If I was Gallen, I’d be very pissed too
Roar Rookie
By Nick the Rooster, 24 Dec 2009 Nick the Rooster is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- Cronulla Sharks, NRL, paul gallen, Rugby League
Paul Gallen might be a lot of things – he’s been called a grub, a racist and a thug. But you’ve got to feel a bit sorry for him in this case. He’s lost $10,000 for doing what thousands of other men do every Friday and Saturday night.
The media attention on players is absolutely ridiculous, and if it doesn’t ease off soon, it’s going to cause long term damage to rugby league in Australia.
I agree he did the wrong thing.
He was dealt with by the authorities, as anyone else would. However, most other people wouldn’t have been fined $10,000 by their employer for it.
So who is to blame? The media, of course. Why would they think that I want to read about Paul Gallen being arrested for taking a piss? Is that really news?
The worst part about it is that, had the media not been involved, he never would have been fined. The club only takes action to appease the sponsors, whose name is tarnished by the reports in the media.
Think about it: if an NRL player pisses in the street and there is nobody there to report on it, does it actually happen?
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- Explore:
- Cronulla Sharks, NRL, paul gallen, Rugby League
rich1612 said | December 24th 2009 @ 7:38am | Report comment
In the end these guys have to lift their game.
Too much of this rubbish goes on and it should be stopped, back the administrators and in time the players will learn, but it will take time and often unfair penalties.
Jameswm said | December 24th 2009 @ 7:42am | Report comment
I’m afraid it’s simple – don’t go out and get pissed. They just can’t stop themselves, though.
If you want to get pissed, have a party at home. Problem with that is there’s no one to look at to see if they’re looking at you and know who you are.
King of the Gorganites said | December 24th 2009 @ 8:10am | Report comment
i didnt follow this story. what did he actually do?
Master Blaster said | December 24th 2009 @ 10:27am | Report comment
You found the obscure Motu Tony story without any difficulty.
Mushi said | December 24th 2009 @ 8:19am | Report comment
Actually nick he’s in show biz he’s paid hundreds of thousands of dollars not because he can tackle or run the ball but because of the entertainment he provides to the public, the willingness for us to pay money/sit in front of ads to watch him, and the value sponsors ascribe to having him associated with himself or his team.
If my job entailed that and I was in the paper doing something which could jeopardise any of the above then yes I would expect my pay to decrease as the value I deliver is reduced.
Don’t like it? Don’t accept the hundreds of thousands and then live a normal life playing park football.
Also when was the last time you took a slash “in clsoe proximity to a man lying on the ground”?
Mark Young said | December 28th 2009 @ 9:19am | Report comment
Mushi I couldn’t have said it any better myself. Spot on.
Nick the Rooster said | January 5th 2010 @ 11:16am | Report comment
Mushi…….. I’m sorry but you’re wrong. He’s not in showbiz. He doesn’t act, sing or dance. He’s an athlete who plays at the top level of a sport which happens to be televised.
What a lot of people forget is that these guys are just ordinary guys, who usually aren’t too bright. Most of them are brought in from country towns, handed a wad of cash, and made to spend most of their time with other guys brought in from the country who have been handed a wad of cash, and then told to behave like choir boys. Its like lighting a stick of dynamite and complaining when it explodes.
The clubs and the league need to work harder on protecting these guys rather than letting them piss their careers up the wall.
Master Blaster said | December 24th 2009 @ 8:23am | Report comment
The problem for NRL and AFL and ARU footballers is that not only will you be punished by the laws of the land, but you will also be fined by your employer. In many cases you won’t even be charged, but will still be fined by your club. Most other Australians don’t suffer that treatment, nor the scrutiny.
Its also obvious that the various state police forces will no longer give footballers any leeway, for fear of the police themselves being ripped apart by the media for giving footballers an easier ride. The result is that footballers are treated worse than almost all Australians.
Of course, knowing all of that, why Carlton players would run amok on a boat cruise & the melbourne streets, and why Quade Cooper, Gallen, Friend etc, would take the the risk, is bewildering and stupid.
MarkR said | December 24th 2009 @ 9:23am | Report comment
MB – “footballers are treated worse than any Australians”.
Why – because they’re accountable to the law ? even the Police are accountable for their actions under the law. Or because their employer holds them accoutnable for their public behaviour ? If I get a criminal conviction I’m fired, no ifs buts or maybes & I’m not even a cop just an IT geek.
The rubbish some players have been allowed to get away with for so long because they’re ‘special’ is the reason for this bulls**t persecution complex some of them or their supporters have. The message to footballers in all codes is consistent & simple – Grow up & accept accountability for your actions.
If you don’t like getting fined by your club for committing a criminal offence even if you’re not charged then get another job & play club footy.
If you don’t like being tested for recreational jobs, get a different career & pay club footy.
If you don’t like being held accountable for your actions through a code of conduct, get the picture ??
Master Blaster said | December 24th 2009 @ 10:32am | Report comment
Good for you. Why should footballers be treated differently to everyone else? FFS, they are just footballers, not politicians or brain surgeons.
Does your employer fine you for committing any supposed moral misdemeanour, even if you’re not charged?
Does your employer test you for recreational drugs anytime of the day or night? Make you pee in a bottle in the work toilet?
Redb said | December 24th 2009 @ 10:44am | Report comment
“Does your employer test you for recreational drugs anytime of the day or night? Make you pee in a bottle in the work toilet?”
Matter of fact yes it does even in an office environment. Not happy about it but thems the rules. (fitness for work policy which includes alcohol and drug testing)
The media no doubt seize on any story and blow out of proportion – Footy stars are fodder for the celebrity tabloid treatment that we see every day.
But, they are high paid high profile members of the communtity who should in the main know better. Most sporting clubs throw a lot of money and time (programs) at trying to educate these people. It is only the minority who stuff up but unlike 10 or 20 years ago they’re hardly ignorant of their responsiblities and the media focus on them and the club they represent.
The latest Carlton player antics will not only cost them on the field if they have to sack players but also in memberhip, sponsor unrest,etc The money the players are paid is a result of the sporting economy of which they are a part.
We can forgive a 19 or 20 year old first time offender who has too much to drink but some of these blokes are in their mid 20s and older – time to grow up or face the consequences.
Redb
Master Blaster said | December 24th 2009 @ 10:50am | Report comment
Good you for Redb, but in the great majority of Australian workplaces the employees don’t get tested.
Sponsors bailing out is because the sporting bodies of this country have built this ridiculous scenario where the media can belt them up. They should have stood firm years ago and said that we are here to run a football club or competition, we’re not here to fix society’s moral issues, and if one of our players is charged, the police and the Courts will resolve that.
Redb said | December 24th 2009 @ 10:57am | Report comment
MB,
That just ignores the reality of ‘image’ importance.
Apart from a traffic offence has Tiger Woods commited a crime?
His sponsors have jumped or put him in the bottom drawer becuase they dont want their product associated with a tarnished image.
Redb
MarkR said | December 24th 2009 @ 10:45am | Report comment
“supposed moral misdemeanour” = you are kidding aren’t you ??
BTW – I’m a role model to my kids NOT to the 10′s of 1000s who follow a specific sporting code. They get paid to be high profile & are expected to behave well in public. Their contract has what’s acceptable, if they choose to ignore it mnore fool them. Most do well, some undortunately can’t.
If I was in the Armed Forces or Police I could be tested & fired for recreational drugs, if they bought it into my workplace I’d have a choice of changing jobs/careers or being clean.
Master Blaster said | December 24th 2009 @ 10:56am | Report comment
Footballers aren’t in the armed forces or police. The job footballers do is to entertain us on the football field, not to judge other people wiith a clear head and then if called upon, to shoot someone wth a steady eye and hand.
“supposed moral misdemeanour” for example would include being drunk on a boat cruise. Like there aren’t 1000s of Australians who moments ago at Noon just began to kick off their afternoon office Christmas party and will walk the streets around 4pm to a bus or taxi or train drunk. In fact, the Police tell us to use public transport if we are drunk — so being drunk in public is hardly uncommon.
Central North said | December 24th 2009 @ 10:49am | Report comment
Is your employer a highly publicised and widely followed organisation whose reputation relies larely on the conduct and behaviour of its employees?
Does your company stand to lose significant financial investment from external sources every time one of your employees disgraces him or herself in public?
Like it or not, football clubs stand to lose plenty in situations like this. Why shouldn’t they try to minimise future damage by taking action against their well paid employees, who really should understand the environment they work in and should know the risk of any mistake, no matter how minor?
Footballers might be dumber than politicians. But they are arguably more likely to gain media coverage in good times and bad. The public hoovers shit like this up, which builds revenues for the media companies. Which means every indiscretion will continue to be reported. Footballers know this and they still get into trouble. Surely they see the link and don’t want to become the next statistic?
It’s not about what’s fair. It’s about what’s realistic. And if you f**k up, you know you’re going to be in tomorrow’s paper and all over online. So surely you avoid these risks?
In the case of Paul Gallen, and the hundreds who have gone before him, clearly not..
sheek said | December 24th 2009 @ 8:46pm | Report comment
Well, let’s not bring politicians into it, they’re not any better.
But brain surgeons, or any surgeons who save lives, that’s something to aspire to…..
jmo said | December 24th 2009 @ 8:48am | Report comment
Classic philosophy in the last line, Socrates would have been proud of that one.
When ya really gotta go ya really gotta go! Sometimes a piss is worth every cent of $10,000 …
…assuming you have it to splash around
Lisa said | December 24th 2009 @ 8:48am | Report comment
I agree Nick, The media is to blame, however, so are the people in charge at Cronulla, the club that I have supported for 30 years.
The Club wants to reconnect with the fans, well they can start by supporting their players, stop bending over and copping from a bunch of lowlifes who make money from peoples errors in life, (lowlifes like Magnay and friends).
What good does it do to cut a player from a club like Greg Bird, only to see him back playeing with an opposition team,
What good has it done to strip Gallen of the captaincy for a heated exchange with Micky Paea on the field of a tough mans sport, ( Grow some Balls Paea, or go play marbles)
And what bloody good has it done for fining Gallen $10K for taking a leak.
SWEET FA!!!
You bent over and copped it again Cronulla, the media has got you people scared and after 30 years of support the club I love, I have finally given up on you and am expecting us to get the spoon in 2010,
Central North said | December 24th 2009 @ 10:14am | Report comment
Grow some balls? So Mickey Paea deserved to be racially slurred? And because it’s a “tough mans sport”, it’s OK to call someone a black c**t? Racial vilification has no business anywhere in society, be it at Shark Park or North Cronulla beach.
I think after losing a CEO, a major sponsor, numerous backroom staff, leaking money like a sieve, AND losing a player like Greg Bird – who it must be said after what came out at his appeal had he handled things better in the very beginning he may never have left – the club has had enough and has to take a stand each and every time it is shamed in public.
Pinging a repeat offender 10k for a “minor” indescretion is fair enough in my book. Maybe it’ll make him wake up to himself.
san jorge said | December 25th 2009 @ 10:26pm | Report comment
Lisa, Gallen racially abused another player and Bird was found guilty of a crime…yes his conviction was overturned on appeal but there was obviously enough evidence for the first judge to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the assault had occured.
Pete said | December 26th 2009 @ 3:14pm | Report comment
are the media really to blame? they only print it because the wider public read it… and then we write about it on sites like this. Its a two way street, they won’t publish it if no one wants to read it… but who stops first, does the media stop printing it or do we stop reading…
All in all, it comes down to the players… stop behaving like morons. If you don’t like the downside of the limelight, go any play country footy and find another job. How hard is it to restrain yourself and not piss near someone’s head or break into a house?Many of us would give our right arm to have the talent you have and play in the competitions you do. … on reflection, don’t know how effective I’d be if I gave my right arm away.
Springs said | December 26th 2009 @ 4:24pm | Report comment
The public buy the papers no matter what the stories are. I don’t think the public writes in saying that they want to know the latest rugby league scandals, maybe readers of womens magazines do. The papers realise a lot of the public are interested in sports so they think we want to hear our game trashed at every opportunity.
If players play coutry footy they will still be scrutinised. Craig Field was involved in a scandal about a robbery, has been ot of the pro scene for about five years.
Hayden said | December 27th 2009 @ 1:34pm | Report comment
Cheer up Lisa. I’m pretty sure it’ll be the Warriors who get the spoon in ’10.
Central North said | December 24th 2009 @ 9:16am | Report comment
Please. Just because “thousands of other men do it”, doesn’t make it right. And don’t start on the media bashing. As mushi said, Gallen is very well paid to be in the public eye because he is a very good footballer. Like it or not, taking the cash means having to live by a higher set of behavioural standards.
Many footballers in this country earn more in a year than the prime minister. You think if old K.Rudd got caught having a leak anywhere in public it WOULDN’T be big news? Of course it would. Just because footballers behaving badly sells newspapers, don’t think for a second that if any other type of high profile public figure did the same thing they wouldn’t get hammered by the media as well.
Brent Read wrote a very good article in yesterday’s Australian about this case. It hits the mark perfectly. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/throw-bitter-shark-overboard/story-e6frg7t6-1225812945186
The media gets a bad wrap in these kind of cases because people think that for some reason highly paid footballers should have the right to live their lives in some kind of relative anonymity. But you can’t have it both ways. You can’t take the attention and adulation – from fans and media alike – on the field, then expect that same degree of attention to go away when you stuff up off it. In this day and age you know what you’re in for when you sign that big contract. And it means no longer being able to mess up on or off the field. Gallen just seems not to get it..
Hansie said | December 24th 2009 @ 9:20am | Report comment
I assume this article is taking the piss.
Matt S said | December 24th 2009 @ 10:00am | Report comment
5 Carlton players have been in trouble with the law or made public nuisances of themsleves over a couple of days. Where is The Australian’s expose on a club in crisis? Where are the reports on The Today Show or Sunrise? While Paul Galllen, being refused entry to two establishments to have a piss, then goes to an alley, gets national coverage. I’d be ‘peaved’ as well.
Mushi said | December 24th 2009 @ 10:12am | Report comment
So if someone took a leak on your head you’d say – that’s okay mate