Sydney Roosters player suspended for eight matches for racial slur towards Indigenous opponent

Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu has received an eight-match suspension for using a racial slur against an Indigenous Australian rugby league player during a match. The NRL revealed that Leniu had called Brisbane Broncos’ Ezra Mam a “monkey” during a game in Las Vegas recently.

Leniu was accused of inappropriate behavior after the game between the two teams in the US. Mam filed a complaint against him. Leniu admitted his mistake and apologized to Mam during the hearing.

"I want to sincerely apologize to Ezra and his supporters. I am truly sorry for using that word, even though it was not my intention," Leniu expressed.

Leniu mentioned during the hearing that he had hoped to personally apologize to Mam, a Torres Strait Islander, by traveling to see him. However, Mam, who is the Broncos' five-eighth, declined Leniu's attempt to make amends.

Although Mam was not present at the hearing, he issued a statement that was read aloud during the proceedings.

He mentioned that he overheard Leniu using offensive language towards him during the game, which made him feel extremely upset and distracted for the remainder of the match.

Mam says he was "angry and disappointed” after hearing the racial slur.

Mam says he was "angry and disappointed” after hearing the racial slur.

David Becker/AP

When asked by Nine News about the match incident, Leniu downplayed it as just "a little bit of banter."

Leniu admitted during the hearing that he was unaware of the impact of his comment on the Indigenous community, but the judiciary panel did not accept this explanation.

Roosters CEO Joe Kelly addressed reporters following the announcement of the findings. He stated that he does not think Leniu used the word in a racially offensive manner.

The club wants to make it clear that they do not believe Spencer intended to be racially derogatory towards Ezra. According to Kelly, Leniu did not mean for the term to be directed at Ezra in a racial context.

Spencer is very sorry for what happened. He has learned a lot from the past week, and we will make sure to keep supporting him and help him learn more about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island cultures.

Kelly mentioned that Leniu and the rest of the team will receive more education about the Indigenous and Torres Strait Island cultures, as well as the Pasifika culture from the Pacific islands.

CNN has reached out to the Roosters to offer the team and Leniu the chance to comment.

CNN’s Ben Church contributed to this report.

Editor's P/S:

The incident involving Spencer Len