LEIGH LEOPARDS head coach Adrian Lam has addressed the Tesi Niu situation following allegations of abuse made against the star centre.
His partner, Kiani, who claimed to be posting on Niu’s Instagram account, said the alleged abuse took place on Christmas Day with Niu’s Instagram profile having been deleted in the process.
Owner Derek Beaumont said this on the issue: “The club can confirm that the player’s account was accessed externally and without his knowledge or consent and deleted a short period thereafter.
“We were instantly aware of this as it happened. As a club we have policies and procedures and employ a Player Welfare Manager who is a qualified counsellor.
“Our first port of call in these circumstances is to ensure the welfare of our player and any external party that may be involved. This was immediately initiated.
“Having since personally spoken with Tesi and Kiana individually and at length and then our Player Welfare Manager and Head Coach, I am completely satisfied that they are both being fully supported.
“I can also confirm that there is no official complaint to the club regarding the player nor to any relevant authorities. To that end the club will make no further statements about the matter and would welcome supporters’ trust in the clubs’ processes and findings.”
No other statement has since been released by the club, with Lam being asked at Leigh’s pre-season media day about the situation.
In response, Lam said: “It’s not something that I really want to make a comment on, to be honest with you.
“The club has brought out a statement about that and we’ve moved on from that.
“Tesi’s been really focused at training, he’s at a next level that I haven’t seen from him before at the moment.
“We’ve just got to support that process.”