Social media abuse allegations sour Knights NRL victory over Manly
The Newcastle Knights rugby league club has referred threatening social media messages sent to one of their players to the NRL's Integrity Unit.
Several Knights players shared screenshots of the messages, allegedly sent to winger James Schiller, during Thursday night's extra-time victory over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Hunter Stadium.
The messages, graphic in nature, included one that said "count your days.....I will f***ing end your life".
Newcastle Knights coach Adam O'Brien said the club was providing direct support to Schiller.
"That's worrying … for him to go through that over a couple of errors [in the game] … he's got a family," O'Brien said.
"We have a really strong welfare department that specialises in these sort of cases, so they're vital in this circumstance.
"I think at the moment its in the hands of authorities to try and help in this situation with James, but ultimately we need to be able to stop people from doing it."
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said in a statement abuse of such nature was "abhorrent."
"Any type of abuse, be it verbal, physical or online has no place in society and we want to help eradicate it," he said."I commend any player who speaks out. "We will work with the relevant authorities to take the strongest action possible."
The abusive messages were not the only negative that soured Newcastle's win, with O'Brien apologising for slamming fans who booed at half time.
The booing came as the Knights went into the break down 16-nil.
In the post-match press conference, O'Brien said the booing was "disappointing" and those doing it "don't know anything about rugby league".
In a snap press conference held in Newcastle on Friday, O'Brien apologised for the comments and said he was underprepared for the press conference.
"I apologise unreservedly to our members and fans that I offended and I can understand why they would be offended," he said.
He said he did not hear the booing as it happened, and he went into protection mode for his players when he was asked about it.
"That's not an excuse," he said.
"That's not how I feel about our members.
"They sit through all types of weather and all sorts of score lines with unwavering loyalty … and I'm disappointed that I let them down.
"Hopefully over time I can, you know, by owning this earn back a bit of their respect, because that's not how I feel about them."
Meanwhile, the Wests Tigers have confirmed Knights second rower Kai Pearce-Paul will join the Sydney side from next season, on a three-year deal.
In a statement from the Tigers, Pearce-Paul said the move would be a fantastic opportunity.
"I grew up watching [coach Benji Marshall] and have always looked up to him, so being coached by him will be pretty special," he said.
The 24-year-old from the United Kingdom joined Newcastle in 2024, in his first NRL deal after playing in the Super League.
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