I still can't believe an indigenous person from one Island got suspended for that long from being apparently "racist" to an indigenous person from another Island, also why was the panel full of white people who couldn't address Spencers name or nationality correctly nor understand this racism has stemmed from their culture?
A panel of coloured people needed to be used here because they have a deeper understanding of what these type of words mean especially when certain people say it and taking context into consideration
I personally do not believe Spencer did anything wrong, he might have used a word that if a white person said towards Ezra would 100% be racist and to genuinely call him less than human
Lets be honest here, do people think that Spencer has not been called things such as monkey, ape, primate, gorilla, caveman or other things like coconut, fob and etc growing up or still to this day himself?
I can guarantee you Spencer has faced those words growing up from not only his own race, but also other similar races/culture and from those who have meant it racially, if you don't believe so then its time to go outside and learn the real world isn't kind or as it seems
This quote from the judiciary transcript pretty much reaffirms this point to me:
In the Panel’s view 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 player Mam.
In the Arabic language, when we call someone a monkey we usually refer to someone being cheeky, jumpy/moving a lot or naughty, racism doesn't stem from calling people animals to us, but that doesn't mean we can say it to certain people without consequences
My Islander mates from different Islands call each other racist crap that they find funny, but even if someone like me said it, they would find it crossing the line even though I am an ethnic person yet from a different part of the world, Spencer to me hasn't crossed this line as it is still between a group of peoples with similar culture, heritage and ancestry
They have not taken into account the degree of acceptance of using terms between certain groups of people that is fine, but more so the so called victims reaction and feelings...
Spencer and his team should have argued and let that panel of white people know that he isn't Tongan, but Samoan and this is considered racist to group them all alike, Spencer himself has faced racism growing up being called the same words and worse, has faced racism in the NRL with no action taken and etc
He should have also put the panel on the spot by saying if they have ever been called said words then said "well I have" because I can guarantee none of them have faced true racism in this country
What can they say or do after that, its not like they can dismiss his feelings and experiences as they took Ezras into full consideration lol
The Roosters let the NRL fist them and Spencer here instead of fighting it properly, Spencer could have easily put the NRL on notice if they wanted to start talking about racism and derogatory terms towards coloured people
All this now does is make Ezra a target from fans and online troll which is already prevalent on social media with some pretty nasty and disgusting comments towards him, have Pasifika NRL players who are in support of Spencer now sharing their racist experience while in the NRL publicly (more should do this to expose the NRL flawed stance on racism and education issues) which isn't a good look as they care so much about how the game looks in the public now lmao
It has also set a precedent for anything slightly racist said by a player to another player to be a long suspension if reported, we should should now expect more of this to happen sadly...
Lets take a recent NRL legend Billy Slater as an example, the prick was notorious for this on field racism towards brown people on the field yet nothing has happened yet Spencer has been made an example out of for such a minor thing in my eyes...
I really do hope Ezra is okay, but I feel its been taken too far and to heart by him (other indigenous people are saying its not the worse thing to be called by another indigenous person or it shouldn't mean much), I won't understand his pain from this as we are from different ethnics groups who aren't similar, but I also face large amounts of racism towards my race, culture and religion (defines my culture heavily and is native to us) that is pretty accepted to do in the media especially in places like Europe, USA and etc that he will won't understand
I also hope Spencer is okay because all this media attention and etc has now made it seem like he is a bad guy when most likely he isn't and was just acting how he would with other Islander people...
just kids totally oblivious and just banter. The same way it would have been used by Spencer. 8 weeks is pretty rough.
