An Australian radio host has admitted he was left outraged after Ezra Mam’s punishment for pleading guilty to driving charges was revealed.
The 21-year-old Brisbane Broncos playmaker was handed an $850 fine and was banned from driving for six months, after being charged by Queensland police for driving while a relevant drug is present in his blood and driving without a licence.
He is understood to have failed a roadside drug test at the scene of the incident.
The incident, which took place on October 18 in Bardon, Brisbane, saw Mam’s Ford Ranger collide head-on with an Uber taxi that was transporting a woman and her four-year-old daughter. Reports claim the child is understood to have suffered a broken hip while her mother suffered burns from her seat belt.
No conviction was recorded with the Magistrate claiming that Mam ‘had to learn’.
The footy star subsequently checked himself into a rehabilitation centre after the incident took place. Mam has since apologised for his actions.
Some have spoken of their outrage after Brisbane Broncos star Ezra Mam was sanctioned for two driving offences
Mam had been fined $850 and was handed a six-month driving ban after he pleaded guilty to several driving charges
While outside court, the Broncos star said: ‘To the people involved in the accident I am truly sorry. This incident isn’t a reflection of what I want to be and what is expected of me as a role model.
‘To the NRL, Brisbane Broncos, the fans, my family – I am sorry. I promise to work on being a better person.’
The gravity of his punishment has raised eyebrows among some commentators, with eyes now looking towards the NRL’s Integrity Unit, who are still finalising their investigation into the matter.
The NRL are yet to announce if they will be taking disciplinary action against the 21-year-old half-back.
But pressure is now mounting on the league to come down heavy on Mam, who has not returned back to pre-season training and is not expected to re-join his team-mates at Red Hill until next year.
Radio presenter Mark Levy, who will replace Ray Hadley on 2GB Sydney’s Morning program has offered an opinion on the sanctions claiming Mam’s punishment was not severe enough. In particular, he hit out at Magistrate Mark Nolan, who adjudicated on the matter.
Mark Levy (left) has slammed the sanction, claiming that Mam was merely handed a ‘slap on the wrist’ and called for the NRL to come down heavy on the 21-year-old
Levy said Mam’s (pictured) punishment did not ‘fit the crime’ adding that he should be suspended for 12 months by the NRL
‘Magistrate Mark Nolan, he was talking tough,’ Levy said on 2GB.
‘He gave Ezra Mam a dressing down. He said: “You’re lucky to be here. You’re lucky you didn’t kill someone”.’
Levy branded the punishment a ‘slap on the wrist’.
‘I’m sorry, the $850 fine and six-month disqualification of license that was imposed on Ezra Mam is quite, simply put, paltry and not a penalty that fits the crime,’ the radio host said.
‘Ezra Mam should have been dealt with appropriately by the courts and if the Attorney-General [the Honourable Deb Frecklington] had any bottle up in Queensland they’d be asking for an explanation from the court as to why such a lenient sentence was imposed.
‘I know there’s a separation of powers, but surely, the Attorney-General up in Queensland will look at this punishment and say it’s not good enough.’
New Broncos boss Michael Maguire has previously said that Mam’s five-year $4million deal will not be scrapped, despite concerns arising over his future at the club.
With the NRL still investigating the matter, Levy believes that the pivot should not play again until 2026.
The incident occurred when Mam’s Ford Ranger crashed in a head-on collision with an Uber Taxi in Bardon, Brisbane
‘The National Rugby League should be suspending this bloke for the next 12 months,’ he said.
‘If the league wants to continue to talk tough when it comes to the off-field behaviour of its players, rub him out for a season. Send a clear message to the rest of the NRL and the rest of the NRL playing fraternity that this will not be tolerated.’
Levy wasn’t the only person to say that Mam should be given a season-long ban.
News Corp journalist Michael Carayannis said on SEN: ‘I think he should’ve missed a whole season.
‘This is a serious offence. The court’s punishment was a joke. $850? It was weak.
‘He’s lucky someone wasn’t killed. It was reckless and dangerous.’
When handing his judgement down, Magistrate Nolan had said: ‘On this particular occasion you shouldn’t have been driving because of the fact you didn’t have a licence,’ the Magistrate said.
‘Having made that stupid decision to get behind the wheel of the car, as well as use illicit substances as well… a cocktail of cocaine and other matters that were found in your blood on this occasion.
A remorseful Mam said he was ‘truly sorry’ to those involved in the incident, before adding: ‘This incident isn’t a reflection of what I want to be’
‘At so many levels you are fortunate to stand where you are today… you could have been injured or killed, or the other persons could have been injured or killed.
‘There’s no place for illicit drugs in our community, and there’s certainly no place for a person who is using illicit drugs to get behind the wheel of a car.
‘You’ve got to learn from this.’
Queensland’s deputy premier has branded Mam’s sanction ‘disgraceful’ and claimed it ‘didn’t pass the pub test’.
Admitting his outrage over the fine, Jarrod Bleijie said: ‘When many Queenslanders are fined for far lesser offences, fined far greater than what Ezra did, I don’t think it passes the pub test at all.’
‘And I think it’s disgraceful that someone on drugs driving a car dangerously, injures a four-year-old, has a slap on the wrist.
‘I don’t think it passes the pub test.’
Attorney General Frecklington added that she would consult with colleagues over whether changes can be made to the law following the incident.
‘Most Queenslanders would expect that the penalty for a driver who’s found to have drugs in their system would be more severe than the penalty for using a mobile phone behind the wheel,’ she said.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .