The NFL player who helped launch the NRL season by blowing the Raiders’ Viking horn was removed from Allegiant Stadium on Sunday after allegedly damaging a bathroom.
Tyler Manoa’s day ended in embarrassing fashion after he was reportedly kicked out of the venue in the middle of the NRL season opener in Las Vegas.
Manoa, a Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle, was chosen by the NFL club to sound the horn, which is a tradition before Canberra games.
According to reports, the hulking 25-year-old later damaged a corporate-area restroom and security were forced to step in and remove him from the premises.
His removal meant that he wasn’t there to celebrate with Canberra in the changerooms after their 30-8 win over the Warriors.
It comes after UFC boss Dana White knocked back an earlier invitation to blow the horn due to a prior commitment.
NFL player Tyler Manoa’s day ended in embarrassing fashion after he was reportedly kicked out of Allegiant Stadium after damaging a bathroom
Canberra were keen to involve a player of Pasifika heritage given the diversity of their own playing squad – and extended the invitation to Manoa.
Matt Timoko, Joe Tapine, Seb Kris and Kaeo Weekes are all regular first graders with Maori heritage, while Josh Papalii and Simi Sasagi have Samoan roots.
The Raiders spent $10,000 on a replica of their huge Viking horn, which is a fixture of their home games at GIO Stadium, because the original was too delicate and large to be transported over to the US.
Club greats Jarrod Croker and Mal Meninga – who have sounded the horn before – were options, with both in Sin City as ambassadors last week.
It is understood chief executive Furner was the mastermind behind securing Manoa, whom the Raiders approached partly because of his rugby background and Pasifika heritage.
‘We’ve always had a proud history of Polynesian players at our club,’ Furner said.
Canberra’s statement win in Las Vegas has come at a big cost with captain Joe Tapine and star winger Xavier Savage facing suspensions from the NRL match review committee.
Raiders captain Tapine went to the sin bin for shoulder-charging Warriors co-captain Mitch Barnett in the second half of the 30-8 victory.
The Raiders recorded a 30-8 victory over the Warriors that opened the NRL season on Sunday
‘We turned the ball over and that’s my job, I’m trying to pump the boys up and I’m trying to turn the momentum,’ Tapine said of the hit.
He will miss Canberra’s next two games against Brisbane and Manly with an early guilty plea for his grade-two charge, but risks sitting out a third game against North Queensland by taking his case to the judiciary.
Coach Ricky Stuart said the NRL had set the standard for shoulder-charge calls this season by sin-binning Tapine.
‘I’m not saying it’s the wrong call, but it’s a massive call. But as long as it stays in every game now,’ Stuart said.