The NRL has handed Brisbane Broncos star playmaker Ezra Mam an official breach notice as he is expected to spend at least two months on the sidelines due to a pending suspension.
Charged with drug driving in November, Mam pleaded guilty just over a week ago at a court hearing and was subsequently fined $850 and disqualified from driving for six months.
While the NRL has yet to confirm an official punishment, AAP reports that the Broncos five-eighth is set to be suspended for nine weeks.
Due to the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA), the sanction details can not be confirmed or disclosed until Mam responds to the notice.
If this is confirmed, he won't return until the Broncos' Round 10 clash, where they face the South Sydney Rabbitohs away from home.
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Following the incident, more details have come to light as a mother and her four-year-old daughter were also hospitalised due to the unfortunate event in Brisbane's west.
โTo all the people involved in this accident, I'm truly sorry,โ Mam said after his court hearing last Monday.
โThis incident isn't a reflection of who I want to be or what is expected of me as a role model.
โAnd, to the NRL, the Broncos, my teammates, the fans, and my family โ I am sorry, and I promise to be a better person and representative of the club and the game that I love.โ
A nine-week suspension hurts the club, but does nothing to hurt the player.
He will learn nothing, other than his club and the NRL will not take any strong action.
Having said that โ as I have said before โ I do not believe that the club and the NRL should have any right to impose additional penalties, over and above that imposed by the federal / state courts (ie, the โrealโ court system). In this case, the penalty imposed by the magistrate was eye-wateringly lenient, but the principle still holds, for me.