After pleading guilty to bashing his pregnant girlfriend in late 2011, Robert Lui has been suspended by the NRL for the remainder or the 2012 season.
Lui will be allowed to resume playing for the North Queensland Cowboys next season, who signed him knowing the charges he faced, because if he can go for 12 months without bashing his girlfriend again, apparently, that will be good enough.
Now, if you are a female fan of the game of Rugby League and you are completely outraged by this, too bad. You ladies are going to have to take a beating sometimes because hey, its not every day you can find a cheap halfback on the market.
Rugby League would still like you to attend games, buy jerseys, and one day, encourage your children to play the game. Just don’t expect Rugby League to make a stance over domestic violence….hey, you lot aren’t that important….
In fact, the next time one of you gets bashed by a footy player, if you could keep it to yourself that would be much better for everyone involved.
Lets face if, Robert Lui didn’t come close to ending up in jail for bashing his pregnant girlfriend. He was supported by two different clubs. He is still employed by the NRL and when you look at the way the media treated this case….what chance have you really got?
You’re better off being a silent victim. Come out and allow the game to use you during “Women In League” week, but then shut up and keep quiet.
Of course, none of what I have just written should be the case. You all know how I feel about cunts like Robert Lui. He should have had his contract torn up the first time he bashed his girlfriend. If he wanted to go to court for wrongful dismissal or restraint of trade, please do.
Please stand up in front of a judge and tell him how you bashed your girlfriend and that you don’t think it should cost you your job. Give me a chance to stand up and tell the court that we, as a sport, do not tolerate violence against women. How we are simply enforcing standards the Rugby League community expects from us as an employer.
It is not always as black and white as it has been for Robert Lui. In the past a number of other players have been accused of domestic violence against women. In many of those cases the women who were alleged to have been assaulted, incredibly, stood up in defense of the players in question.
When a player is found “not guilty”, the NRL has its hands tied to a certain extent. Legally the NRL can not refuse to register a contract for that player. Here is the thing though….clubs have no obligation to sign that player. Clubs can set their own standards on recruitment. They can simply not offer these players contracts.
They do though, because at the end of the day, as always, self interest rules in Rugby League.
When a coach is under pressure and a CEO is looking to sell corporate boxes and sponsorship’s based on team performance, if there is a player out there that can make their jobs that little bit easier, they will usually turn a blind eye to any baggage a player may carry.
I can tell you that as a Penrith Panthers fan, if the difference between winning and Grand Final and missing the finals series all together comes down to signing some creep who bashes women, I will happily see my team miss the finals every single time and keep their integrity within the local community.
So what happens now? If Robert Lui bashes his girlfriend again, will he just be allowed back? He has bashed her twice now. Will the NRL draw a line at bashing her three times? What is the difference?
Once should be enough!
You want to bash a woman like a coward, fine. Your career is over. You will never be able to play Rugby League again. You will never earn another dollar out of the game. You will never represent a club. You will never end up on a poster on a childs wall. You are done!
No one wants Robert Lui to ever have another chance to play Rugby League again. I have had hundreds of Twitter messages, emails and text messages about this, and not a single one even hinted at Robert Lui being given another chance.
Forget football for a moment….what type of country do we live in that allows you to bash a pregnant woman as she cradles her stomach, trying to protect her unborn child, you please guilty to bashing her, and you don’t go to jail?
I am completely disgusted by the justice system that it would not put this coward in jail, where he belongs. I am disgusted at the NRL and ARLC for this limp wristed reaction that came way too late.
I am disgusted by the Wests Tigers and North Queensland Cowboys, both of whom stood by Robert Lui.
The NRL pays lip service to female fans about how valued they are by Rugby League. They make teams wear pink jerseys and pink socks. They sell pink scarves and print white ribbons on their jerseys. They even make videos and tell their star players to look into the camera and say domestic violence is not tolerated.
When it all boils down to it though, the NRL has made it stance very clear.
If you a shred of playing ability, and you just happen to be a cowardly cunt of a person that likes to bash women, well then, you’re alright as far as the NRL is concerned.
I will not let this issue die.
Women don’t have enough of a say in Rugby League at any level.
The NRL liked to parachute women in at its highest level of governance, but in club land, try finding a female board member. They are as rare as hens teeth.
When it comes to the media, how many women have high profile forums where they can give an honest opinion without having to suck up or toe the line. Any time a woman asks a tough question they get some arsehole like Peter Peters telling them they are a “good sort” and belittling them as they just try and do their job.
We need more men in Rugby League to stand up say enough in enough. If you find it uncomfortable that I will speak on behalf of women, I don’t care. I will stand up and speak out against the pathetic attitudes that Rugby League holds against women all day, every day, and I don’t give a fuck if it makes you and your neanderthal mates feel uncomfortable.
We need men who will not sit back and ignore the elephant in the room because it is the easy thing to do.
If you feel the same way I do, sign this petition: Stand against an NRL that accepts violence against women
