The legacy of Inglis, Goodes and Latrell: Naden breaks silence on alleged racial abuse
Penrith Panthers centre Brent Naden has spoken for the first time on the moment he was allegedly racially abused by a group of young spectators, with the NRL closing its investigation into the matter.
The Herald can reveal Naden recently spoke over the phone to one of the men involved and received an apology. The incident saw eight fans ejected from Central Coast Stadium during the Panthers-Warriors game on August 14.
Penrith centre Brent Naden received an apology from one of the fans who allegedly abused him during an NRL match last month.Credit:NRL Photos
"I've never had to deal with anything like that in my life until a few weeks ago," Naden told the Herald on Monday. "That's why it hit me so hard."
Naden accepted the apology and the NRL subsequently closed the investigation. The 24-year-old Indigenous outside back, who hails from country NSW, has spoken of how some of the most influential Indigenous athletes of the modern era gave him the courage to speak up when he copped the tirade from the stands.
"What made it easier for me to speak up was having watched guys like Greg Inglis, Adam Goodes and Latrell Mitchell stand up to it in the past," Naden said.
"It makes you feel good about yourself and makes you proud to be an Indigenous man. Hopefully people seeing me stand up for myself will make it easier for the next generation and give other people the confidence, people at the club and young kids and cousins."
The NRL has spoken to most of the eight men who were shown leaving the ground during half-time of Fox Sports' coverage. The spectators won't be banned from watching NRL games in the future.
Naden admits there was a part of him concerned about the backlash from defending himself, but the support he received from the rugby league community justified his action.
"I'm proud of being Indigenous but I guess sometimes you don't know the outcome and reaction from people for standing up for yourself," Naden said. "To see how much support the boys got when they called it out, it makes it easier.
"Everyone messaged me. I had so much support from all the boys ... Latrell [Mitchell], Cody [Walker], Josh [Addo-Carr], Brenko [Lee] ... all the Indigenous community had my back. I remember messaging Latrell when he went through it. For him to stand up to himself, that's strong. That's proud."
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Michael Chammas is a sports reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald