Tyrone May

Tyrone May (born 21 June 1996) is a Samoan international rugby league footballer who plays for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League. Primarily a or , May has played in a number of other positions during his career, including and .

May previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL with whom he won the 2021 NRL Grand Final coming off the bench.

Background

May was born in Sydney, Australia, and is of Samoan descent. He was educated at Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown.

He played his junior rugby league for the Minchinbury Jets in the Penrith District Rugby League.

May’s younger brothers Taylan and Terrell are also professional rugby league players.

Playing career

2017

In round 19, May made his first grade debut in the Panthers 34–22 win over the New Zealand Warriors at Mount Smart Stadium scoring a try on debut.

2018

On 23 June, May made his international debut for Samoa, playing five-eighth in the 22–38 loss to Tonga, scoring a try. On 20 August, May was fined $1100 after he was charged by the NRL for punching an opponent in Penrith's loss to Newcastle.

2019

On 5 March, May was stood down from playing by the NRL after being charged by NSW Police in relation to sex tapes the player filmed dating back to February 2018. May was charged with two counts which were filming and disseminating the footage without consent. May and Penrith Intrust Super Premiership NSW player Liam Coleman who is the son of former South Sydney player Craig Coleman were summoned to Penrith Police Station where May was granted bail and was ordered to appear at Penrith Local Court on 1 May 2019.

On 16 July, May was hit with fresh charges at Parramatta Local Court by NSW Police bringing the total number of charges to eight. NSW Police laid additional counts of recording and distributing intimate images without consent against May. May faced a possible ban from the sport altogether if he was found guilty.

On 22 November 2019, May pleaded guilty to four charges of intentionally recording an intimate image without consent. He appeared again at court for sentencing on 31 January 2020.

2020

On 31 January, May narrowly avoided jail and was sentenced to 300 hours of community service plus a three-year good behaviour bond over sex tapes filmed without consent. Magistrate Robyn Denes spoke in the court to May saying "This behaviour is not only morally reprehensible, it's criminal, Ultimately, this is an offence which takes what was consensual sexual acts to another level. It does breach trust".

On 8 February, it was announced by the NRL that May would be suspended for the first four matches of the 2020 NRL season and fined 25 percent of his 2019 salary which he earned at Penrith.

May played 16 games for Penrith in the 2020 NRL season as the club won the Minor Premiership. He scored a try for Penrith in their preliminary final victory over South Sydney and was selected ahead of teammate Brent Naden for the 2020 NRL Grand Final. Following Ryan Papenhuyzen's try where he ran past May untouched, Melbourne raced out to a 26–0 lead in the grand final. May was substituted by coach Ivan Cleary and took no further part in the game as Penrith lost 26–20.

2021

May played a total of 21 games for Penrith in the 2021 NRL season including the club's 2021 NRL Grand Final victory over South Sydney.

Following Penrith's grand final victory, May posted a story on both Instagram and Twitter saying "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. Love my brothers". After posting the story, several Penrith players also took to social media in support of May's message. May later removed the post from both social media platforms after it caused outrage from the general public, most notably from Fox Sports commentator Andrew Voss who said “Someone has to pull this bloke to one side and say, ‘What the hell? What world do you live in?, “He was an inch away from being sent to jail. And the support of the players. No less than 10 players came out (saying), ‘With you brother’ … and all that. Just keep it in-house, boys. I don’t think it did Tyrone any favours at all".

Lawyer and Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis, who acted for a woman depicted in a video recorded by May, also reacted to the post. "I do hope that Tyrone doesn’t think that a premiership victory somehow vindicates criminal behaviour, One only needs to have a look at the comments made by the magistrate when Tyrone was convicted to see how serious it was. It’s something he should quite probably be quite embarrassed and ashamed of and not necessarily espouse or seek to justify, if that’s what he was intending to do".

On 19 October, May was stood down by Penrith and issued a breach notice by the NRL alleging he acted contrary to the best interests of the game for posting and being part of social media posts which do not align with the values of the game. The Breach Notice proposed May must complete further education programs as directed by the NRL. May was also issued with a proposed $7,500 fine.
On 27 October, May was issued with a show cause notice by the Penrith club due to a serious breach in his playing contract which was in relation to his post on Instagram following the club's victory in the 2021 NRL Grand Final.

On 3 November, May's contract was terminated by the Penrith Panthers board.
On 1 December 2021, it was reported that May had signed for Catalans Dragons in the Super League.

2022

In round 1 of the 2022 Super League season, May made his club debut for Catalans Dragons where they lost 28-8 against St Helens R.F.C.

In June, May signed a one-year contract extension to remain at Catalans until the end of the 2023 season.

In October May was named in the Samoa squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
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References

External links

Penrith Panthers profileSamoa profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Tyrone
1996 births
Living people
Australian people of Brazilian descent
Australian people of Portuguese descent
Australian sportspeople of Samoan descent
Australian rugby league players
Catalans Dragons players
Junior Kangaroos players
Penrith Panthers players
Rugby league five-eighths
Rugby league locks
Rugby league players from Blacktown
Tyrone