- Top execs refused offer from governing body
- Came after footy supremo V’landys lashed out
The once-close relationship between News Corp and the NRL has been fractured with top execs from the media company boycotting the governing body’s offer of prime State of Origin tickets in a stoush over drugs in the game, it has been reported.
The drama is the result of Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys lashing out at some of the company’s publications over a question about drugs that was included in a recent story based on a survey of player agents.
NRL stars’ representatives were asked, ‘Is drug use a problem with players?’ with 31 of the 50 respondents answering yes.
The story, titled ‘The Deal Makers’, was published by the Daily Telegraph, Courier Mail, and Code Sports website.
V’landys and other members of the NRL’s top brass reacted by making angry phone calls to News Corp execs including Telegraph editor Ben English, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The ARLC boss believed the question gave the false impression that the league has a problem with illicit substances, according to the publication.
Footy supremo Peter V’landys (pictured) reportedly lashed out in angry phone calls over a News Corp story that asked player managers about drug problems in the NRL
Josh Addo-Carr’s time at the Bulldogs came to a sad end after he was caught with cocaine in his system during a police roadside test last year
Broncos star Ezra Mam was also caught with the drug in his system when he seriously injured a young girl in a car accident
‘There’s no doubt they [the NRL] weren’t happy with it, but we 100 per cent stand by it,’ English said of the story, adding that the company and the governing body’s relationship ‘remains strong’.
NRL stars have been caught using drugs in a series of high-profile scandals recently.
Most notoriously, Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam was found to have cocaine in his system when he crashed his car into an Uber carrying a mother and her young daughter on October 18 last year.
The woman’s daughter suffered a broken hip in the incident, which saw Mam fined $850 and disqualified from driving for at least six months.
Parramatta Eels winger Josh Addo-Carr was sacked by the Bulldogs on October 31 last year after he tested positive to cocaine during a roadside stop by police in Homebush, western Sydney.
He was also given a four-match suspension by the NRL over the scandal, which erupted the week before the Dogs were due to play in the finals series.
Addo-Carr denied knowingly taking cocaine.
Cronulla Sharks star Braydon Trindall failed a roadside test for drugs and alcohol while driving to training in April last year.
The 25-year-old recorded a mid-range alcohol reading of 0/125 during his roadside drug test which also returned a positive reading for recreational drugs.
