'Shattered' Phil Gould speaks out on Panthers sex tape scandal
Penrith Panther boss Phil Gould has spoken out in the wake of the sex-tape scandal engulfing his club.
Star playmaker Tyrone May was charged by police with two counts of recording an intimate image without consent and two counts of disseminating an image without consent on Tuesday.
May was subsequently stood down by the NRL, under the new ‘no-fault’ policy green-lit but the ARLC last week.
In an interview with Channel 9, Gould said he believed the issue of players filming sexual encounters was ‘ extremely widespread’ across the NRL.
“Talking to people in circles who deal with this every day – court judges and police and all that sort of thing – we’re dealing with this in all walks of life,” Gould said.
“And the real worrying thing is that this is conditioned into the kids in the schools. This age of technology and mobile phones and cameras, it is commonplace from a very, very young age.
“Kids will be sharing videos and explicit videos.”
The Penrith legend said despite the scandal being an immense distraction for the club, he hoped the players would find a way to battle through.
“We have a very strong club and I’m shattered that this has happened to our club but we’ll get through it,” he said.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Gould said the Panthers supported the league’s decision to stand down May until the matter is resolved.
It is alleged the Panthers star filmed and distributed video of sexual acts with two women without their consent.
May was granted bail and will face court on May 1.
Panther’s chairman David O’Neill said May would continue to train with the club until the matter was resolved.
PANTHERS. It’s been a very difficult few days. Our club has moved swiftly to engage NRL Integrity and move towards a speedy resolution. I have unwavering faith in the quality, strength & culture of our club. I sincerely thank our friends, fans & sponsors for messages of support.
— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) March 5, 2019
Gould posted a statement to Twitter, supporting the NRL’s decision to stand May down.
“Penrith Panthers supports the NRL decision to implement the no-fault stand down policy in relation to Panthers player Tyrone May,” the statement read.
“Tyrone will be sidelined until his current court proceedings are concluded.”
In a separate tweet responding to a fan, Gould said the Panthers would have stood May down regardless of the NRL’s no-fault policy.
Without doubt. We have worked very closely with the NRL right throughout this process. New rules stipulate charges of this nature are referred straight to NRL. https://t.co/B3BNV21G2r
— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) March 5, 2019
