Women should expect the same in pubs, says Dogs sponsor

 

By , 4 Oct 2012

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    As Canterbury handed their report on their Mad Monday antics into the NRL, the club’s major sponsor defended the players in question and claimed women are subject to same shabby treatment in Sydney pubs.

    Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg admitted on Tuesday he was frustrated at the club’s reputation being dragged through the dirt after footage was aired of unidentified players making inappropriate comments to a female reporter.

    A disappointed Greenberg apologised to the reporter on Tuesday and admitted the actions were not in line with the club’s values.

    Gary Johnston, head of the Bulldogs’ major sponsor Jaycar, went on radio on Wednesday to defend the players’ right to privacy.

    But Johnston went on to compare the Bulldogs’ Mad Monday antics to what can be expected in Sydney pubs and clubs.

    “What they said was outrageous but they’re only young blokes. And in every pub in Sydney you can come across that language,” Johnston told 2GB Radio.

    “It doesn’t make it right, it just makes it the reality of what it is.

    “If a woman walks into some bars in Sydney, she will be ogled.

    “She will be treated as an object and that’s the way it is. She doesn’t have to walk into those bars.

    “… What they’re saying was disgraceful. But if two private people were in a pub at a urinal, talking about the barmaids dress or something like that, it would never get reported.

    “It is only an outrage because these people have got some sort of celebrity status.

    “I want to make it clear, I’m not defending what they said I’m defending their right to privacy.”

    The timing of Johnston’s comments could not be worse, coming out on the same day as the Bulldogs submitted their own report on the matter to the NRL.

    It is not known whether the identity of the two players making comments has been revealed, and the results of the report are unlikely to be known before the end of the week.

    Greenberg admitted his disappointment at the situation at a Bulldogs function on Tuesday night.

    “We are really disappointed, they are not the values that we set in our club,” he said.

    “We’ve tried hard over the last five years to show the Bulldogs in the right light and we’re very proud of that.

    “What we saw (on Monday) wasn’t that. But having said that, we’re not perfect and we all make mistakes.

    “We have apologised unreservedly to the Channel Nine reporter and I did so personally again today.”

    © AAP 2013