Penrith Panthers have sacked Tyrone May

The club released a statement on Wednesday afternoon announcing the bench utility’s contract has been torn up as a result of the scandals that have followed his performance in the club’s Grand Final victory last month.

The 25-year-old was stood down by the Panthers and was issued a breach of contract notice following an NRL Integrity Unit investigation last month which resulted in him being fined $7500 over a social media post that was interpreted by many to be a reference to his sex tape scandal.

Penrith has now announced the post, which brought the game into disrepute, constituted a “a serious breach of his contractual obligations”.

As a result of the investigation, the Panthers stood May down indefinitely and he was forced to front the board of directors to explain why his contract should not be torn up.

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The board has now announced May has been let go.

May last month deleted his Instagram account following the backlash to his post which was made during Penrith’s ugly grand final victory celebrations.

The caption of May’s post included lyrics from the song Fair Trade by Canadian rapper Drake.

“And the dirt that they threw on my name/turned to soil and I grew up out it/time for y’all to figure out what y’all gon’ do about it,” the caption read.

In November 2019, May pleaded guilty to four counts of intentionally recording an intimate image without consent. In January 2020, the magistrate slammed his “reprehensible” conduct as he was handed a three-year good behaviour bond and ordered to perform 300 hours of community service.

The woman recorded without her consent in the video that spread across the internet spoke publicly for the first time a few weeks ago in which she revealed she suffered a “traumatic response” as a result of the video being shared.

The Panthers have now cut ties with May, who no longer has a contract for the 2022 NRL season.

“Penrith Panthers has today terminated the NRL playing contract of Tyrone May with immediate effect,” the club said in the statement.

“The Panthers board of directors concluded May’s conduct following the 2021 NRL Grand Final constituted a serious breach of his contractual obligations.

“The board also gave consideration to previous breaches in making the decision to terminate his contract at this time.”

Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher said in the statement the club will continue to offer any support May needs.

“As a club we understand our responsibilities to the game, our corporate partners, our members and fans, and the wider Rugby League community,” he said.

“The Board observed due process in this matter and considered all relevant factors before reaching its final decision.

“Panthers will coordinate with the NRL to ensure Tyrone receives access to any support services he needs moving forward.”

May was also filmed using an offensive slur during teammate Viliame Kikau’s Instagram live Q+A the day following the grand final.

Panthers club legend and board member Greg Alexander tore strips off the players at his club last month as a result of the series of ugly incidents.

Captain Nathan Cleary and Stephen Crichton were also fined by the NRL for showing disrespect to the NRL premiership trophy after the iconic Provan-Summons trophy had earlier been broken at a club function. They were seen in social media images carrying the broken trophy around.

Alexander, who is the deputy chairman of the Panthers Group board of directors, believes some of the players went too far in their celebrations.

“There have been a couple of social media things that haven’t impressed me,” Alexander said on SEN Radio.

“I think a couple of our players need to pull their heads in after what they’ve posted on social media.

“It gets a bit out of control. I don’t follow social media.

“I’ve had people tell me about what’s been posted, and some of it shouldn’t have been.

“It was a bit out of line.”

Originally published as Penrith Panthers have sacked Tyrone May