Reformed NRL bad boys Mitchell Pearce and Todd Carney want person who released pictures of Latrell Mitchell punished

Former NRL star Mitchell Pearce has called on the game to “come down hard” on the person who took a photo of Latrell Mitchell and then shared it without his permission, with the playmaker fed up with people who “get away with murder” by leaking images without any repercussions.

The NRL integrity unit is investigating the photograph, which shows the injured fullback leaning over a table with what appears to be a white substance.

There is no suggestion that it’s an illicit substance, with the grainy image showing Mitchell in the room with an unidentified woman and what appears to be a raspberry Cruiser while he was in Dubbo doing community work.

Pearce and former teammate Todd Carney, both reformed NRL bad boys, spoke on the Half-Time podcast and called out the person who distributed the image, with both men having their own experiences with footage that was shared on social media without their permission.

Pearce was banned for eight matches and received a heavy fine from the NRL in 2016 after a leaked video showed him simulating a lewd act with a dog, while Carney’s NRL career ended in 2014 after a video showed him doing “the bubbler” in a bathroom.

“I hope someone comes down hard on the person who’s filming these things,” Pearce told the podcast.

“It would be good to know what the laws are around this because it’s bulls--t. You’d hope it’s not his mate, but whoever was in there and doing that stuff needs big repercussions.

“The game needs to find out who these people are and go hard on them. They should name and shame them because these people get away with murder and there’s no repercussions.

“Poor Latrell will put his hand up and say he’s done the wrong thing, but the other person who filmed it needs to be named and shamed and have their photo on the back page.

“It’s a horrible feeling right now to be Latrell and to have this stuff surface.

“I feel for him, but at the same time, if he’s done this then he’s put himself in an average position, hasn’t he?

“It’s not good for the game and it’s not good for Latrell. No one knows what that white substance was, so it’s hard to comment on that, but it’s not good for the game and it’s not good for Souths with the year that they’ve had.”

Both Pearce and Carney are now sober and are enjoying life back in Australia following stints overseas.

Carney had his fair share of dramas throughout his career and hopes the right people are looking after Mitchell as he deals with the intense scrutiny coming his way.

“It’s a horrible feeling being on the back page at the best of times for anything, but it’s just sad to see because while we don’t know if he’s done the wrong thing or not, it’s sad to see the privacy broken again for a sports player,” the former five-eighth said.

“People listening will be saying ‘they shouldn’t have done the wrong thing’ but if he’s in an environment with his mates or whatever, by the looks of it, someone has taken it from a distance.

“For Latrell, it’s obviously going to have massive ramifications on him. He’s one of the biggest stars of our game … so there’ll be a lot of eyes on him for that.

“My worry is now for Latrell and how he handles it, what he does in the next 24 hours and if he comes out and owns it or shies away from it. That’s the concern for a player because we’re all human and we make mistakes.

“Hopefully, Latrell has enough support around him over the next 24 hours to two weeks because they won’t leave him alone until they get a story. I’m going to stick up for Latrell, and hopefully he’s all right.”