Or stood by them after serving a custodial sentence!

Entirely different circumstances though. I think Bateman is very lucky indeed to still be at Wigan.

Though of course the real problem is that if a club sacks a player then they're the ones that lose out.
As a sport we need to come up with some kind of system so that when a player is sacked the club receives some form of compensation if they go to another club.

A club can, I think, deregister the player for salary cap purposes so he can't play but continue to hold the rights over his playing registration for as long as his contract is still valid.

Problem with that is you're still lumbered with paying their salary until the contract runs out, even though it doesn't appear on your cap.

If the clubs wants out of its obligations to a player, it pays the consequences of that.

The idea a club should be compensated for its decision to terminate a contract is crazy. The idea they could sack a player, stop paying him, then have any sort of control over his future employment is scary.

Not sure I agree with that Him.
Both cases relate to a criminal offence and both were in the public domain.
Infact the Bateman case if rumours are true did not involve the police whereas the incident at Leeds all those years ago did.
We stood by our players even after presumably they received a criminal record.
Wigan slapped a decent ban on Bateman that did not involve the police or a custodail sentance.
Batemans offence most likely ruined team spirit.
And like I said much will depend on how the rest of the players welcome him back into the fold.

the player he went for is off to oz though so that might help

Thought he went for Mossop? Surely he can't have landed another deal in Australia.

But the player has breached his obligations to the club. Why should the club be punished for that. I get the point over future control. But if the sacking is justified (as it most certainly would be in the case of Bateman) then you could argue the club has suffered more than the player has when the player gets a new club fairly quickly.
Sport isn't the same as regular life/jobs. If you or I were sacked from our jobs for assaulting a co-worker we'd struggle to find another comparable job. That isn't the case in sport.

It's the reason why there are very few sackings despite there often being cause for it.

But that's why, from a club point of view, I think they're quite different. One is, effectively, bringing the sport/club into disrepute. The other is one employee assaulting another.
It's the fact that it's another Wigan employee who was affected that makes it much more of an issue for the club in my opinion.

I'll be cheering for you SLWBR tonight, please give them a hammering to get them softened up for us in the top 8. #allleedsarentwe

according to a bulls player who is mates with bateman it was sarginson. happened at the races apparently

That was a different incident!

What's up with Garbutt? Take it he's injured, unless like Keinhorst he's been playing too well to be selected.

Wigan without their five best, most experienced players (Tomkins, Tomkins, McIlorum, Farrell, O'Loughlin). If we lose this at home it'll be as bad as any other result this season.

really? oh dear