Billy Slater has sensationally issued a public and private apology to the family of Queensland legend Paul Green.
It comes after the Maroons coach was criticised for comments on Tuesday which dragged Green’s tragic death into a war of words with former NSW prop Aaron Woods.
Green died by suicide in 2022 and it was discovered he was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
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At the State of Origin press conference on Tuesday, Slater insinuated Woods labelling him as a “grub” could lead to similar tragic incidents.
And in a extraordinary and perhaps unprecedented step on Wednesday, the coach addressed journalists in Perth to reveal he has contacted Green’s wife and apologised for doing so.
“Yesterday I wrongly made the link between Paul Green’s death and the stress and pressures of coaching, which wasn’t accurate nor was it appropriate,” Slater said.
“I feel terrible about what I said and I spoke to Amanda Green this morning and apologised for any hurt that it may have caused her and her family.
“I just want to say this, Paul had CTE. It’s a different disease to what I was referring to. Once again I’m deeply and genuinely sorry. Thank you.”
Queensland coach Billy Slater addresses media in Perth. Twitter
Woods went to town on Slater during his morning spot on Triple M in the wake of the coach’s decision to drop Daly Cherry-Evans from the Maroons side for game two.
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The comments from Woods divided opinion across the rugby league world, with some suggesting it added spice to an otherwise dull State of Origin series, but others claiming the former Wests Tigers star crossed a line by making it personal.
Slater on Tuesday went as far as to suggest Woods did not consider the mental health impact of his words, and made a reference to one-series Maroons coach Green.
Aaron Woods took aim at Billy Slater last week. Triple M/Getty
Woods took to Triple M radio again on Wednesday morning and suggested Slater’s reference was not needed.
“It’s a hard position he is in at the moment,” Woods said.
“You’ve got to take out he’s lost game one of the series up in Queensland, he’s coming off a losing series which was a decider in Queensland as well, so he is under a lot of pressure.
“But one particular comment he did make, I just thought Billy went a bit over the boundary, and I thought it was completely unnecessary for the situation.
“In this position you’ve got to have an opinion, whether it’s good or bad, you’ve got to be critical of people’s performances sometimes, which Billy is a lot of the time – I watch him on Channel Nine – and you’ve got to be positive as well, which he is.”
Leading NRL commentator Andrew Voss also questioned Slater about the Green reference.
“I think Billy was out of order referencing the late Paul Green. He went too far,” Voss said on his SEN radio show.
Late Maroonscoach Paul Green. Getty
“Deal with your own response but don’t bring others into it. That was beyond talking about Origin.
“Maybe Billy regrets that but the way he delivered it, it wasn’t off the cuff.”
Ironically several Blues players – including Liam Martin, Jarome Luai, and Spencer Leniu – have been publicly labelled “grubs” by Queensland players or media in recent years.
Slater was asked to respond to the verbal smackdown from his former Origin rival at the official captain’s call press conference on Tuesday afternoon and the mood immediately shifted.
“Do you really want me to answer that?” the coach replied.
“When you hold a position in the media in our game, I feel that’s a privilege and with that privilege comes a responsibility. I sit in that position most weeks [on Nine] and you amplify your voice to millions of people – you’re not talking to your mates in the pub.
“I know Aaron Woods, I ran into him about three or four weeks ago at a game and he didn’t voice that opinion then, he actually brought his son over to introduce him to me.
“I get the attention in our game … but there’s a responsibility with that attention.
“When you degrade someone personally, in a derogatory manner, you probably don’t deserve one of those privileged positions that we’re all in.”
Billy Slater fronts the media ahead of game two Nine
The crowd in attendance in Perth began to clap and cheer for Slater’s response, but the Maroons icon didn’t stop there and continued to address the situation.
“I’m not done yet,” he said.
“You don’t know what people are going through and although I might be able to handle it, the next person mightn’t be … maybe our last coach didn’t.
“I believe the character of a person is judged more on what they say about people and how they treat people, than what an individual says to create attention about someone.
“There’s your answer.”
While the comments from Woods could have been construed as drumming up interest in the Origin game according to league great Matty Johns, he says the fact Slater has reacted in such a passionate indicates Woods may have crossed the line.
Aaron Woods Cameron Spencer via Getty Images
“Whether it’s in banter, theatre, whatever it is – if you do say something about someone, and it is personal, then you hand them immediately a right of reply,” Johns told SEN 1170.
“Billy’s used that right of reply and he’s certainly taken a long handle to it. I have no doubt that Woodsy’s building up the theatre.
“When he said, first of all, Billy’s a grub, I sort of thought – it’s a bit of fun – and then I thought this is sort of starting to get into the personal area.
“In his heart of hearts, Woodsy just meant it purely as banter but it hasn’t been taken that way and when you say something like that – then you run the risk of that.”
Maroons captain Cameron Munster – who has a long-standing relationship with Slater from their time together at the Melbourne Storm – admitted the comments “hurt” those within the playing group, who will now look to “stand up” for the coach.
Cameron Munster during Maroons training. Getty
“When you’ve got a guy like Billy Slater as your coach and what he’s done in the game, it does hurt a little bit – especially the comments from someone in particular,” he said.
“At the end of the day, they’re in the media and we’ve got a lot of pressure on us at the moment. He is copping a lot of slack, but he’s doing everything he can.
“We need to stand up for him and we’ve got to do that tomorrow night.”
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