Newcastle Knights NRLW player Caitlin Moran has come under fire after referring to the late Queen as a ‘dumb dog’ in a recent social media post.
The Indigenous All-Star ‘reprehensible’ post has sent shock waves through the rugby league community with the Integrity Unit investigating the comments.
The since-deleted Instagram post read: “Today is a good f***ing day, uncle Luke announces his tour, and this dumb dog dies. Happy f***ing Friday.”
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Moran was referencing country singer Luke Combs in her post.
The post was up for nine hours despite going viral.
2GB host Ray Hadley said on his show: “It’s perhaps the most reprehensible thing I’ve ever seen connected to rugby league.
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“If she plays tomorrow it will be a disgrace of monumental proportions.”
Moran indeed did play the next day against the Roosters where she made a try assist in her side’s 18-16 losing effort.
Some fans online weren’t pleased with the fact that the 25-year-old was allowed to play the matchup.
One fan tweeted: “Caitlin Moran playing just shows why the NRLW has no integrity & why it WILL fail. It's got nothing to do with whether you agree with her or not, you just can't have two standards.”
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Another said: “Fairly sure Ricky Stuart got stood down for saying 'dog act' and this young lady puts out on her social media that virile about the Queen passing, poor form by an Australian rep.”
However, Moran’s coach Ronald Griffiths came to the defence of his player in the wake of the comments.
Griffiths said: “I wasn't worried.
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“The relationship between Indigenous people and the monarchy is a complicated one. If Caitlin has done something then it will be investigated by the Integrity Unit and we'll work our way through the process.'
“We're talking a little bit of negativity with Caitlin, but if we look at where she's come from, in 2017 she wins us the World Cup and does her knee the year after and has probably been in the wilderness since then.
“Those are the sort of things we need to look at and celebrate. We believe she's gone from strength to strength.”
Griffiths wasn’t the only one to side with Moran.
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One fan tweeted: “Caitlin Moran as an indigenous woman has a right to say what she feels without judgment.”
Another said: “Caitlin Moran's comments about the Queen are only an issue because conservatives with a platform decided to make it one. She didn't turn up to Balmoral and start mouthing off. What she posts on Instagram means nothing. Few would've seen it if not for these purveyors of outrage.”
Topics: NRL, Rugby League, Australia
Jayden Collins