JUST IN: That may help to understand why he casually stated in a post-match interview that it’s all just….

‘Confused’ Spencer Leniu will forever carry his Las Vegas sin

This week, friends and teammates have been using the word “confused” to describe Roosters prop Spencer Leniu. Bewildered as to why he had called Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam a “monkey” at the Las Vegas season opener.

That may help to understand why he casually stated in a post-match interview that it’s all just “fun and games,” but do not take it as a defence or explanation for his behaviour.

 

Spencer Leniu has been sent straight to the judiciary over Ezra Mam’s complaint.

It also explains why Leniu on Thursday pleaded guilty to the contrary conduct charge before Monday night’s judiciary hearing.

“I said the word, but I didn’t mean it in a racist way,” he said in a statement. “Anyone who knows me knows that’s not who I am.”

Some people won’t swallow that, and ignorance isn’t a defence, but it will be taken into consideration when judiciary chair Geoff Bellew and the two yet-to-be-revealed panellists determine a suspension. The smart money is on four to six matches.

Comparisons have been drawn with the infamous “Monkeygate” episode at the SCG in 2008 when Indian spin bowler Harbhajan Singh allegedly said the same word to Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds. Singh was banned for three matches before the sanction was overturned while Symonds was never the same cricketer again.

A better comparison, however, might be an incident in the A-League in 2014 when Western Sydney Wanderers striker Brendon Santalab allegedly barked at Sydney FC’s Ali Abbas: “You f—ing Arab c—.”

Santalab insisted he used the sledge but not the word “Arab” and, like the Leniu case, there was no audio. After taking five weeks for the matter to be heard, the charge was dismissed on a lack of evidence.

The Roosters were never going to try to beat this on a technicality. From the moment Leniu told the club he had said the word, he was pleading guilty.

Mam showed great courage to stop the game and call out the racial slur. The way his teammates and other Indigenous players rallied around him was beautiful to see.

Roosters star Spencer Leniu has apologised to Brisbane’s Ezra Mam over a racial slur.

But it’s entirely plausible that Leniu didn’t understand the racial implications of his sledge, and those who scoff at that don’t understand the melting pot of cultures that make up the game.

You and I might know it’s not on, but a kid from Sydney’s west whose greatest joy in life is running hard at things may not. Few have considered this week that Leniu, a proud Samoan, might have received his own share of racist abuse throughout his life.

Did the incident take the shine off the NRL’s Las Vegas adventure?