Former rugby league star Sam Burgess has stood himself down from his coaching duties at the South Sydney Rabbitohs and his commentary role at Fox Sports while the NRL and police investigate serious allegations of domestic violence and drug use made against him.
The Australian claims the Rabbitohs covered up several incidents involving the former England captain that allegedly took place in 2018, which ranged from domestic violence against ex-wife Phoebe while she was pregnant along with a range of failed drug tests, which the club allegedly attempted to cover up.
The 31-year-old's lawyer Mark O'Brien says his client strongly denies all allegations.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo says the league will take "strong action" if the allegations are proven true and he's asked the Integrity Unit to launch a "comprehensive investigation" into the claims.
The Rabbitohs have also responded to the report, describing the allegations "very disturbing", adding that they are treating them "with the utmost seriousness".
New South Wales police said they are investigating after "various allegations" involving Burgess.
"We're not going to take action on allegations," says Abdo.
"We will put all our resources into getting to the bottom of what occurred and rest assured to all of our fans and our partners, to everyone in the game, this is new information to us, we will act on it, we will do our investigation and we will take the appropriate action.
"We have a track record of doing that and we will continue to do it. Because it's really important to us, it's important that people feel safe, it's also important that we take our responsibility in society very seriously.
"However, we need to let the course of justice flow, we need to make sure that any allegations made are tested before we decide what sanction is appropriate."
The incident overshadows the build-up to the Rabbitohs' NRL elimination finals match against the Newcastle Knights on Sunday, and coach Wayne Bennett is set to front the media on Saturday.
The Rabbitohs said they will cooperate in the investigation, although the report made serious allegations against the club saying that Burgess tested positive for ecstasy and ketamine, and Souths allegedly used fake identities to cover it up.
"There is no place in our society for violence, harassment or abuse against women," the Rabbitohs said in a statement. "If anyone is found guilty of allegations of this nature, the club will take the strongest possible action.
"The club takes issues of drug use very seriously and has well-established policies and procedures in place around the use of performance enhancing or illicit/recreational/prescription drugs. The club will continue to work closely with ASADA and the NRL which administer testing of the players.
"The club will also continue to work with the playing group to support their wellbeing and educate them about drug use."
Burgess also reportedly admitted to cocaine use.
The Australian released the allegations after uncovering "pharmaceutical records, sworn statements to NSW Police, statutory declarations, witness accounts, call logs, emails, text messages, bank records, WhatsApp exchanges and Uber receipts".
Burgess retired from rugby league in 2019 after struggling with a shoulder injury.
Last month he revealed he'd considered returning to the NRL, but that dream has been put on ice for now.
