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In December 2019, some of the NRL’s leading Indigenous players flew in from all corners of the country to attend a meeting at Sydney Airport.
It had been arranged by newly appointed ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys amid growing concern about the treatment of Latrell Mitchell.
The players were angry about the intense media interest surrounding Mitchell’s move from the Roosters to South Sydney, but their concerns went deeper.
Mostly, they wanted to know the NRL had their backs.
“We’ve never had that sort of support from the NRL before,” Mitchell told the Herald in February 2020. “To have the main guy sit down and have a conversation with us was awesome. We had some relief.”
V’landys must now deliver on the promises made almost four years ago and ban Rod Churchill from presenting the medal struck in his late father’s honour on grand final day.
Latrell Mitchell taking on the Eels in Indigenous Round.Credit: NRL Photos
The NRL should follow the lead of the AFL with the Norm Smith Medal, and ask past recipients to hand over the Clive Churchill Medal instead.
Churchill’s comments about Mitchell in a private text message to Souths chairman Nick Pappas in May – that Churchill is accused of disseminating to a wider audience last week – means he can no longer do the job.
“Where was the human headline Mitchell tonight Nicholas?” Churchill texted Pappas following Souths’ 36-16 loss to Parramatta during Indigenous Round. “Missing again, this was his big game apparently? Your club will not win another comp for another 40 years if this imposter remains at Souths. He is a complete myth who has the aboriginal [sic] cause paramount and south sydney [sic] second, if at all. I hope you and family are well. Nothing was done and now this cancer that is Mitchell has ruined the club.”
He doubled down on his remarks to Sun-Herald columnist Danny Weidler and the Sunday Telegraph’s Phil “Buzz” Rothfield on Sunday, including the line that Mitchell is an “embarrassment to the No.1 jumper”.
Churchill is entitled to his opinion. And Mitchell isn’t above criticism, although his minders often think he should be.
But freedom of speech doesn’t give someone freedom from consequences and when that someone is front and centre of the post-grand final presentation, handing out a prestigious player award, they represent more than a surname. They also represent the game.
Imagine the embarrassment for the NRL if an Indigenous player wins the award in the foreseeable future and refuses to accept the medal out of solidarity with Mitchell. I can’t imagine many players accepting the medal from Churchill after the grand final on October 2.
We’re talking about none of this, of course, if Churchill’s private text to Pappas doesn’t ping around the rugby league biosphere like it did last week, prompting the Sunday papers to call him for comment.
What isn’t widely known is the text sent wasn’t the same as the one sent to Pappas. The putrid remark about Mitchell being a “cancer” has been added to the original message, which Pappas confirmed to this column on Monday morning. He also confirmed he hadn’t shared the text with anyone.
So let’s be clear: not only did Churchill send his text around to a broader audience, but he turbocharged it with a second little kidney punch about Mitchell’s character for good measure.
Churchill would not clarify either of these points when contacted; just a plea to “let this go” and that he was sorry the text had been leaked. There was no apology for the remarks, nor about slamming Mitchell again when contacted by journalists.
Mitchell is a polarising character and has been since his messy departure from the Roosters.
He was the face of Indigenous Round, which was hardly surprising given how passionate he is about issues concerning his people. “I’m the proudest black man alive,” he told the Herald at the time.
Latrell Mitchell pinches the ball off Junior Paulo during the Indigenous Round clash between Souths and the Eels.Credit: Getty
He’d been the game’s premier fullback leading into the match, lighting up for Souths in a six-match winning streak that included the prized scalps of Penrith, Brisbane and Melbourne.
Sure, he was below his best in the Parramatta loss, but so were his teammates. The Eels were also strong. Sometimes, teams lose and players don’t play well.
Churchill’s poisonous message to Pappas fed into the well-worn belief that black athletes should be seen and not heard. Shut up and play. Similar arguments were made around State of Origin in 2019 when Indigenous players were asked by reporters if they’d sing the national anthem and, when they didn’t, were ridiculously blamed for the Blues’ loss in game one.
Mitchell is not beyond reproach. Sam Burgess didn’t walk out on the club for which he bled for no reason. The stories of the past week about him getting preferential treatment are newsworthy and in the public interest, although some secret herbs and spices have been sprinkled to a few of them.
Mitchell’s inner-sanctum, especially manager Matt Rose, in some instances don’t seem to understand the difference between a “personal attack” and the scrutiny that comes with being one of the biggest names in Australian sport. It’s offensive to be branded “racist” when you submit negative commentary about the Souths fullback.
Nevertheless, Churchill’s remarks went too far; an unnecessary and damaging case of grandstanding from the son of a club legend that certainly was a personal attack on Mitchell’s character.
The NRL is waiting on a complaint from South Sydney, which is typical fence-sitting from a governing body that tries to be everything to everyone and ends up standing for nothing.
“We would consider any concerns expressed by the South Sydney club,” V’landys said on Sunday.
Time for the ARL Commission to practice what it preached four years ago.
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