NRL superstar Latrell Mitchell announced that he considered contemplating leaving the game amidst a barrage of heinous racist messages at the end of last year.
Mitchell was famous in September for calling out racist attacks that he canceled using social media. Mitchell said he would never step back against abuse, but the bigger he was, the more the trolls pushed.
Two months later, the double premiership star was at the center of a high-profile, off-season switch from the Roosters to the arch-enemies in South Sydney, and the news only got worse from then on.
At that point, the 22-year-old was ready to hang up his boots and retire early when he drew parallels between his own struggle and that of the indigenous fellow athlete and the big swan Adam Goodes.
“To be honest, I was so close to giving up,” Mitchell told The Daily Telegraph.
“I thought, why don’t I just get a nine-to-five job and I’m not in the spotlight?
“Adam Goodes disappointedly withdrew and was booed in every game. There is only so much that a player can take before it is enough.
“It is very disappointing for him to stand up for what he believes in and then be booed and he had no choice. It affected his ability to play.
Mitchell emotionally after South’s win
“Mental health is currently a major problem in the world, and indigenous men have the highest suicide rate in the world, so that’s crazy.
“I had my demons and dark times with all that racism stuff. There is only so much that one person can endure before enough is enough.
“I thought if I give up now I give these people what they want – there are a lot of people who want me to fail and I’m not the type to give up.”
Mitchell said the hate speech brought him back when he was an eight-year-old boy who played junior rugby in Taree on the middle north coast of NSW. That day he heard someone screaming, “Tackle the black c —“.
“My father said, ‘Take off your shirt, let’s go, we’re not playing in this game.’ I was eight years old, it was an Australian woman who told me that, “said Mitchell.
“Racism is not just an issue for this week, Black Lives Matter is not just a trend, it is something that has happened all my life.”
Readers looking for support and information on suicide prevention can contact Lifeline at 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at 1300 224 636.
