one knows what that white substance was, so it’s hard to comment on that, but it’s not good for the game and it’s not good for Souths with the year that they’ve had.”

Mitchell Peace and Latrell Mitchell were teammates at the Roosters. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt

Both Pearce and Carney are now sober and are enjoying life back in Australia following stints overseas.

Carney had his fair share of dramas throughout his career and hopes the right people are looking after Mitchell as he deals with the intense scrutiny coming his way.

“It’s a horrible feeling being on the back page at the best of times for anything, but it’s just sad to see because while we don’t know if he’s done the wrong thing or not, it’s sad to see the privacy broken again for a sports player,” the former five-eighth said.

“People listening will be saying ‘they shouldn’t have done the wrong thing’ but if he’s in an environment with his mates or whatever, by the looks of it, someone has taken it from a distance.

“For Latrell, it’s obviously going to have massive ramifications on him. He’s one of the biggest stars of our game … so there’ll be a lot of eyes on him for that.

“My worry is now for Latrell and how he handles it, what he does in the next 24 hours and if he comes out and owns it or shies away from it. That’s the concern for a player because we’re all human and we make mistakes.

“Hopefully, Latrell has enough support around him over the next 24 hours to two weeks because they won’t leave him alone until they get a story. I’m going to stick up for Latrell, and hopefully he’s all right.”

Mitchell Pearce says the person who took the photo should be punished. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

Todd Carney’s NRL career ended over a social media incident Picture: DC Sports Photography.

Speaking on NRL 360 on Monday night, veteran journalist Phil Rothfield said Mitchell’s camp was aware of who distributed the photo because it was screenshotted off social media platform Snapchat before being shared onwards.

“From my information this picture was taken in Dubbo after that taken coaching clinic,” Rothfield said.

“It will be significant if he is found guilty. Very hard one to prove.

“It was taken and distributed on Snapchat and someone has screenshot it off Snapchat. From that you can tell who has done that. I know (Mitchell’s manager) Matt Rose and the camp have suspicions.

“I’m not going to mention the name for defamation reasons but I think the person who has put the photo out there will have a bit to answer for by the end of the week.”

Fox League’s James Hooper added: “Whoever has decided to put it in the public domain, it’s an ordinary act.”

Latrell Mitchell has had a turbulent year. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Leading Sydney lawyer Paul McGirr told the Daily Telegraph it will be difficult for the NRL to sanction Mitchell.

“I’ve seen two versions of the same photo that look quite different and things could have been added. One has words added on top of it. Surely that creates doubt in any capacity. In this day and age, it’s so easy to edit things,” McGirr said.

“I would urge the Integrity Unit fact finder to satisfy themselves with the requisite standard and, without any admissions, I would think they’d struggle to find him guilty of an alleged offence [under the game’s rules].

“We don’t know where the photo was from or when it was taken, or even what year. It’s not a great quality picture and they are still photos, not a video.”

Last year, the NRL and North Queensland fined centre Valentine Holmes $100,000 — $50,000 of which was suspended — and banned him for one match, after briefly posted an image on his Instagram account with a white bag between his teeth.

In 2021, Melbourne Storm trio Cameron Munster, Brandon Smith and Chris Lewis were each handed one-game bans, as well as a suspended fine of $100,000 following images of them partying in a Sunshine Coast hotel room with an unknown white substance.

“Latrell could face similar sanctions but you’ve got to come back to the touchstones of what is the actual photo showing?” McGirr said.

“In Latrell’s case, there is one still shot. People are talking about the white substance on the table but I’m not so satisfied about that.”