The NRL has denied claims that Wests Tigers star prop Terrell May has been blacklisted from appearing on their social media channels.
May appeared on former NRL star Josh Mansour's podcast, Unscripted, where he made claims that he and his brothers haven't been given the exposure because of their last name.
“The whole perception of the May last name, I don't want to make it an excuse but everyone knows it bro. Our last name's very demoralised (sic) in the NRL space,” May said on Mansour's platform.
“People have reached out to me saying the NRL don't approve mine and Tiny's (Taylan's) stuff on social media, they won't post you, they're not allowed to, all this kind of stuff.
“I've got a few messages from people in that space telling me they're not allowed to post (videos of) your tries, not allowed to post you guys on the app and stuff, and I'm like bro, how political is this stuff.
“That's a whole other story. I don't want to use it as an excuse, but everyone runs down my last name.”
Nine.com.au reached out to the NRL to respond to May's comments, with the publication reporting that the NRL denied these accusations from May and gave examples to Nine to prove their rebuttal.
May is a star forward in the competition, and eyebrows were raised when he wasn't selected for the NSW Blues last year when he was in career-best form.
He shed some light on the situation on the podcast and said he met with Daley after the squad announcement for 2025's Game 1.
“Last year it really effected me, but this year I'm content because I didn't expect to make it,” he said on Unscripted.
“You know how some players get the call like, ‘you need to work on this in your game to be selected'... the only time I've got feedback was when I met with him last year after game one, when I said that stupid thing."
May was referring to a joke he made on a livestream about not making the Blues squad last year and switching allegiances, which he fears cost him a debut in the sky blue jersey.
The squad was announced days following his livestream, where May was left off.
“This year nothing. Couldn't even make the 50-man (emerging Blues) squad, I'm just wondering what I need to improve to try tap into that space," he added.
“Obviously everyone wants to play Origin in their career but yeah, I just got no feedback from anyone.”
May is one of the most honest and transparent figures in the NRL, and gives fans unfiltered access to his character, as seen with the appearance on Mansour's platform.
He also shares a podcast with his brother Taylan, called MAYDAY, giving unprecedented insight into the game's biggest athletes, getting to know them on a personal note on their own terms. It is great for the game.
Laurie Daley will pick his NSW Blues team for Game 2 of the State of Origin series on Monday.
