Sydney Roosters skipper James Tedesco has opened up on the incident which saw him fined $10,000 last year for bringing the game into disrepute.
Tedesco allegedly used the phrase "squid games" - the name of a popular South Korean Netflix series - at a woman of Vietnamese descent.
At the time, the Roosters, said they had conducted a proper investigation, with a statement released to The Sydney Morning Herald suggesting the club found Tedesco had nothing wrong.
โAfter we found out about the Instagram post we thoroughly investigated the matter,โ chief executive Joe Kelly told the publication at the time.
โThere was absolutely no interaction between James Tedesco with this group of people. We categorically deny that anything untoward occurred.โ
Despite that, the NRL would eventually slug Tedesco with a $10,000 fine following an integrity unit investigation.
Speaking at the NRL season launch on Thursday, Tedesco said he "owned up to it."
โIt was disappointing as a leader and a role model for the game,โ Tedesco said.
โThe way I handled it I spoke to who was affected and owned up to it.
โI was obviously disappointed but happy with how I approached it all and it was all sort of settled.
โIt was more about owning up to that and taking responsibility.
โEven in our pre season weโve talked about how we want to be role models.
โI know Iโm a great role model but I know I can improve because I donโt want to have any stuff ups or wrongdoing towards our club.
โIf Iโm out having drinks Iโve got to be aware and Iโve got to be responsible.
โBeing the captain youโre not a young kid anymore you canโt just go out and have beers all the time with the younger boys.
โIโm engaged now and I want to start a family. I feel like Iโve taken that step forward and Iโm really excited about my life personally for the future.
โIโm mature now. As a captain Iโve got to be the guy who goes out and looks after the boys. Iโve got to set a good example for them.โ
The Roosters captain, despite being fined, wasn't suspended for the incident. Despite that, he is racing the clock to recover from an off-season stem cell procedure to be fit for Round 1, having missed both trial games.
