ET's low blow
IF PAUL MELLOR was looking for a heartfelt apology from Andrew Ettingshausen when he confronted him about the affair he had with his wife he was left shocked and disappointed. Mellor has revealed ET responded by saying "everyone does it" in reference to extra-marital affairs. Little wonder Mellor is still so angry at his former Cronulla teammate - and was prepared to tell his story to A Current Affair when its reporter Tom Steinfort fronted him last week. Mellor had the choice of not speaking to him when he was approached outside his home. He told the reporter he would go inside and wash his face. Twenty minutes later after gathering his thoughts he fronted the ACA cameras and let his feelings be known. Mellor deserves enormous praise for having the courage to speak out about such a sensitive issue - he knew the effect it would have on his family and the Ettingshausens. To say Mellor was devastated by ET's actions is an understatement. It will be up to Mellor to say one day just how close he was to the edge. Mellor is widely regarded as one of the nicest and most decent men to have played in the NRL - some say that may have held him back from being an even better player.
Former teammates of Mellor and Ettingshausen wanted the world to know about what ET has been up to. They are disgusted by the former Sharks skipper's actions and they are shattered by what Mellor has been through.
There were rumours that Mellor found out about the affair at a party - much in the same way that Anthony Stevens found out about his North Melbourne teammate Wayne Carey having an affair with his wife, Kelli Stevens. Mellor says that is not correct - instead his wife fronted him to fess up. It seems that Ettingshausen will escape with his career intact with reports that he will still be the face of the Discovery Channel. Following the story,
A Current Affair has been given a number of other leads. This columnist has been copping plenty for appearing on the program - there have been plenty of threats and abuse from ET supporters. Those people clearly think what ET did was OK. To spell it out for those who enjoy mauling the messenger - ET cheated on his wife with his best mate's wife. That is not OK. The reason it is worth reporting on is because ET has traded and made plenty of money out of his wholesome image and it's something he still does through his role on his fishing program. It's terrible that his kids and Mellor's kids will be feeling pain - but that is something ET and Ali Mellor should have thought about with some seriousness before they embarked on their affair.
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...ing-murkier-20120331-1w53c.html#ixzz1qptfHqvZ
