'We cannot crucify them': Erin Molan joins Beau Ryan in defending Bulldogs stars charged and fined for getting naked and drunk in a Sydney pub on Mad Monday
Sam Duncan
Erin Molan and Beau Ryan have defended the Canterbury Bulldogs players fined and charged after boozy Mad Monday celebrations.
Ryan said Adam Elliott's charity work with autistic children should be recognised, while Molan stressed the players were not bad people.
Former Canterbury captain James Graham also spoke out on Thursday, slamming the 'outrage culture' in the game and highlighting Elliott's community service work.
Elliott and Asipeli Fine were charged by police for allegedly dancing naked at a Sydney pub, while Marcelo Montoya and Zac Woolford copped fines from the club.
Second rower Elliott was allegedly photographed having his genitals grabbed by a teammate, while another player was allegedly seen standing over his own vomit.
'They are not bad people, we cannot crucify them,' Molan said on the Footy Show on Thursday during a discussion of the incident.
She spoke after Ryan complained the media was not saying anything positive about Elliott, despite his community service work.
'He's had a hard couple of days, but he's been nominated for Ken Stephen Community Award. He does a lot of work with kids with autism,' Ryan said.
Graham was scathing in his own assessment of the fallout from the incident, hitting out at telephoto lenses and 'cheap media',
The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
'There have been some stories I've read ... it's just so cheap. People need to be careful about what they want and where this sport is going,' he said.
'When you talk about having access to players for media and for fans, do you think this will help?'
Bringing up Elliott's studies and work with children with autism, Graham said the Mad Monday antics 'do not define who he is'.
Graham also asked why the Bulldogs were the old team photographed, and said every team's Mad Monday celebrations could contain something to be outraged about.
'Some of the people in the outrage culture don't understand team dynamics and the different people within the team, the personality types and traits, and what makes it click,' he said.
Elliott, 23, and Fine, 25, were charged on Thursday and fined $25,000 each by the club for their alleged drunken antics.
Marcelo Montoya - who was pictured having thrown up and passed out on the street - and Zac Woolford were also fined $10,000 each by the club.
The criminal charges came after the club was slugged with a record $250,000 fine by the NRL over the wild night of partying at the Harbour.
Elliott and Fine will will appear in Downing Centre Local Court on October 24.
