NRL player Angus Crichton has defended himself against a barrage of hate comments and messages he’s received following a wayward tackle during the Sydney Roosters’ round six match against the Brisbane Broncos on Friday last week.
In a match which saw Easts come out on top, the 27-year-old forward was making his way down the field with the ball when he was chased by Bronco’s captain, Adam Reynolds. During the pursuit, Reynolds went to tackle Crichton, who fended him off with an accidental elbow to the throat.
You can check out a dramatic fan edit the moment below.
Fans were pretty quick to call out the move for being a bit rough.
“Angus Crichton literally turned and elbowed Reynolds in the throat and he doesn’t even miss a single match, 2nd offence too,” wrote one X (formerly Twitter) user.
“How did Angus Crichton stay on the field after a direct forearm to Reynolds’ throat? He should’ve been binned for that,” wrote another.
Others took a more creative approach to commentary on the moment.
On Saturday, the NRL Review Committee charged Crichton with Grade 1 Dangerous Contact for the tackle. If Crichton fronts up to the committee with a guilty plea, he will receive a fine of $1800. If he pleads not guilty and is found guilty by the panel, he will cop a $2500 fine.
In the same game, five other players were placed on report or put in the sin bin, including fellow Roosters Billy Smith and Connor Watson, and Broncos players Jack Gosiewski and Kotoni Staggs.
Although Crichton will cop a fine for his conduct regardless, on Monday, the 27-year-old took to Instagram to set the record straight after receiving significant backlash and hateful messages on social media.
Sharing some pics of himself alongside Reynolds from the game, Crichton explained that there are no hard feelings between the pair after the unlucky tackle.
“This guy was my first NRL halfback I played with, helped me start my career,” he wrote, reflecting on his time playing for the South Sydney Rabbitohs alongside Reynolds.
“To the people abusing me online, I’d never try and injure or hurt him — he’s my mate, was just trying the break a tackle like I always do, and I got it wrong, we sorted it out, no love lost.”
Crichton also shared a screenshot of one of the expletive-filled, abusive messages he’s been receiving since Friday’s game.
“Sorry for posting this language on here but I can’t just sit back and cop it,” he wrote.
Since sharing the post, Crichton’s comment section has been flooded with support from fellow NRL players across the comp. After all, as professional athletes in the league, they know that shit like this is bound to happen.
Just in case we needed another reminder, sending athletes awful messages after a rough moment like this or a bad performance on the field is never acceptable.
At the end of the day, sport is there for our entertainment. However, if you ever feel like sending a nasty DM like the one above, go for a walk, sit in the sun, crack open a Diet Coke and take a good, long look in the mirror.
