'It's not tolerated': Souths stars urge police action over Paulo threats

South Sydney stars Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker have urged team-mate Jaxson Paulo to take police action over death threats after last Thursday night’s 26-22 loss to Penrith and called on players to publicly expose online abuse.

Paulo received the death threats in direct messages to his social media account following an error-ridden performance against the premiers and the Rabbitohs have encouraged him to follow the lead of Mitchell, whose police complaints led to two men being charged.

“If it comes to death threats and whatnot, and if your family is being involved, it is a police matter,” Mitchell said.

“If Jaxson is going that way, and the club is going to back him, I’m all for it.

"I did it. I got two fellows, and I can guarantee a lot of other fellows are going to be thinking twice about what they are going to say and just leave it in the back pocket.”

Souths players are supporting Paulo and say he was in good spirts after returning to training on Monday.

However, after seeing the messages sent to the 22-year-old on social media they believe police action is warranted.

“It has gotten to a point where there is a threat involved to physically harm someone,” Walker said. “It is just absolutely disgusting.

“It has blown me away that anyone thinks they can write that sort of stuff to a person and not think it is going to have any impact on the way that person lives.”

Mitchell added: “I’ve seen it and it is not tolerated. Racism or death threats … it is just a coward’s act to sit behind a keyboard and write that stuff”.

The superstar fullback held a press conference last season, alongside Souths CEO Blake Solly, to outline the action he had taken to combat repeated incidents of racial abuse by lodging a formal police complaint.

After an investigation by the engagement and hate crime unit and the fixated persons investigation unit, NSW Police charged two men with ‘use carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence’.

“The best thing for any of us, and what we have on social media, is that we can control the narrative for ourselves and by calling it out and showing people that it isn’t okay to sit there and abuse someone, regardless of any background or job,” Mitchell said.

“Keep it in your back pocket, shut your mouth and leave it. It’s easy to look at a TV and watch us play football but get out and do what we do every week - I’d love to see it done.”

Paulo switched his Instagram account from private to public in the wake of the abuse, while Souths turned off comments on its Instagram post of the full-time score "because we're all in this together".

The Samoan international sent a message to team-mates in their group chat thanking them for their support.

“It is important that he knows we all support him and we have his back,” Walker said.

“You put your arms around him and let him know that he is not in it alone, let him know that everyone at the club supports him and just explain to him that he shouldn’t have to deal with that sort of stuff.

“It is just not on and I can’t see why someone should feel the need to write something so vile.

“It is no one individual’s fault what happens on the weekend. That is why we play a team sport because we ride the highs together, we celebrate together, and we all lose together. That is the beauty of playing rugby league and team sport. “