GREG Bird has apologised for “stupidly and regretfully†urinating near a police car while in Byron Bay, saying the incident had “put a real dampener on his wedding weekend.â€
The Titans player was today issued with an infringement notice for allegedly urinating on the police car though he insists the incident took place between the vehicle and his own.
“It’s put a dampener on our wedding weekend. I’m incredibly embarrassed and disappointed at myself.â€
Greg Bird
“After getting married on Saturday night down in Byron Bay, my wife and I caught up with friends and family at the Beach Hotel on the Sunday night for dinner,†Bird said.
“We went to our car parked down near the beach, actually adjacent to a police car, (and) I stupidly and regretfully went to the toilet in between the two cars in the space, obviously facing away from my family.
“It’s put a dampener on our wedding weekend. I’m incredibly embarrassed and disappointed at myself.
“I know it was a stupid and dumb thing to do, but I really want to emphasise the fact that I didn’t intend to disrespect anybody and I definitely didn’t do it on the car.
“I’d like to apologise to the club and its fans, anyone I may have offended, especially to my wife Becky.â€
The incident occurred a day after Bird was married in the North Coast town in a wedding ceremony attended by his Titans and Origin teammates.
Bird has been summonsed to meet Gold Coast CEO Graham Annesley to explain his actions.
The NRL Integrity Unit has been informed of the incident and are awaiting further details.
The incident will be a major embarrassment for the game, because it is understood Channel Nine have obtained CCTV footage with audio of the incident.
A spokesman for the NRL said the integrity unit was working with Annesley to get a satisfactory outcome.
Originally published as Bird: It’s put ‘a dampener on the wedding’