‘It's in the past now': Leniu and Mam put Vegas racism saga to bed in emotional Origin embrace
The 16-month feud between Ezra Mam and Spencer Leniu is over after the pair shared a heartfelt embrace in the middle of Optus Stadium after Wednesday night's State of Origin.
Vision captured by this masthead shows Leniu exchanging words with Mam – Queensland's 18th man – after the game and the pair sharing a hug more than a year after the racial slur that hijacked the NRL's landmark season-opener in Las Vegas.
Despite the disappointment of an agonising loss to Queensland, Leniu on Wednesday night apologised to Mam for calling him a 'monkey' in the match between the Roosters and Broncos in Las Vegas that launched the 2024 season.
'It's great that me and Spencer got the chance to see each other face to face last night,' Mam said.
'As for the racial vilification issue, that's in the past now. We've moved forward. The story in the media that said I thought I was being booed at Brookvale because of this issue is not true. I understand the situation and why that happened and will continue to work on being a better person and making the right choices.'
Broncos and Maroons forward Patrick Carrigan, who was one of the players who confronted Leniu in the team hotel in Las Vegas following the incident last year, watched the embrace in Perth with interest but did not involve himself.
Leniu was banned from the game for eight weeks for the slur. Leniu has denied intentionally racially vilifying Mam, and said he thought it was 'one brown man saying something to another brown man'.
The fallout from the incident spilled over again this year after Leniu took aim at Channel Nine commentator Johnathan Thurston for comments on a podcast stating his belief that Leniu's slur warranted a harsher punishment.
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