CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
In one of the greatest examples of the Australian media’s delusional sense of self-importance, Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell is this week under fire for setting a bad example for the 634 people who listen to FM radio broadcasts of NRL matches while driving trucks or sitting in a jail cell on a Thursday evening.
In what could be written off as a careless gaffe for less scrutinised players, or even championed as unapologetic larrikinism for characters of the game, the double standards that applies to ‘certain athletes’ has been fast-tracked all the way to the top of the NRL’s executive administration.
Latrell Mitchell has been blasted for using three swear words while generously offering his time to the dying medium of Triple M radio at 10pm after the Rabbitohs loss to the Brisbane Broncos on Thursday night.
“It’s alright mate, honestly fuck … It was shit” Mitchell said. “In the first bit, just a hard game fuck, we showed what we were about. Honestly, they’re (Brisbane) big boys, they’re competitors.
South Sydney bosses have been urged to take strong action against Mitchell amid claims from irrelevant old men he is an “embarrassment” following the star fullback’s expletive-laden interview.
This has caused great excitement for the radio network that captured these comments that nobody heard, with the entire weekend’s broadcast dedicated to stoking drama around the earth-shattering scandal of a 26-year-old rugby league player from Taree using explicit language to describe his feelings after losing a match to one of the best teams on earth.
Triple M, a fading remnant of pre-internet media, has this week perfectly showcased why football fans would sooner get their sporting updates from Chinese-owned social media algorithms than listen to the pearl-clutchers that remain on the airwaves.
Discussing the situation later on Saturday, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said it was important that players recognise that their status as role models extends to the truck drivers working night shift on the long roads who have not yet discovered streaming apps that would allow them to do away with the media culture wars that FM radio now depends on in their battle against complete irrelevance.
“Also, the inmates who only get access to radio. We need to make sure we are role models for them too” said Abdo.
“As well as the farmers working late on the tractor. These people hate hearing swear words”
