“Confused” was the word being widely used by teammates and friends this week about Roosters prop Spencer Leniu. Confused about what he’d done wrong in calling Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam a “monkey” in the season-opener in Las Vegas.

Do not consider that an excuse or justification for his actions, although it might explain why he flippantly said in a post-match interview that it’s all just “fun and games”.

It also explains why Leniu on Thursday pleaded guilty to the contrary conduct charge before Monday night’s judiciary hearing.

“I said the word, but I didn’t mean it in a racist way,” he said in a statement. “Anyone who knows me knows that’s not who I am.”

Some people won’t swallow that, and ignorance isn’t a defence, but it will be taken into consideration when judiciary chair Geoff Bellew and the two yet-to-be-revealed panellists determine a suspension. The smart money is on four to six matches.

Comparisons have been drawn with the infamous “Monkeygate” episode at the SCG in 2008 when Indian spin bowler Harbhajan Singh allegedly said the same word to Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds. Singh was banned for three matches before the sanction was overturned while Symonds was never the same cricketer again.

Roosters prop Spencer Leniu.Credit: AP

A better comparison, however, might be an incident in the A-League in 2014 when Western Sydney Wanderers striker Brendon Santalab allegedly barked at Sydney FC’s Ali Abbas: “You f---ing Arab c---.”

Santalab insisted he used the sledge but not the word “Arab” and, like the Leniu case, there was no audio. After taking five weeks for the matter to be heard, the charge was dismissed on a lack of evidence.

The Roosters were never going to try to beat this on a technicality. From the moment Leniu told the club he had said the word, he was pleading guilty.

Mam showed great courage to stop the game and call out the racial slur. The way his teammates and other Indigenous players rallied around him was beautiful to see.

But it’s entirely plausible that Leniu didn’t understand the racial implications of his sledge, and those who scoff at that don’t understand the melting pot of cultures that make up the game.

You and I might know it’s not on, but a kid from Sydney’s west whose greatest joy in life is running hard at things may not. Few have considered this week that Leniu, a proud Samoan, might have received his own........

© The Age