NRL chief Todd Greenberg has said he will take into account any impact on accused rapist Jack de Belin's family before deciding whether to ban him from the game.
St George Illawarra Dragons star de Belin is accused of raping a 19-year-old with his friend after they invited her home following a night out in Wollongong on Saturday 8 December.
The 27-year-old pleaded not guilty last week and his club said he can still play for them while the case continues.
But there is mounting pressure for him to be suspended and Greenburg said on Friday he will make any about the player's future very carefully.
NRL chief Todd Greenberg (pictured) has said he will take into account any impact on accused rapist Jack de Belin's family before deciding whether to ban him from the game
Breaking his silence on the rape in company charges faced by the St. George Illawara star (pictured with partner Alyce Taylor), Greenberg said he would make sure he made the right decision for the league
ARL chairman Peter Beattie has indicated the game's behavioural policy may be changed at a meeting on Thursday - meaning de Belin could be stood down despite the fact his case is still ongoing.
But Greenberg told The Daily Telegraph he would not be pressured into making a decision before the commission meeting.
'When you are making these sort of decisions you are talking about people's livelihoods, their families,' he said.
'I don't go off a whim.
'I would rather be criticised for being a little more thorough - it is a massive decision to finalise sanctions on clubs.'
The Dragons have defended their embattled star and are believed to have fought against any change in the game's behavioural policy, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The NSW Origin star allegedly met the 19-year-old woman he is accused of sexually assaulting with friend and co-accused Callan Sinclair, 21.
The pair said they needed to charge their phones and invited the woman to his cousin's empty apartment, police documents claim.
While the woman was using the bathroom, de Belin, whose girlfriend is heavily pregnant, allegedly stripped naked and barged in to take a shower.
The teenager allegedly left the en-suite before de Belin returned to the bedroom and forcibly took off her top, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
She put her hands over her breasts before de Belin and Sinclair allegedly said 'show us your tits', the woman claimed.
De Belin then allegedly took the woman's shorts and underwear off and threw her to the ground.
De Belin (pictured at court last Tuesday) allegedly grabbed a teenage girl by the throat while he raped her
The police fact sheet said: 'De Belin moved himself between her legs, lent down and put his right hand around her throat and [his] right forearm pinned the upper left side
