Souths fullback Latrell Mitchell is being targeted by fans and commentators due to his vocal advocacy for Indigenous people, according to former NRL player and Anaiwan man Dean Widders.
Mitchell is currently suspended for three weeks for an elbow used to fend off Shaun Johnson in Saturday’s defeat to the Warriors. In recent years he has been booed in stadiums and criticised widely in the media, and has been open about the abuse he receives on social media.
Widders, who played 159 NRL games before moving into coaching, said he has never seen any player receive the scrutiny Mitchell is facing now.
“[Other] players are out there doing things on their own, they don’t cop the bullying, they don’t cop all the crap on social media,” he said on SBS program Over The Black Dot on Tuesday.
Souths are under intense pressure after entering the season as one of the competition’s favourites before falling to the foot of the ladder, with just one win from five matches.
The form of Mitchell has come into sharp focus, and the Rabbitohs No 1 apologised to his teammates on Tuesday, according to hooker Savili Havili.
“This is what happens when you’re losing – you get a lot of pressure on your back, and as the star player on our team, he’s going to be the one copping it,” Havili said.
Mitchell campaigned alongside teammate Cody Walker a year ago for the federal government to crack down on social media companies allowing abuse to occur, warning online bullying led to youth suicide.
The 26-year-old is the Indigenous All Stars captain, and supported Brisbane’s Ezra Mam when he reported Roosters prop Spencer Leniu for making a racist comment during a match earlier this season.
“Standing up for what you believe in is the hardest thing you could ever do, that’s why not everyone can do it,” Mitchell posted on Instagram at the time. “You will either be hated or loved for doing it.”
Mitchell’s off-field behaviour is heavily scrutinised by the media and former National Indigenous Sportswoman of the Year, Bo de la Cruz, said he is treated differently to other players.
“He hasn’t broken the law, he’s no domestic violence abuser, not a drug dealer or an addict they are letting back into the game, he’s not a racist, so why does he cop it?” she said on Over The Black Dot.
“The big thing I’d say,” Widders responded, “is when I see Latrell, is he being punished because he’s a strong advocate for things that people out there don’t fully support – he’s always stood up against racism.”
Widders cautioned fans against abuse against Mitchell, as it impacted his family and community. “Where do they want this to end? What do they want this kid to do?,” he said.
The Rabbitohs meet the fourth-placed Sharks on Saturday night.
