Brisbane Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam was booed by fans inside the Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
The 22-year-old footy star, who is still serving out a nine-match ban, was seen sitting on the bench during his side’s Magic Round defeat by Penrith.
An image of Mam was broadcast on the big screen inside the 52,500-capacity stadium, with fans around the ground descending into a chorus of boos.
It is unclear which members of the fans the boos came from.
Mam and his team-mates appeared to notice broadcasters showing his face on the big screen before the 22-year-old playmaker leaned forward and cut an awkward figure.
It came after Mam had been involved in a head-on collision on October 18 with an Uber in Brisbane.
A woman and her four-year-old daughter were riding as passengers in the taxi at the time.
The child is understood to have broken her hip in the accident.
Mam, who debuted for the Broncos back in 2022, before going on to make 57 appearances for the club, pleaded guilty to charges of driving with a relevant drug present in his blood at the time and driving unlicensed at Brisbane Magistrates Court.
The footy star was subsequently fined $850 and handed a six-month driving ban.
The punishment later drew criticism from some online for being too lenient, with one X user branding it a ‘drop in the ocean when you get paid millions.’
‘For what he did, he’s been hit with a feather duster,’ another added.
The Broncos and the NRL subsequently handed him a combined $120,000 fine – $30,000 of which will be paid to the NRL and the remaining $90,000 will be paid back to the club.
Mam, who is contracted to the Broncos until 2029, was also handed a nine-game ban and can now return to play in next weekend’s clash against South Sydney.
Broncos boss Micahel Maguire hinted that he could even draft Mam back into the squad next week.
‘Yeah he’ll be ready to play, if he’s called upon,’ Maguire said.
‘He’s worked really hard in the background and I guess until you’re actually playing games you can’t qualify in that but he’s done everything he possibly can to give himself the opportunity to come into selection.
‘I talk to my leaders all the time about how the team looks and what we’re doing and moving towards.’
Mam has repeatedly spoken of his remorse over the incident and in February, he revealed he had feared his lucrative multi-million contract with the Broncos would be torn up.
‘I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried,’ Mam said.
‘I’m just grateful I did get the opportunity to keep going for the Broncos and no doubt, I want to repay them for giving me a second chance. I think that’s just about growing now from this moment.
‘The only way I can gain respect is with my actions on and off the field from now on.
‘I am truly sorry and I regret what I did. I remind myself every day that I was in the wrong, but right now I am looking forward to getting on the right path and being a positive role model for future generations.’
Mam also had been criticised for failing to contact the victims in the run-up to the court case.
He revealed that legal reasons prevented him from contacting those involved in the crash until after his sentencing.
‘Leading up to the court case for legal reasons I wasn’t able to reach out to the victims, which was on my mind throughout the whole process,’ he said.
‘Once the court case was settled I reached out that day. I also wanted to show how sorry I was in person.
‘I’ve reached out a couple of times to them to meet up. I don’t want to cramp their space or be too pushy. I just want to respect their boundaries and when the time is right and they get back to me, we will go from there.’
Mam said he was ‘proud’ of the work he has done to improve himself following the incident.
Panthers half-back Nathan Cleary put the Broncos to the sword on Sunday with a stunning performance, guding Penrith to a 32-8 victory over the Broncos.
Reflecting on the loss, Maguire said: ‘It’s never nice losing like that.
‘We had an opposition which turned the screws on us.
He (Cleary) has got that in him, doesn’t he and it’s this time of year (State of Origin) where those players start to rise. Credit to him, he played a good game.
‘They built pressure and unfortunately we didn’t capitalise when we had the pressure on, we need to be better there.
‘But as a coach I got a lot out of that game, just understanding the players and what we need to do better.
The points we had scored against us, I’ll enjoy learning about us as a team (from it). I learned a lot about the team, myself, everything tonight. It’s not nice losing but I’ll get a fair bit out of this one.’
