‘Unfortunate': Paul Green's family respond to Billy Slater
The brother of the late Paul Green has responded to Billy Slater's controversial comments on the eve of State of Origin II, accepting the Queensland coach's apology.
Rick Green, a barrister in Brisbane, has spoken of his family's disappointment of the manner in which Paul's death was used by Slater in an emotional response to being called a grub by former Blues player Aaron Woods last week.
The Green family are determined to educate the public that Paul died as a result of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and not as a result of a battle with depression, as implied by Slater in his press conference in Perth on Tuesday. Slater did not refer to Green by name but said: 'Although I might be able to handle [criticism], the next person mightn't be. Maybe our last coach [Green] didn't.'
While the Green family are disappointed, they have accepted Slater's apology on Wednesday morning and have indicated their desire to speak with the Maroons coach at some stage in the aftermath of game two.
'The family regrets that Paul's name was brought into the current narrative and the manner this has been done,' Rick told this masthead on behalf of his mother and siblings.
'The family wants to reiterate that we love Queensland and its team. We also bear great respect for the person charged with the team's performance.
'It was unfortunate that Mr Slater made the reference that he did, but he has responded appropriately and apologised without reservation. We sincerely wish him the best in his role as the coach of our state team.'
Slater on Wednesday apologised to the family of Green after referencing the late Queensland coach during an emotional State of Origin press conference on Tuesday.
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