League
1News

Warriors 'supporting' Montoya ahead of homophobic slur hearing

April 12, 2022

Warriors CEO Cameron George said while the club condemns Montoya's actions in Saturday's game, the winger is still a good person. (Source: 1News)

Warriors CEO Cameron George has condemned the actions of Marcelo Montoya but says the club is "supporting him" in the fallout from his use of a homophobic slur during a match.

Montoya was revealed on Sunday as the Warriors player who addressed Kyle Feldt with the slur during Friday's stunning 25-24 golden point win over the Cowboys.

The Kiwi NRL club said in a statement on Sunday there was "no place" for such behaviour in the game - a stance George reiterated in Auckland on Tuesday ahead of Montoya's hearing later in the evening.

"We don't condone that," George said bluntly.

"Marcelo knows that, he's apologetic and we apologised to the public as well."

Marcelo Montoya runs out for the Warriors.

George will attend the hearing via a video link on Tuesday to hear how the NRL would handle the matter but hadn't put any thought into any punishments being handed down by the club.

"It's an on-field matter that's dealt with by the judiciary, it's not an off-field matter, so we'll just get through the judiciary process tonight and understand what that looks like," he said.

"I'd never consider taking an action before that process is completed."

George said the club could still weigh in on it though, citing the club's last player issue as evidence.

"If you want to look at the way our club in particular handles a situation, look no further than Reece Walsh," he said.

Reece Walsh of the Warriors reacts at full time during the round 23 NRL match between the Brisbane Broncos and New Zealand Warriors at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

Walsh was arrested last September on the Gold Coast and revealed the following day in a Warriors press conference alongside George he had been in possession of cocaine the night before.

Walsh was served a two-game suspension for the incident.

"We own it, we never try and pass it on and we try and put the right penalty in place if the NRL haven't taken the appropriate action," George said.

Like Walsh though, the club will get behind Montoya to ensure he is supported, George added.

"We support Marcelo as a person. He's a terrific human being, he's a guy that regrets the situation and he's doing it tough at the moment," he said.

"We just want to support him and his family. Tonight will be what it will be but we will deal with it tomorrow."

SHARE ME

More Stories