Greg Bird’s sister says the Cronulla Sharks and the NRL share some of the blame for Bird’s assault charge, saying rugby league should do more to "look after" its players.
Bird was arrested on Sunday and charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm after an incident that left his girlfriend with cuts to the face and a fractured eye socket.
The 24-year-old has been stood down by the Sharks for the rest of the season, and is at risk of having his four-year contract torn up and being kicked out of the NRL.
But Lacey Bird, 19, says the club needs to share some of the blame, claiming Bird needed more support after being recruited as a teenager.
"A teenage kid has to go straight to an adult looking after themselves," Lacey Bird told The Australian.
"All the clubs really do is dump them at a home and tell them what training days they've got.
"They're not really looking after them. They're just dumping them at places. If they want to take teenage kids away from their families at such a young age, they should take responsibility for their actions."
But Sharks chief Tony Zappia has hit back at the comments.
"You need to remember that Greg wasn't stolen from his family," Zappia told News Limited.
"His family would have had some input into his decision to leave home and come to Sydney. I can understand his sister's concern because blood is thicker than water."
