The NRL has referred the online abuse of Melbourne Storm star Josh Addo-Carr to NSW Police.
League legend, Addo-Carr posted screenshots of abuse to his personal Instagram story on Wednesday.
The screenshots contained two instances of racial abuse against the 26-year-old Wiradjuri and Gunggandji man.
The first screenshot showed a direct message sent by an Instagram user to Addo-Carr’s account and the second contained a comment, posted by the same user, under a video of Addo-Carr and Peter Overton from Tuesday.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo told NITV News that NSW Police Hate Crimes Unit is undertaking an investigation into the events.
Mr Abdo said that the NRL will always support players who are subject to racism or abuse.
“I want to commend Josh for the leadership role he plays in the community and for calling out and reporting this behaviour,” he said.
“Fans who racially abuse or threaten our players will be reported to police and we will work with authorities to do all we can to identify the perpetrators.”
The NRL has stepped up in recent years, taking a strong stance against the online abuse of players from fans.
In May of 2021, two men were charged after abusing South Sydney Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell on social media.
Latrell Mitchell gets past Ben Hunt (left) and Cameron Munster during Game 3 of the 2021 State of Origin series. Source: AAP
Addressing the media in April, Mitchell called for an end to online abuse.
“It’s pretty sad to cop messages like I have. It’s not on,” he said.
“I’m taking a stand on it and I want everyone to know they can stand up to it too.”
