‘Can’t say sorry enough’: NRL player Paul Vaughan sacked by Dragons after hosting party during Covid lockdown
NRL player Paul Vaughan has been sacked by his club, St George Illawarra Dragons, after he breached biosecurity protocols and the New South Wales government’s public health order by hosting a team barbecue at the weekend.
Vaughan had already been handed an eight-game ban – ending his regular season – to go with a $50,000 fine from the league, but following a board of directors meeting on Tuesday, the Dragons decided to terminate his employment, with immediate effect.
Vaughan, who has 15 months remaining on his $750,000-a-year contract, was one of 13 players hit by NRL sanctions on Monday that resulted in a combined 20 weeks in bans and $305,000 in fines.
Vaughan was joined by Daniel Alvaro, Gerard Beale, Jack Bird, Jack de Belin, Matt Dufty, Kaide Ellis, Tyrell Fuimaono, Josh Kerr, Blake Lawrie, Zac Lomax, Josh McGuire and Corey Norman at the party.
The Dragons announced on Tuesday afternoon the remaining 12 players will be issued with individual breach notices containing a confidential monetary fine that will be forwarded to selected local charities, as well as compulsory extracurricular club service.
All 13 players, as well as Vaughan’s partner, were fined $1,000 by NSW Police, and it has since emerged that de Belin and a handful of others misled authorities, the club and the NRL’s integrity unit to cover up that he had been in attendance.
De Belin told the club he had been walking his dog in the general area of the party and just dropped something off at the house, but it was later alleged he had been hiding from police under a bed.
It is Vaughan’s second breach of the NRL’s biosecurity rules after he attended a cafe while in the NRL bubble last season, and he was on his third warning for another unrelated incident.
Speaking on Fox Sports’ NRL 360 on Tuesday night, Vaughan gave an emotional apology to the community, the NRL and his family, saying he realised early on the significance of his actions.
“I understand the community and the angst this has caused them. I never wanted that to happen. I can’t say sorry enough,” he said.
The 30-year-old also said he hopes this is not the last of his NRL career.
“I really hope not, this game I love so much, it really pains me to see the impact it’s had on the game, it’s heartbreaking,” he said. “I still have a burning desire to not only continue on playing but to show people I’m a good person and to win back their faith.”
Dragons chief executive Ryan Webb had flagged further club sanctions for the players on Tuesday.
“It’s a pretty massive thing for the club, it’s not something we can solve with some light undertakings,” he told SEN radio. “There’s going to be some serious repercussions.
“We’ve got to make sure the board is aware of all the intricacies of how this played out and the reaction to everything by each of the players. Then we’ll make some decisions of what we want to do as a club. There’s a lot of people right now that have lost a lot of trust in our club and we’ve got to try and earn that back.”
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo also criticised the players for putting the competition at risk with a premeditated party while the state deals with an uncertain Covid-19 situation.
“When I think about all that’s at stake and I think about how many people are working incredibly hard to keep our competition going and keep the community safe, yeah, I was gutted,” Abdo told Channel Nine.
“But we’ve worked incredibly hard in two days to get to the bottom of what happened. Our integrity team did a terrific job.
“We’ve now dealt with it. The players understand the consequences and I think it sends a message to all the other players too, that we won’t tolerate any breaches of those protocols. They are critical to keep the season going.”