The NRL judiciary chairman Paul Conlon has quit in protest over the $50,000 fine the governing body imposed on NSW skipper Paul Gallen for his outburst on Twitter.
“I can confirm I have stood down effective immediately,” Conlon told the Daily Telegraph. Conlon believed the penalty for describing the NRL administration as “cunts” on Twitter was over the top and didn’t take into account pressure Gallen had been under for the past two years during the Asada investigation.
A district court judge, Conlon has headed the NRL judiciary for eight years but he emailed a resignation letter to NRL chief executive Dave Smith and ARL commission chairman John Grant on Wednesday.
“No player in the history of the game has been under as much pressure, stress and tension as Paul Gallen over the last two years,” said Conlon. “None of this or his medical condition was taken into account.”
Gallen used his expletive about the NRL while on holiday in Hawaii when expressing his disappointment at Cronulla’s decision to axe chief executive Steve Noyce. He was also banned from playing for Australia next year unless he completes a leadership responsibility course. He is appealing the fine.
