- Valentine Holmes has broken his silence on the white powder scandal
- The footy star was pictured with a bag containing a white substance
- He said he has learned lessons from the controversy
Valentine Holmes was unwilling to confirm or deny the contents of the white substance in his possession when he opened up the scandal that saw him fined and banned from the NRL.
Holmes was fined $25,000 and given a one-match ban after an image of the North Queensland star with a white bag in his mouth circulated on social media last month.
The post was deleted shortly afterwards and Holmes told those close to him that it was meant as a joke. But when he faced the media on Wednesday for the first time since the saga, the first question Holmes was asked was: “What was in the bag?”
“I have made my statement to the integrity unit, the NRL and the club,” the 28-year-old said. ‘That’s why I prefer to leave it at this.
‘It is of course a pleasure to be here. Mal has confidence in me doing this work for Australia, it’s always a pleasure to be here.”
Valentine Holmes has broken his silence after the white powder scandal
The footy star was fined and suspended after a photo circulated on social media
When asked if he intended for the image to be posted online, he said, “No. I will leave this at the statement I left with the NRL and the Integrity Unit, but am happy to answer any questions you may have for Australia.”
Holmes admitted he feared for his future with the Kangaroos after the incident.
“Yes, certainly,” he said. “Not only with what happened, but I hadn’t played the last four games with the Cowboys because of a suspension for the high tackle.
‘I didn’t think he would select me. Obviously I’ve been training a lot, it’s just the matches I’ve missed; it’s almost 10 or 11 weeks since I’ve played footy.
“To see the confidence he has instilled in me to put on this jersey in this match, especially for this one, my next one is my 20th Test and it’s a pretty big milestone for me.”
He added that he had learned lessons from the scandal.
Holmes said he had “tough conversations” with his wife’s side of the family after the incident
“I’ve had some tough conversations with the family, my side of the family and my wife’s side,” he said.
‘It was a tough few days there. You just have to move on, move forward and learn from it. Just be better… You never take anything for granted in life, especially what we do as football players.
“You don’t know when our last game could be or what could happen outside of football. To wear this training shirt for Australia alongside some of the great players in our game, it’s a privilege to be here.”