Leeds Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington believes that Super League clubs have a moral responsibility to help the players and staff who have been cut adrift by the failure of Toronto Wolfpack to complete the Super League season.
The Wolfpack announced unilaterally three weeks ago that they would withdraw from the 2020 competition, and their owner David Argyle admitted that the club’s players were owed wages, in some cases going back several months.
Negotiations are now taking place for a possible sale of the club to a number of potential investors, but there is no guarantee that the club will be admitted back to Super League next season, which would depend on the Wolfpack being supported by the Super League Board of Directors.
The Wolfpack players have been offered to other clubs in Super League and Hetherington believes they should do everything they can to help.
“The clubs don’t have a strict legal liability for those players, but I believe we do have a moral responsibility to help players who have been left in a terrible situation, with great uncertainty, following the club’s decision to withdraw from Super League,” Hetherington told League Express.
“The RFL also has a responsibility to the players, staff and fans, given that the governing body admitted Toronto to its competitions initially.
“I think it would be totally wrong for the rest of the game to simply shrug its shoulders and do nothing, when the employees of a Super League club are clearly suffering severe losses through no fault of their own.
“The obligation I refer to should be for any Super League club’s players and staff. It’s not just a Toronto issue.”
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