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There are many unanswered questions in rugby league. One that didn’t appear to be asked in all of the controversy over the NRL’s fining of Paul Gallen for his Twitter rant was why the league had paid the legal fees for him and other Cronulla players involved in the ASADA investigation.
It wasn’t obliged to. It could have left the players to fend for themselves, but obviously felt compelled for some reason to support them on the financial front.
I asked the NRL why it had acted so and was told by a spokesperson there were several reasons.
“We felt it was important that the players were properly represented,” the spokesperson said.
“Some players were probably not in a financial position to represent themselves properly unless they received assistance.
“It occurred as part of a club-based supplement program (as distinct from a player who might do it on his own volition).”
The third reason would appear to be the key one, with its obvious link to the NRL’s determination that when it came to the involvement of the players there were mitigating circumstances.
That was the NRL’s stance going right back to December 17 last year, when it issued a media release announcing it had completed a review of governance issues at the Cronulla club.
The release said “preliminary findings have identified serious failures on the part of the club and certain individuals who had a responsibility to safeguard the health and welfare of its players”.
News that the NRL had paid the players’ legal fees leaked out in the wake of the league fining Gallen $50,000 for using the “c” word to describe it on the social media forum.
There was huge debate over whether the league had penalised Gallen too harshly.
He had time in which to show cause why he should not face such a penalty and took that option, with the result that the league responded by suspending $15,000 of the fine due to mitigating circumstances about which it declined to be specific.
But it had been reported Gallen had been treated for depression, and NRL chief executive Dave Smith, in announcing the amended penalty, was quoted as saying: “We recognise that Paul has been through a lot over the last two years, but that does not excuse such a serious breach of the code. We must protect our brand and ensure we set a good example to children and other fans.”
Whatever reaction the league may or may not have anticipated to its amendment of the Gallen punishment, it was swamped by coverage of the Kirisome Auva’a matter.
Last Friday, in a Melbourne court, South Sydney grand final player Auva’a avoided a conviction but received a two-year good behaviour bond and a $3000 fine for recklessly causing injury and criminal damage.
The matter involved an assault by Auva’a on his then girlfriend, in January. He pleaded guilty in May.
Debate over the issue centres on whether the NRL should have slammed Auva’a with what it considered an appropriate penalty when he pleaded guilty, as opposed to waiting until the court case had finished.
Smith, in defending the league’s decision to wait, said it had to be careful to observe the “balance between the criminal procedure, the individual’s rights and our desire and obligation to the game to make sure we stamp hard on anything to do with domestic violence”.
He added that “we are very clear what the findings of the court were and the findings of the judge, but the detail beneath that is quite important to the deliberation and we are still awaiting some information from the Victorian court”.
Auva’a will obviously be punished by the league, but, inevitably, there have been comparisons drawn between the league’s decision to wait until the end of the court case in this matter and its willingness to act immediately in response to some previous off-field matters involving players.
That is where the inconsistency lies and that is what the NRL has got to fix.
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