Curtis Scott may take legal action against Canberra over his sacking

Curtis Scott has been sacked by Canberra and Canterbury forward Adam Elliott is under investigation after an incident at a Gold Coast nightclub.

Curtis Scott has been sacked by the Raiders after an incident in a nightclub

The lawyer for Canberra centre Curtis Scott is exploring his legal options after the Raiders made the decision to terminate his contract on Monday morning.

The Raiders released a statement confirming Scott had been sacked after deciding that his prior behaviour and recent assault charge had brought the club into disrepute.

Scott hasn’t played for the Raiders since being charged with assault following an incident at a Canberra nightclub in May.

That was the second high-profile incident involving the former premiership winner since his move to the nation’s capital. The most significant was his arrest on Australia Day last year after he was found by police intoxicated and asleep under a tree in Sydney’s Centennial Park.

Scott was cleared of seven charges over that incident and at the weekend spoke publicly of his mental health battles – he admitted that at one point he was considering suicide following his arrest.

His lawyer Sam Macedone is about to launch legal proceedings against the police over the Australia Day incident and may yet follow suit with the Raiders over Monday’s decision.

“I am particularly not happy because of my client’s condition and what it might do to him,” Macedone said.

“So I am looking at his legal position and what he can and can’t do. I am not happy that they seem fit to terminate some bloke’s contract because of issues that he has got that are really not of his making.

“It is all things he has been subjected to and because of that, there has been a bit of errant behaviour there. I personally don’t think it is enough to terminate someone because they are not well.

“A lot of people get charged with all sorts of things and they don’t necessarily get found guilty. You wait and see what happens in relation to that and if he is found to have been at fault, you have a right do something.

“In the meantime, why are you sentencing people before they are found guilty. I need to have a look at what options he has got.”

Macedone insisted Scott’s recent troubles owed much to the lingering impact of the incident on Australia Day.

“That will gain momentum in the next two or three weeks,” he said. “It will gain a lot of momentum. It is the root cause of everything. It is a long road in front of us.”

Scott was fined $15,000 and issued with a three-game ban by the NRL over the nightclub incident and last week fronted the Raiders board, where he was given the chance to argue why he should retain his contract.

“The Canberra Raiders board of directors today decided to terminate the contract of Curtis Scott effective immediately,” the Raiders said in a statement.

“The board carefully considered the statements made at the ‘show cause’ hearing with Curtis Scott on August 17 and the material supplied afterwards.

“The board decided that Curtis Scott’s prior behaviour and recent assault charge has brought the club into disrepute, and they could not ignore this and the responsibilities that his NRL playing contract entails.

The board said the club would continue to support Scott’s ongoing rehabilitation and would be in contact with NRL welfare in this regard.

Meanwhile, the future of Canterbury forward Adam Elliott is also back under the microscope following an incident at a Gold Coast nightclub at the weekend.

The Bulldogs informed the NRL integrity unit of the incident on Monday morning and it is understood they are conducting an investigation.

The Bulldogs confirmed they hosted a barbecue for players and their families on Sunday afternoon. It is understood some then went out, culminating in claims that Elliott was asked to leave an establishment by security.

Elliott was fined and charged by police following an incident on Mad Monday in 2018. Earlier this year, he was again in the headlines after an incident involving former teammate Michael Lichaa.

Bulldogs chief executive Aaron Warburton confirmed he had informed integrity unit chief Karyn Murphy of an alleged incident.

“We’re still trying to piece it together,” Warburton said. “We have handed it all over to integrity now and we will know more soon hopefully.”