Sydney Roosters coach condemns racist attack on Latrell Mitchell

Rooster coach Trent Robinson has condemned the person responsible for a vile social media message directed at Latrell Mitchell.

Roosters star Latrell Mitchell after scoring a try in Canberra on Sunday

Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson would prefer to focus all his attention on the club’s next game against the Warriors. Some things, however, are more important than winning and losing rugby league games.

So Robinson yesterday broke from his preparations for another must-win match to condemn the person responsible for a vile social media message directed at centre Latrell Mitchell.

Robinson spoke passionately about the need for education and eternal vigilance. He lauded Mitchell’s courage for calling out the person responsible.

He wasn’t alone. There was condemnation from throughout the game as head office digested a weekend when players from three clubs became targets for disgusting attacks on social media.

“It is a disgrace and the thing is this isn’t a one-off, this isn’t a unique thing,” Robinson said.

“We’re in the middle of a season … but you can’t just let this stuff go. This happens often.

“It is unacceptable. You know what I would do to protect our energy heading into the next couple of months. But it is not a choice. You can’t choose not to address this. This is the thing — this is normal for Latrell. This isn’t a one-off thing for him. He is a strong man. I have seen him get racist abuse in front of me.

“It is shocking to see it happen. I can’t understand what it would be like for an indigenous person to get abused on their land and then for them to just go on and say that’s OK, I’ll move on.

“They have been doing it for 200 years. At what point are we going to say we recognise them as the first people of Australia?”

A rugby league fan, believed to be a Parramatta supporter, attacked Mitchell on social media, calling him a “filthy black maggot” and wished that someone would break his “black neck”.

Mitchell replied: “It’s just a game of footy, there is no need for comments like this. Shit like this is disappointing. 2019 an (sic) nothing is changing.”

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Robinson’s emotional response to the attack was mirrored across the code. Manly backrower Joel Thompson has been a passionate spokesman for the indigenous community and reached out to Mitchell on Sunday night.

He then posted his own message on social media pleading with the wider community to weed out racism. Thompson urged the NRL to do their level best to find the person responsible and ban them from the game for life. The NRL integrity unit was last night investigating the origins of the message and promised to act if they could identify the culprit.

“I spoke to Latrell. I sent him a message last night,” Thompson said. “He is hurt. What do you do? We need to keep getting around those players, support these players, and make people accountable for it.

“If he (the culprit) is a rugby league fan, you would hope the NRL would never let him be involved in rugby league. If he is a fan or member of a rugby league club, I hope he gets rubbed out for life and it sets a benchmark or example for what we accept as an NRL brand.

“I know as an NRL brand we are coming down harsh on players for behaviour and all different things. At the end of the day it is hate speech. It is racist and he is also saying break his neck. That is pure hate speech. That is spreading hate. It is not good enough.”

Mitchell was not alone. In Townsville, North Queensland forward Josh McGuire has been the target of death threats following his latest dice with the NRL judiciary.

At Wests Tigers, centre Paul Momirovski was subject to some vicious attacks after missing a crucial goalkick on the weekend. The NRL was mortified.

“Racism must be called out in all its forms because the standard you walk past is the standard you accept. I commend Latrell for doing just that,” NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said.

“These comments are disgusting and have no place in our game.

“What I love about rugby league is the diverse cultures and backgrounds it brings together. The heritage of our players is what makes our game so special.

“Incidents like this show why our school programs like In League In Harmony and Indigenous rounds are so important to educate the next generation about inclusion. There is no place for any sort of abuse on social media towards our players or their families.”