Warriors chief executive Cameron George has hit back at accusations that the club showed a lack of urgency in dealing with Marcelo Montoya's homophobic slur, saying NRL processes prevented an earlier response.
In the wake of the incident during Friday night's win over the North Queensland Cowboys, where Montoya's derogatorycomment directed at opposition winger Kyle Feldt after a tackle in the 60th minute was picked up by the referees' microphone, the club didn't issue a public comment until nearly 48 hours later.
That delay has been criticised across the Tasman, with former Kangaroos prop Ian Roberts, the NRL's first openly gay player, saying there needed to be "a quicker response from the clubs and the NRL".
However George said that both the club and Montoya "were ready to go" with an apology and a statement on Saturday, but NRL processes delayed that intention.
George said he didn't have any communication with the governing body on Friday night after the game, nor Saturday.
"I heard through the grapevine that a spokesman for the NRL said there would be an immediate investigation into the matter," said George at a Mt Smart press conference on Tuesday. "No one contacted me until Sunday afternoon from the NRL."
George said he had spoken to staff and players on Saturday about the incident, as well as dealing with Montoya.
"[But] due to process at the NRL's end, I was held up from making a statement," said George.
Marcelo Montoya of the Warriors. Photo / Photosport
George said the club always prefers an assertive approach, citing the Reece Walsh drugs saga as an example, when the teenager was forced to front the media hours after his arrest last September.
"Look no further than [that]," said George. "We own it, we never try to pass it on. It is not our style; I would have been out Saturday morning if I was told by the NRL what they were investigating into and how they were doing it.
"I wouldn't have cared about their process and would have just made our statement and apologised, Marcelo was ready to go."
Captain Tohu Harris backed up George's statements, saying that a contrite Montoya called him personally soon after the incident.
"He couldn't be more remorseful and apologetic about how he let down the club, he almost couldn't put it into words but you could hear it in his voice how regretful he was of his actions, because he is not that type of person," said Harris.
"As a club and as players we don't condone that sort of behaviour [or] language and we know that he doesn't either. It was just a massive error of judgement."
George also emphasised that Montoya, who was voted Warriors club man of the year in 2021, went above and beyond in the community.
He described how Montoya volunteers on a fortnightly basis at a Brisbane homeless shelter and also went "off his own bat" to help out a flood ravaged junior league club with a clean up a few weeks ago.
"That's his character and that is why it is so far out of character for him to do this," said George. "We support Marcelo as a person, he is a terrific human being, he regrets the situation and he is doing a little bit tough at the moment."
George said the club would wait until after any NRL sanctions are applied through the judiciary process before deciding if any further action was warranted, in terms of club based fines or penalties.
George, Harris and owner Mark Robinson fronted a press conference ahead of tickets going on sale on Wednesday for the July 3rd homecoming game.
He promised that the event will be a "memory for a lifetime" with special entertainment plans around the match with the Tigers, the first in Auckland for almost three years.
"We are expecting a lot of interest," said George. "I have no doubt that rugby league will fill this stadium."
