Leniu also denied knowledge of the so-called 2008 “monkey-gate” incident in which Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds was allegedly racially abused, or the terrible scenes at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2013 where a young fan called Sydney Swans star Adam Goodes an “ape”.

The judiciary was having none of it, unanimously finding that Leniu did intend his use of the word “monkey” as a racist comment. The panel also rejected Leniu’s claim that he was unaware that the word, when used towards the Indigenous community, was a racist term. “In light of that finding, the panel was satisfied that the offending fell at a high degree of objective seriousness,” they said.

Of Leniu’s assertion that people with the same skin tone as him often use certain terms to describe each other, the panel said: “The fact – if it be the fact – that there is a degree of acceptance of terms such as ‘monkey’ between certain cultures, is not to the point. The simple, and more important, fact, is that such a term was derogatory to Mam. The fact that Mam acted in the way in which he did clearly demonstrates, if any demonstration were needed, the unacceptability of the use of such a term towards members of the Indigenous community.”

The panel did note that Leniu had pleaded guilty, and were satisfied that he was genuinely remorseful. That said, the remorse took some time to arrive, with no apology forthcoming for five days. Immediately after the game, Leniu was asked by a reporter about the on-field incident and he laughed it off as “fun and games”.

Leniu was ultimately slapped with an eight-game ban. Some fans believe it was too harsh, others not severe enough. League legend Johnathan Thurston has already said the NRL has failed the Indigenous community by issuing Leniu with just a ban of only eight weeks, insisting 12 would have been more appropriate.

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Views on the punishment will inevitably vary. But what should be a universally accepted view is that racism is never acceptable, and that this sorry affair should be a wake-up call for any player or club official who believes racism on or off-field is merely fun and games.

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