South Sydney Mascot Reggie The Rabbit Heckled, Abused By Fans

The NRL is coordinating with Stadium Australia to track down the rugby league fans who 'roughed up' South Sydney Rabbitohs mascot Reggie the Rabbit after the Bulldogs' Good Friday loss to South Sydney.

Fans saw Reggie waving in a video obtained by Nine. However, the mascot got himself into a lot of trouble when a group of Canterbury Bulldogs' fans approached him before the game.

Although the video captures some warm moments with the mascot, such as two fans hugging him as he first arrives, you can hear another fan screaming, "Punch him again, punch him again." Fans then pushed Reggie backward to the sound of raucous laughter.

It remains to be seen what punishment the perpetrators would receive, but based on the video's response from other groups of fans online; there would possibly be a harsh penalty.

After the games, the famous Bunnies mascot meets and greets fans at many community events. According to the media outlet, the NRL will now investigate the incident. "The NRL and Stadium Australia are looking into an incident where Reggie the Rabbit was roughed up by fans during their Good Friday clash," Nine's NRL reporter Danny Weidler tweeted.

"Souths are unhappy about his treatment," Weidler added.

Reggie the Rabbit, the mascot of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, has spoken out following the incident. He said that he was just trying to entertain the fans after the game when he ran into the troublemakers. "I only try [to] make the little kids, the families and the fans happy when I'm on the field," he told 2GB. "You don't need that kind of behaviour," he added.

If he hadn't been in the costume, the mascot said he would have handled the situation differently. "If I wasn't in the suit I'd bowl them up, I'm a tough little guy and I'm not afraid of anyone," Reggie said. The mascot claimed that the behavior of the "cowards" would not deter him from entertaining the fans.

In the audio, the reported said that "he's filthy about the incident because poor old Reggie is trying to do his job and entertain the fans while being terrorized by a group of heartless cowards."