The National Rugby League (NRL) is puzzled by a strange accusation from Wests Tigers prop Terrell May, who claims his family has been excluded from the organization’s social media channels.
On the same podcast, the outspoken front rower also suggested that his surname might be a reason he hasn’t been selected for the New South Wales State of Origin team.
The 27-year-old made these bold statements on former NRL player Josh Mansour’s podcast, Unscripted, this week. May was asked about his continued exclusion from the Blues team, which became a major topic during last year’s series and seems to have persisted this season.
Although he was one of the standout props in the early stages of last season, May was overlooked for selection by coach Laurie Daley and his advisors. This happened around the time of a bizarre comment he made on the streaming platform Twitch, where he told a viewer, “You know that Blues jersey I bought you? Chuck it in the bin,” before adding, “Might have to switch my allegiance.”
This live stream moment was captured and shared across social media just days before Daley announced his team for game one without May. The coach later met with May to discuss his exclusion, but the front-rower says that was the last time he heard from the Blues coach or anyone at the NSW Rugby League.
“Last year it really affected me, but this year I’m content because I didn’t expect to make it,” he said on Unscripted.
“You know how some players get the call like, ‘you need to work on this in your game to be selected’… the only time I’ve got feedback was when I met with him last year after game one, when I said that stupid thing.
“This year nothing. Couldn’t even make the 50-man (emerging Blues) squad. I’m just wondering what I need to improve to try tap into that space. Obviously everyone wants to play Origin in their career, but yeah, I just got no feedback from anyone.”
May fears that his Twitch gaffe, along with his family name, might have ruined his chances of being selected for good. His older brother Tyrone and younger brother Taylan have both made headlines for negative reasons in the past and were both released by Penrith over off-field issues.
Tyrone was dumped by the Panthers in 2021 and hasn’t been seen in the NRL since, while Taylan was axed in 2024 and spent time out of the game before being given a chance by the Tigers last year.
Although middle sibling Terrell has never done anything to fall foul of the law, he was mysteriously cut by the Roosters in 2024 with little explanation and later joined the Tigers.
Terrell and Taylan now run a podcast together called MAYDAY, and the brothers are highly active on various social media channels. However, Terrell claims he’s been told people at the NRL don’t want the brothers appearing on official social media channels.
“The whole perception of the May last name, I don’t want to make it an excuse, but everyone knows it bro. Our last name’s very demoralised in the NRL space,” he said.
“People have reached out to me saying the NRL don’t approve mine and Tiny’s (Taylan’s) stuff on social media. They won’t post you, they’re not allowed to, all this kind of stuff. I’ve got a few messages from people in that space telling me they’re not allowed to post (videos of) your tries, not allowed to post you guys on the app and stuff, and I’m like bro, how political is this stuff. That’s a whole other story. I don’t want to use it as an excuse, but everyone runs down my last name.”
When contacted by Nine.com.au about May’s comments, the NRL denied the accusations and pointed to several recent examples of the brothers appearing on official channels.
Nine.com.au found several examples of both Terrell and Taylan May appearing on NRL social media channels this season alone.
Daley will name his Blues squad for Origin II either on Monday night or next Tuesday.
