Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Kid Now with Correos the podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
So just before the news we talked about Ezra Maam,
who has been continued to be in the news despite
the story happening. Was it November, It was a lot
long ago, and the story of his accident and the
consequential bands and fines from rugby League. He's a little
bit of the headline.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
The secondary test has been returned and police say it
shows he had drugs in his system when Ezra Maam
crashed his use into an uber carrying a family. Now,
the twenty one year old five eight admitted himself to
rehab shortly after that crash.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And so since then it's gone through the courts. He's
been fined.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Yeah, that's it been fined. The Broncos have fined him
one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. No, the NRL have
done that combined.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
It's one hundred and twenty between the two.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Okay, that's the total.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Okay, So yeah, that's a lot, you know, I think, Yeah,
what nine months suspended?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Okay, it says yeah, Look, it says your thirty thousand
dollars fine and an additional ninety thousand dollars for being
caught drug driving well unlcensed after crashing into the incoming car.
He's had his license suspended for nine months. Yeah, and
he's out of the Broncos.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
For hell, I think nine games or yeah until round ten,
not till round ten.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Is he going to play again? Yeah, he's twenty one
years old and so and you were saying off here,
Corey that we hadn't even thought about the fact that
the fact that he because he was drug driving, he'll
have no insurance on that, so he probably is probably
paying for car a lot.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
And on top of it, everyone should be, you know,
for having an accident like that. And that's just the
way I look at it. You know, it's an accident,
it's a mistake on his behalf, and it's one of
those ones that he's going to have to live with
for a long time.
Speaker 6 (01:47):
You know.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
It's not something I don't think you're going to get
over for cars.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So, okay, tell me why you're so sympathetic to him.
Is it because he's a young twenty year old who
makes mistakes. Is it because he's a former player of yours?
Speaker 6 (02:00):
Who?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Is it because you know him personally and you care
about him.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
I just think it's the I guess the persona that
people put on young kids. People like a lot of
twenty year olds nineteen and eighteen and twenty one. You know,
they all make mistakes. You know, no one has it
worked out. You leave school and then you start your life.
You got to work life out. And how long it takes,
I don't know, but I just think, you know how
(02:27):
him obviously being in the spotlight, he should be like
everyone expects him to have it worked out fast than
everyone else at his same age. And I understand, you
come in to that world and that's what you've got
to get used to and understand. You are going to
be in the spotlight. You are kids you're looking up
to you. But you know, but what comes with that
(02:47):
is extra stuff. When you do do the wrong thing,
you know, you get a really big fine, you get,
you know, put it on, a scrutiny, you get put on.
I guess noticed by the NRL killed someone and I
completely agree, And I you know, I never will, I
will never say that. You know, it's it's acceptable what
(03:09):
he don't at all like. But what I'm saying is
I made mistakes, and I just I got really lucky
when I was a kid same age. I fell asleep
the wheel when I was a kid, when I was nineteen,
But I was just lucky. It was in traffic and
I was going about thirty k's and I hit a
curb in the middle of the highway.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Did you hurt anyone?
Speaker 4 (03:27):
No, I honestly hit the bumper, hit the highway, and
I quickly woke up and veered off rot and parked
in the corner and had a little rest. So, and
that was after work. I worked and trained, and I
was just tired.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
So you think the punishment's fair, then you reckon that
is it too much? Is it not enough? What he
read now?
Speaker 4 (03:44):
I believe, you know, everything that's coming his way and
has come his way, I think it's fair. I definitely.
I believe it's going to be a long time for
him to, you know, come back. Even if he comes
back after nine weeks, it's probably not to say he
could be ready to go back and play. I know
he's doing a lot of the good, a lot of
(04:05):
the right things. You know, he's he's definitely going out
there and.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Trying to become way. When you speak, I think he
would do so. I agree. I think that you know,
we we have all been young once, we've all done
stupid things. We've all got our own stories of stuff
that happened when we're on our pea plates. I'm sure,
But I also think that he needs to come out
and start to actually publicly address and say sorry, like
(04:32):
people are judging him by his silence. Now.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
He might not be ready though, like as in you know,
he's still doing a lot of the right processes, you.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Know, to you lose the right to be ready if
you hit take drugs and hit someone else's car like that.
That's the whole point, isn't.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
It, understand?
Speaker 4 (04:53):
But I guess you know he's talking with the club,
talking NRL. He's also probably talking with the people that
he's and seeing to you know, better his mental state
and and help him out of you know, whatever got
him in the state that he was phones.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Coming through already. So but if you want to get involved,
thirteen one oh sixty five is our number.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
You're a broncos, you're a bleed red Bronco.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
You said nothing, hah, Well I'll give you. I'll give
you as well as everyone else is after this. Let's
see what you think. Mark out of Kalanga, what are
your thoughts mate.
Speaker 7 (05:25):
Look, when you sign a contract, he knew the big
shoes you had to feel like Alan Langer, yourself, Corey,
Darren Locket, these blokes help hold himself to a higher standard.
And if he's not ready to start to stay in
reserve gate.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Yeah, yeah, you sign a contract to play rugby league,
you know. Yeah, you don't come out of school and
sign a contract and say I know how to act
like a thirty year old man, you know, with three
kids and have been in the in the real world
for twelve thirteen years, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
But I think people get caught up with the fact
that he's on a million.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Dollars and I understand about that does come.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
With and that's not just to play rugby league.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
That comes with with with what he does. But that's
where I understand and he knows that he knows that
he has to be a high standard. But when you're young,
you always make mistakes. Is what I like, is what
I'm saying, And it's it's how much you learn and
how much you come back and and what what happens
from here is what is what he'll be. He'll be
(06:23):
remembered for.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
I believe how old is he twenty one?
Speaker 1 (06:26):
One partnered kids. So he's a young guy and he's
not he's not from Brisbane.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
No, I think he's the Keys of Cans boy. Well
he's band, yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Okay, and been playing for how long? Like a long time,
like fourteen fifteen, sixteen year old?
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Oh yeah, you usually play.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
When you became famous, Like what a couple.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Of years ago. I mean, he was so close to
winning us the Grand Final that we lost. You know,
he scored three tries in that game and then we
lost it all in the last seventeen minutes. It was
one of the worst days of my life.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
But you cannot remember your daughter's first day, remember seventeen minutes?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
I remember that anyway, but I will. Okay, So you've
asked for my opinion on it. I think when that
when it happened, when you know, he had the accident
and then they found out there was drugs in his
system and he was driving with an expired license and
there was a four year old girl in the car.
I was ready to throw the book at him. I really
was like, Okay, well he's done. He has to be done.
(07:28):
But I have the dust has settled, and I do
think now that the punishment is fair because I do
believe in second chances for people, and I think he's
doing the right things to earn a second chance. I
think the pressure on him mentally must be extreme, horrendous, horrendous.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
And he's being supported though, That's why I was asking.
And you're supporting him.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Yeah, And I will support anyone that you know, when
you make a mistake, you you want to be a
better person after that. And I can tell you he's
done all of that. And yeah, I was actually really
happy to be able to speak to him. And I
can see a difference already straight away. I spent three
years next to the black you know him, I know
him pretty well, So seeing him that day, I just went, holy,
(08:10):
you know this.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Is already it's changed.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Yeah, I just I just you know, and that that
that sort of stuff would scare someone.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Okay, well, let the phones are going off, Alex and Cleveland.
What would you like to say, Well.
Speaker 6 (08:25):
First, I've got zero tolerance towards strokes, But at the
same time, is a young man who's made a mistake.
He's paying the price, and people need to take his
mental health into account how they're talking about him. You
don't want to push him into more bad decisions through
(08:45):
over pressure.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Well that's if his career did wrap up. Now, I mean, what, oh,
that would be terrible.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
That's like kicking him to the curb and saying that
no one can ever have a redemption for a mistake.
But that hasn't happened.
Speaker 5 (08:59):
Georgina Aaron, I'm unappalled, coreots that you think the punishment
fits the crime. It's unbelievable. If he wasn't a football player,
he'd probably be sitting in jail right now waiting for
a trial. It's crazy that you think that just because
he's Ezra mam and he's got lots of pressures, and
he's a young man and he started playing football at
(09:20):
a young age, that's okay to do what he did.
If it was Robinswan Robin's sons, it would be a
completely different outcomes.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
I never said it was okay that he's done what
he's done, but I can't. I'm not commenting on you
know what, the what what the judge handed down to him.
I'm I'm just looking at everything. Everything do you think
he has?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
I don't know that he would go to jail, to
be honest, I know he would be in big trouble.
But I don't think he actually would be in jail,
to be honest.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
But you know, what would we have to know the law?
Speaker 5 (09:53):
You know, when we all have pressures in life, it
doesn't give us a right to take drugs, get behind
the wheel. You know, if it was your car that
got hitting your children in the car, I feel like
you wouldn't be feeling the same thing. It's I don't know,
So what would.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
You like, like, what would you like to see happened
to him? Well, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
He shouldn't be playing football anytime, Saron. And he shouldn't be,
you know, being told that, Oh you know, it's tough
being a footballer, Like, it's just tough life in general.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
So is there any redemption from you? Is there anything
he could do at all?
Speaker 5 (10:29):
I mean, look, it'd take a long time, but I
just think that he's going to go out on the
field next year. He's going to be a role model
for children, for young male and females, you know, and
then they're going to be like, oh, well, you know,
that's all right, I can take drugs. I probably get
away with it.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
I don't know that that's a big good.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
Sorry, but I just don't think it's setting a very
good example for seeing that he's a role model for
you know, he's in that position, right, he is.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
A role model, whether he wants to be or not.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Yeah, Yeah, he definitely is. And yes, like he made
a massive mistake and he's very lucky that it didn't
end up a lot worse than what it did. But
I am a massive believer and second chances when you
get them, and this is his second chance.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
So if he were to do anything again in the future,
what would you say that should be done?
Speaker 6 (11:19):
Go to it.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
I'd go to me, like, mate, if he makes.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
A mistake, made a mistake again.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
It'd be a lot, it'd be Yeah, it'd be a
lot worse, way worse.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
It's one chance, like a one year.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
Old, which is this series of an accident an incident,
because this is up there with the worst probably you
can close to Yeah, if I believe you know that's
it is. It's a pretty big one.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
It really is a thirty one or six five our number.
If everyone to get involved with this show, We've got
a massive show on the way for this year. We're
going to talk about some of the things we've got
coming up very soon.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
This was supposed to be like an easy so.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
It really come out hard on Friday morning.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
So we've got a couple of you producers on the phones.
They're getting their fingers are bleeding. It's working hard. This
morning is Cavnara, Sam Smith promises. It's Robin Kipp now
with Coreots on Kiss ninety seven three.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Robin and Kidd now with Correos. The podcast