Australian press reports say the players want to help draft a Charter of Social Responsibility with their clubs, developing guidelines on how to cope with situations in which their growing celebrity status led to them being confronted by sexually aggressive women.
The players views are contained in a report, Playing By The Rules, commissioned by the NRL.
The players are seeking guidelines and on-going education on specific day-to-day problems that arise in the areas of sex, alcohol, socialising, away trips and relationships.
The study was commissioned after gang rape allegations involving players which have hit the game’s image hard.
The report's key recommendations included:-
Specific education sessions exploring the ethics of social and sexual encounters;
Players to work with clubs and the RLPA in developing plain English charters of social responsibility to work within the NRL code of conduct;
Clubs to make their charters freely available to the public;
The NRL to continue its efforts to promote responsible use of alcohol in player education;
A uniform process be established for dealing with any woman who wishes to make a complaint regarding player behaviour;
Greater promotion of women in rugby league management and administration;
The NRL to maintain its off-field focus on player education.
NRL chief executive David Gallop welcomed the findings and committed to implementing key education findings immediately.
