Itโs hard to refuse suggestions your club has cultural issues when youโve just had to sack one of your most experienced players for something like vaping in the toilet at half-time, but thatโs the situation Titans coach Justin Holbrook has found himself in.
Heโs been put in that awkward spot by Kevin Proctor, the 283-game NRL veteran who had to be disciplined after inexplicably sharing a video of himself vaping in the Commbank Stadium toilets during half-time of the Titansโ latest loss.
Proctor was not in the team but still travelled with the squad for the important clash. After the video made its way to the media on Monday, he was dumped from the remainder of his contract.
The video was uploaded with the caption โnot the halftime vapeโ and featured Proctor nodding and blowing smoke into the camera in the type of video youโd expect from an 18-year-old as opposed to a 33-year-old.
โPoor KP (Proctor), heโs not the worldโs smartest person,โ Holbrook told AAP.
โHeโs a decent guy but itโs just a really dumb thing and gave us no choice but to finish him up.
โItโs a terrible look given where we sit on the table. People at every club are going to make poor decisions but it highlights the fact when youโre not having a good year โ thatโs for sure.โ
Holbrook said that the unfortunate incident wasnโt reflective of a wider cultural issue, but would also serve as a timely reminder to the playing group about their responsibilities to the team.
โNo oneโs happy with where weโre sitting and an unfortunate action like that doesnโt do us any favours,โ he said.
โEveryone knows whatโs expected of them. Weโre getting more scrutinised. Weโre going to be a little more careful (about) how we conduct ourselves.โ
