Walker now under police investigation
SOUTH Sydney star Cody Walker is now under investigation regarding the same brawl over which he told police he had been blackmailed.
Video footage emerged that appears to show the Rabbitohs playmaker kicking a man in the chest in the middle of a road in Casino on December 1.
Walker told police on Sunday he had received a phone call on Saturday evening from someone threatening the video would go public unless he paid a sum, which The Daily Telegraph understands was $20,000.
Police confirmed yesterday they were investigating the alleged blackmail incident. But, they will also now investigate the alleged brawl involving Walker, who was due to be interviewed by the NRL integrity unit yesterday afternoon.
Police said the incident was not reported to them when it occurred on December 1.
It was claimed Walker had become involved in an incident to try to separate two men having a fight.
The four-minute video begins with two other men in a stand-off, before beginning to fight. After a minute of scuffling, Walker charges in and lands a heavy kick on an unsuspecting man’s chest, sending him stumbling backwards on a public street.
At the time Walker was recovering from shoulder surgery and apparently could not use his arms to intervene.
“Cody’s embarrassed by the attention it’s brought to himself and the club,” his manager Matt Rose told News Corp yesterday morning.
“He understands as an NRL player he can’t be involving himself in these sort of incidents. We’re now co-operating with the integrity unit and the police, regarding the (alleged) extortion attempt.”
Paul Crawley and Phil Rothfield