Two floors up and in the shadow of a stadium in ruins, Todd Greenberg is shaking his head.
He doesn’t understand sex-sharing videos.
And who could blame him? The CEO of the National Rugby League is no stranger to waking up to a fresh horror involving one of the 500-plus men he’s indirectly in charge of: “I don’t often buy the paper, let’s put it that way”. But this latest rush of scandal – footballers sharing degrading images of consensual sex to porous messaging apps – seems to him beyond sense or reason.
Still, if the act itself is not against the law, it’s a battle for another day. “I’m not the morality police,” Greenberg tells me.
And that’s true. This year, the man in charge of the multi-million-dollar business has had to be more than that. In a bid to address what we coyly refer to as the “cultural issues” in his sport – five players or former players are currently on charges involving sexual assault or violence, plus more than a few DUIs – he’s had to be The Enforcer, bringing in the kind of career-ending bans and benchings that many both outside and inside the code have spent years begging for, but plenty of others think are an outrageous overreach.
When I asked the NRL if I could sit down with Greenberg to ask him 11 uncomfortable questions that had been handed to me directly from our Mamamia audience, I expected a no.
Top Comments
"“But I’m also at pains to say, 'Don’t judge us on the issues, judge us on how we deal with them’.”"
The NRL have dealt with decades of disrespect, rape, sexual and physical assault rumours, charges, observed behaviour and allegations incredibly badly. I have seen NO improvement in their attitude or respect for women over the years. So yeah, I'm judging you, NRL, on your track record of how you deal with the issues - or not, as the case may be. Until you level with the reality of the problem you DO have with women, you've got no chance of evolving.
Bloody great interview...well done. He is like a school principal who has to move a kid on. It is really emotional. Parents cry, kid cries. It takes its toll.