Open Letter To The NRL & Associating Media

An open letter to all media outlets, the NRL & people who are calling for a heavy penalty to be given to Andrew and David Fifita.

As a fan of the Cronulla Sharks and the NRL I believe that the game is becoming a disgrace when it comes to referees and match officials! There should be mutual respect between the captains and the referees on field, there has to be some sort of an overhaul in the way the game is officiated and on how tries are awarded as it seems the NRL are way behind when it comes to match officials consistently making the correct calls despite having the most advanced technology and review systems of all sports Australia wide and possibly world wide. If the NRL is so concerned about the way officials are being treated at all levels maybe they should start at the highest level & come down strict on any players abusing referees at NRL level as those games are being televised nationwide & set an example to everyone else!

Due to the outcry for a heavy penalty to be handed down to the Fifita twins, especially Andrew for allegedly bringing the game into disrepute over an incident that has occurred at a junior rugby league game I took it upon myself and I have written a few examples of incidents and their punishments handed out by the NRL over the past few seasons below just to compare the severity of the charges and punishment to that of the Fifita's.

Michael Jennings: (June 2015) Charged with hindering police and offensive behaviour.
Pleaded not guilty.
Only punishment to date is being stood down for one club game (meanwhile he was not stood down for the 3rd state of origin a week later) & $20k fine with $10k of that suspended after the roosters had talks with the NSWRL & NRL integrity unit!
Court is set for September 2015

Greg Bird, Dave Taylor, Beau Fallon, Jamie Dowling, Khalifa Faifai Loa: (May 2015)
Charged with cocaine supply.
Pleaded not guilty.
Punished with 2 game suspension.

Shaun Kenny-Dowall: (July 2015)
Charged with six counts of common assault, one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and stalking/intimidating.
Pleaded not guilty.
Punished by being stood down for 3 games and admitted to hospital for mental health. Was allowed to return to training and is highly likely the will be back in the team by next weekend.
Court date August 2015

Kirisome Auva'a: (January 2014)
Charged with recklessly causing injury and criminal damage.
Pleaded guilty in May (2014)
Punished in November (2014) after playing a full season with the Rabbitohs & winning the grand final. He was not Stood down at all due to these charges until November 2014.

Blake Ferguson: (June 2013)
Charged with indecent assault for groping a women on the vagina.
Pleaded not guilty.
Punished by having his NRL contract torn up with the Canberra Raiders & found guilty in January 2014 to the charges. In 2015 he has been granted another NRL contract to play with Roosters.

Andrew & David Fifita: (July 2015)
Accused (not charged) with threatening a junior referee at an A-Grade match in Penrith.
Pleaded not guilty.
Andrew was free to play against the Bulldogs on Sunday pending an investigation as there was conflicting stories about what actually happened. Monday morning the Penrith junior league banned both brothers for a period of 12 months. Both brothers have still claimed their innocence and have been stood down by the Sharks until all the evidence is available to make a decision towards their punishment if found guilty.

This goes without the mention of James Graham, David Klemmer, Mitchell Pearce, Konrad Hurrell, Todd Carney & others.

Media and a few big names in the NRL are calling for a 12 month suspension from the NRL to be handed down due to this incident.

Now I believe a lot of these incidents mentioned above are much more serious than anything the Fifita's are being accused of. We are talking about serious crimes against women & violence towards police authority. Now if these crimes have not bought the game into disrepute and the players who have been found guilty of these crimes have been allowed to either play on or serve short suspensions only to be allowed to play again, then I believe the NRL has a bigger problem than having a couple of their players allegedly threatening a junior referee.

If the Fifita's are found to be guilty I do believe they should be held accountable for their actions as they are role models and children of all ages do look up to and idolise them as NRL players. But to say they deserve a 12 month suspension or a punishment just as severe is uncalled for.

The NRL has had players charged by the law for assault, sexual assault, rape, drug use, drug trafficking etc and most have either received lighter punishment or have served a short suspension only to be allowed to play again at the top level. If the NRL want to be serious about cleaning up the image of the game they must treat all their players as equals and hand down their punishment to suit the crime they have committed. Not pick and choose to have players on assault charges sit out for a couple of games and then have players on drunk and disorderly charges sit out for months on end!

The media has done the NRL no favours as it has had nothing better to do than to make negative claims against the Fifita's over what has happened instead of sitting on the fence and stating the facts! For example how often is it being said in the media that both Andrew and David were volunteers, giving up their time to support their junior club. Acting as a trainer and as an assistant coach for no reward and no expected accolades. These two are just as much part of the army of volunteers who support junior rugby league as are the paid referees and linesmen. That fact has been conveniently washed over. If there is a negative result for this episode, then it will be the kids who will lose the privilege to have an NRL star support them at their games, for all NRL players will be strongly advised to keep away from public venues where power hungry officials can shove a mobile phone camera in their face, say I know who you are and then slander and intimidate them. The impact of this situation and its outcome speaks for itself and could very well put a huge dent into grass roots footy!

Andrew and David should be given a fair go to prove their innocence and explain their story before being thrown to the wolves and used as an example just because the media is making them seem like the worst people to ever play the sport!

It's an absolute disgrace the way these clowns pick and choose who to single out & who to cover up. It's ridiculous & doesn't help the game what so ever!
The game needs fairness right across the board for each and every player, official and club if they want the game to grow into a respectable sport because to most fans there always seems to be "favourites" or "protected species" be it players, clubs or officials who seem to be let off a lot lighter than others.

Once all this has been dealt with, if the Fifita's are found not guilty, maybe there should be an investigation into the victims statement as to how he stated he had video evidence showing what had happen only for him to coincidently forget to record the whole incident the next day when asked for the video. If that statement is found to be made up of false accusations, then maybe the NRL or the Penrith junior league should hand down some sort of suspension to the alleged victim.

Also if the truth be that this referee is indeed a fully trained riot squad police officer, maybe the NSW police should also hold an investigation of their own into weather this gentleman is suitable and mentally strong enough to be out their protecting the community on the front lines. Especially when he was so easily intimidated and badly shaken for hours after the alleged incident that occurred. We wouldn't want him in a life or death situation having to risk his life and the life of others while protecting the innocent, when he was badly shaken up over a few alleged words thrown his way!!

If the people in charge of the NRL can use some common sense and fairness right across the game from the unknown junior player to the superstar players, from the richest of clubs to the poorest of clubs and from the most senior of officials to the newest of officials, I do honestly believe our game could be not only the most respected sport in Australia but possibly the most respected sport in the world!

Yours Sincerely
Concerned Fan