Mark Coyne will resign from his high-profile rugby league position on the ARLC if he is asked following a foul-mouthed tirade at Singapore authorities.
Coyne’s position on the independent commission appears untenable after he was fined $4000 after pleading guilty for swearing at police following a stand-off with a taxi driver six weeks ago.
While the episode is a black eye for the NRL, given they were this year forced to take a tough stance on player behaviour and introduce its controversial “no-fault” stand down rule following the summer from hell, it’s Coyne’s failure to report the incident which could cost him his job.
It took Coyne six weeks to report the incident to ARLC chairman Peter Beattie and said he did so because he feared a media circus would have resulted in a harsher sentence.
“I was learning a bit more about the Singaporean law over there,” Coyne said.
“There is a really strict process over there and if I had have self-reported the issue the media probably would have turned up and been involved in the legal process.
“I was warned over there by people who had experience that if there was a lot of media interest, it could have been quite detrimental to my case.
“I made a decision not to self-report for the best outcome for me and my family.”
According to court documents, Coyne hurled a string of expletives at a sergeant following an argument with a taxi driver outside his hotel.
He was arrested after failing to produce his passport, which he said he kept inside a safe in his room.
He has stood down from the ARLC and has offered to resign should the commission see fit.
“I was only charged on Tuesday and immediately after I let Peter Beattie the chairman know that I had been charged,” Coyne told reporters at Sydney airport on Thursday.
“The next day I pleaded guilty and let Peter know. At that stage I told Peter I thought it was best that I step down from he commission.
“When Peter gets back from his leave, I’ll get together with the commission. And if they believe I should resign, I’m happy to hand my resignation in.
“For me, the role on the commission has always been about what’s best for the game.”
The latest addition to the ARLC in February, Coyne had been considered a serious candidate to eventually succeed Beattie as chairman.
Coyne played 222 first-grade games for St George and St George Illawarra, six Tests for Australia, and 19 State of Origin games for Queensland.
He was responsible for one of the most iconic moments in Origin history after scoring the Maroon’s famous “miracle” try in game one of the 1994 series.
