The tipping point for Rose was a leaked text message sent to Rabbitohs chairman Nick Pappas from Rod Churchill, the son of South Sydney and rugby league legend Clive Churchill, describing Mitchell as an \u201cimposter\u201d and \u201ccancer\u201d on the club.<\/p>\n
Nasser has highlighted an issue in the sport he believes is still prevalent and has been brought back to light recently with the treatment of Mitchell.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a racist game,\u201d Nasser told the Herald<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s so blatant. It\u2019s appalling. It drove Anthony and Sonny out of the game. They need to be told because you want things to move forward. You don\u2019t want it to be where Anthony Mundine and Sonny were. Anthony Mundine was very vocal and rightfully so.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had zero tolerance for any form of racism that he encountered and continues to be like that. No one went through what Anthony Mundine went through, but people have a different way in dealing with these things.<\/p>\n Sonny Bill Williams at the Bulldogs in 2008 before walking out on the sport.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cAnthony was vocal about it. Latrell seems to be vocal in his silence. We need to know what he\u2019s feeling. You can tell that Latrell has been really hurt here. You can\u2019t hear him or see him now, but you hear other voices around him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s sad that someone of his profile and his standing in the game is in this situation where he is attacked from pillar to post. I hope it doesn\u2019t drive him out of the sport altogether. I\u2019ve seen it before.\u201d<\/p>\n Mitchell has flown the flag for the Indigenous cause since debuting in the NRL as a teenager, using his profile to raise awareness about injustices in society while at the same time showing fans there is a path to greatness for a First Nations athlete.<\/p>\n His stance has been embraced by ARL Commission chairman Peter V\u2019landys, who organised a meeting with leading Indigenous players back in 2019 amid concerns about the treatment of Mitchell when he left the Roosters.<\/p>\n Latrell Mitchell on the field at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium after the Rabbitohs\u2019 loss to the Dragons earlier in the year.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve never had that sort of support from the NRL before,\u201c Mitchell told the Herald<\/em> in February 2020. \u201cTo have the main guy sit down and have a conversation with us was awesome. We had some relief.\u201d<\/p>\n Not all criticism is racially motivated but Nasser took exception to comments made by Churchill in his text message to Pappas, in particular claims that Mitchell \u201cis a complete myth who has the aboriginal [sic] cause paramount and south sydney [sic] second, if at all\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there is any fair thinking person who would not agree that the Aboriginal situation in this country is far more important than your football team,\u201d Nasser said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I\u2019m sure South Sydney, the important people at the club, are all for this very humane attitude. I commend the individual [Churchill] for realising the inappropriate remarks, especially coming from a line of dignified royalty in rugby league such as the Churchills. The apology has to be taken and accepted by the most important person, which is Latrell. The attack was on him and the Aboriginal community as a whole.<\/p>\n Sonny Bill Williams greets members of the Muslim community in Christchurch after a deadly attack in 2019. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re in a position of power you need to look after these guys. I truly believe that the systems that we have here in this country are flawed and the only way you\u2019re going to make them better is if you call it out. The same goes for rugby league. These things still go on, but you need a special kind of person to take the stand and take on a big battle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe game should have a responsibility where it should act to make sure that a player that gives so much to the game is protected. Sonny, like all Indigenous and Pasifika players, loved rugby league and that\u2019s the very reason why players from those low socio-economic backgrounds are able to continually be exploited and taken advantage of. Mundine never got picked for Australia. It\u2019s absolutely ludicrous. Then they point to character issues when everyone could see it for what it was \u2013 racism.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout his time working with Mundine and Williams, Nasser has experienced plenty of criticism.<\/p>\n Williams, in particular, was targeted by disgruntled Canterbury fans who were angry when he walked out on the Bulldogs as a young superstar to play rugby union in France.<\/p>\n Nasser believes Williams\u2019 Polynesian background, and his conversion to Islam, influenced the way he was treated by people in and around the game at the time. He experienced it more with Mundine.<\/p>\n \u201cThe racial stereotypes that were coming up were crazy. Listen, there\u2019s always a way to do away with the past. There has to be a recognition within the sport that these groups \u2013 the Aboriginals and the Pacific Islanders \u2013 are incredibly oppressed within the game.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are they in the coaching? Where are they at a board level? Where are they in the media? They\u2019ll tell you, \u2018Oh they\u2019re not up to it\u2019. Well, train them up to it and mentor them through it. But they\u2019re not the prototype you need, so they get cast aside.<\/p>\n \u201dGo to American sport such as the NBA and the NFL as well as soccer in the UK. You would have never seen a black coach or CEO and owners in the \u201960s and \u201870s. That\u2019s exactly where Australian sport is today. All those countries that moved on in the \u201970s and \u201980s. <\/p>\n \u201cThere should be a quota system at board level and at coaching level that reflects their contribution to the sport on the field, which between the Polynesian and Indigenous community is about 60 per cent.<\/p>\n \u201cIt needs to be implemented to remove the power imbalance. Rugby union in South Africa implemented that a long time ago and won the World Cup last time. You can have a win on a humanitarian level and on a professional level. It doesn\u2019t have to be one or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n Stream the NRL Premiership 2023 live and free on <\/b>9Now<\/b>. <\/b><\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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