Stuff Digital Edition

CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY?

Katarina Williams

Softly spoken Olu Siohane-Hune could be considered a regular 10-year-old sports-mad kid, playing for his beloved Porirua Vikings Rugby League Club and dreaming of one day suiting up in the toughest competition in the world – the NRL.

But last week, the primary school student found himself in a situation that was anything but typical, when The AM Show broadcaster Duncan Garner described the physique of an AWA Hutt Valley player as ‘‘like a man playing boys’’.

Standing at 1.72 metres, Olu – the largest player on the AWA team – towered over his opposition at the under11 New Zealand Ma¯ori Rugby League (NZMRL) tournament in May where Garner’s son represented Auckland Ma¯ori.

In his commentary, Garner spoke about finding out a Hutt player was 14 years old, remarking: ‘‘If you cheat, you are asking for sideline chaos.’’

Aware of his considerable size, Olu asked his father Stan Hune if he could play two grades higher in club league at age 8, but when the opportunity came for Olu to play in a national Ma¯ori tournament in his correct age group, the pair believed it would be a safe space.

Sadly, this was not the case, with Hune claiming Olu was subjected to verbal sideline abuse, including being labelled ‘‘a bully’’.

Because Olu wasn’t a traditional Ma¯ori name, one woman questioned whether the youngster, of Niuean-Ma¯ori ancestry, was ‘‘even Ma¯ori’’. Another asked he could produce photo identification, while opposition players were encouraged to: ‘‘Smash that big boy. He’s tired.’’

In Olu’s first game, Hune said his son broke down in tears after injuring an opposition player in a tackle.

Hune received no response to a complaint he made to The AM Show on Tuesday last week.

In a post on the Porirua Facebook page – which has more than 41,000 followers – Hune asked wha¯nau to learn from this, and to ‘‘not be like Duncan’’.

‘‘The suicide rate for Ma¯ori under the age of 18 is high as it is. By doing this, you are only contributing to towards the statistics.

‘‘Duncan, for future reference, please don’t present false information on national television. People like yourself are meant to empower and protect our rangatahi, not oppress them and put them at risk,’’ Hune wrote.

When Garner and his employer, Discovery NZ, was approached yesterday and a picture of Olu’s team provided, the television anchor claimed it was a case of mistaken identity.

‘‘The player referred to in my editorial was not 10-year-old Olu. It was another player who we were told was 14 and who our coach laid an age-related complaint about with the NZMRL at the time,’’ Garner said.

Garner’s online editorial was amended to delete references to both Auckland Ma¯ori and Olu’s AWA team, and the video removed.

Discovery NZ said Hune’s complaint was ‘‘missed by production’’ and apologised.

But the saga has taken its toll on young Olu.

‘‘That night [I saw the video], I was upset. I couldn’t play the under-13s tournament, and I could’ve had the chance to make the NZMRL team.

‘‘I’m also worried just in case I go up next year that other parents will go ‘you’re 14, you’re a cheat, you shouldn’t [have] been playing under-11s last year. Get off this field.’ Like that sort of stuff,’’ Olu said.

NZMRL chairman John Devonshire contacted Hune after Garner’s comments were broadcast, and asked permission to make a formal complaint to The AM Show. Hune agreed.

Comment, including confirmation a complaint was made, was sought from Devonshire and NZMRL on Thursday. ‘‘This matter is with our legal advisers, and we have been advised by them not to comment at this stage,’’ Devonshire responded.

Hune said his son was stuck.

Last weekend, Olu was preparing to play in the NZMRL under-13 tournament, but was declared ineligible by New Zealand Ma¯ori Rugby League (NZMRL) at the 11th hour because he was too young. Instead, Olu attended as the team water boy.

‘‘The issues we’re experiencing at the moment is Olu’s too big for his own age grade, and now he’s too young to play against kids his size.’’

Olu’s predicament was something other Pasifika children faced.

‘‘There are a lot of players in our Porirua community where parents make that decision they shouldn’t be playing sport because of that sideline abuse . . . it does take a toll on them mentally,’’ Hune said.

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2021-07-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://stuff.pressreader.com/article/283115661980202

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