Confront my son: father challenges Tahu to deny making slur
GLENN JACKSON
09 Oct, 2010 03:00 AM
HAVING made his complaints against Timana Tahu official, the father of a teenager who claimed to have been racially abused by the Parramatta centre has dared his antagonist to sit in a conciliation meeting and deny once more that he used a racist slur against his son.
Chris Binge, the coach of the Northern United rugby league team, whose members have accused the Eels star of a race slur against 16-year-old Caleb Binge, has made his complaints against Tahu official through the ARL Indigenous Council, which has launched an investigation into the events last weekend at the Koori Knockout in Woy Woy.
In yesterday's Herald, Tahu denied the allegations - that he called Caleb, who is on contract with Brisbane, a ''black c---'', which led Binge to say yesterday it was ''time to take the gloves off and settle this through the right channels''.
''There's one fact, there's a 16-year-old kid who doesn't lie,'' Binge said. ''That's a hard one to beat, Timana. When he's got a 16-year-old kid sitting in front of him, I wonder whether he'll be able to say, 'Honestly, I didn't say it'. I believe in my son, I believe in the other players who heard it, and I believe in the stand they've taken.''
Tahu, who walked out on a NSW Origin camp this year after assistant coach Andrew Johns used the same derogatory term when discussing Queensland star Greg Inglis, had stirred the pot further by claiming that Binge had been seeking ''five minutes of fame'' through the accusations. But Binge responded: ''I live, eat and breathe in my community. My credibility is intact because of what I stand for. Others' credibility can't remain intact.
''We're bound by fact. We're bound by the truth, unlike others.''
Binge was also thrown accusations of his own yesterday - from Glen Boyd, a delegate for the Yowies side Tahu represented, who said Binge was racially abusing the Eels player from the sidelines. ''If that's the level people are going to stoop to, to try and prove their innocence, then we've all got a bit to worry about,'' Binge said.
Despite the level of vitriol from both sides, Binge said there was ''a way through this''. ''The solution is simple, put up your hands and admit you did it. Say you're sorry and move on. But don't apologise to me. I don't want an apology. It's nothing to do with Chris Binge. I'm just a dad supporting my son.''
Binge also said the claims of Daine Laurie, who admitted he had ''called about 15 people black c---s'' while playing for United against the Yowies, were sad. ''If we, as Aboriginal people, have gotten to a point where we're calling each other those sorts of names, we're in a lot of trouble,'' he said.
Tahu's mother is Aboriginal. His late father was Maori.
Tahu has been picked for New Zealand Maori, who will play a Four Nations warm-up match against England next weekend. He had approached his Eels teammate Justin Horo, whose father Mark is an assistant coach with the team, about playing in the match in honour of his late father.
