The Parramatta Eels staffer who spoke out against Scott Morrison has clarified it was her choice to delete her viral tweet, saying she has been supported by her club.
Sports scientist Tahleya Eggers shot to prominence on Saturday night when footage of the prime minister’s arrival in the Eels’ rooms aired live on television.
Standing in the background Eggers offered up a frosty reaction to Morrison congratulating Parramatta players for their win over the Cronulla Sharks.
Images of the moment Eggers crossed her arms quickly circulated on social media, and by Sunday morning she had become aware that the search was on to find the woman in the photo.
“Proud to claim this one!” Eggers wrote.
“I will not respect a man who has the time to shake hands of men who have won a football match but is ‘too busy’ to attend the March for Justice.”
The tweet was deleted later on Sunday, prompting questions about the internal response to the episode.
But Eggers has now issued a statement confirming there are no concerns.
“As the club stated yesterday, I was responding to a social media meme that was not of my making,” she wrote.
“These are my personal views and I didn’t expect that it would get the coverage that it has.
“I want to make clear that I have had nothing but support from the club over this period. At no stage has anyone asked me to remove or change my post.
“It was my decision to remove it and place my social media on private because of the level of attention I was receiving.
“I love working for the club and would now like the focus to return to the NRL season ahead.”
Eggers also appears to have the support of the NRL, which has a particular relationship with Morrison.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo placed a phone call to check on Eggers’ wellbeing.
Parramatta had already received backlash on Twitter when they played up Morrison’s presence, claiming “he’s ours now” in a tweet directed at the Sharks.
NRL.com journalist Chris Kennedy was among those to address the timing of the image.
“Team, please read the replies to this tweet and read the room and consider taking this down,” Kennedy wrote.
“This is not something you want to claim.”
His tweet was not deleted.
Eggers’ message appeared as female Liberal politicians began speaking out about the toxic culture inside Parliament House, after weeks of scandals.
“I think for all women in the Liberal Party, we are pretty angry,” Senator Sarah Henderson told ABC’s Insiders program.
“But I do want to make the point that there are many men in our party who are also disgusted and very angry about what has happen.
“It is an historic opportunity to get this right and to address the things that are not right for women, not just in Parliament House, but across the country.”