Penrith Panthers five-eighth Jarome Luai has released a statement regarding his best man speech at the wedding of Panthers teammate Brian To'o after the clip went viral online in the immediate aftermath of the wedding, which was streamed online.
The speech initially caught headlines after a clip was circulated featuring Luai using a word that had previously landed him in trouble with the NRL, but the entire speech drew widespread derision for a number of vulgar references.
Though he likely never thought his comments would receive such a response from the wider community, Luai has offered widespread apologies and regret to the families involved in a social media post following the speech's circulation.
โJust wanna (sic) apologise for the words I spoke last night at my brother's wedding and how ashamed I am for embarrassing both families and my own,โ Luai said in an Instagram post addressing the reaction.
โThe excitement of the occasion definitely got the better of me and I took it too far.
โNot much I can do about it now but be a man about this mistake and learn from it. Apologies to everyone I've disrespected. This is something I'll always regret.โ
It's not known if the NRL Integrity Unit will investigate Luai for the use of a racial term to describe his relationship with To'o, after the five-eighth landed in hot water for using the same term to describe Jaeman Salmon following the Panthers' 2022 Grand Final win.
Though Luai faced widespread criticism for the promptly-deleted post in October, he was not sanctioned at the time. It's not known if the Integrity Unit will be investigating the matter.
