It seems to happen every off season, and invariably rears its ugly head during each season: testosterone fuelled, inebriated footballers getting into ugly situations involving sex, alcohol, violence or generally idiotic behaviour.
The latest incidents involve Manly stars Brett Stewart and Anthony Watmough, the Balmain Tigers NSW Cup side, as well as another ‘Balmy Carney’ episode with ‘Poor Little Toddy’.
While we all recoil in horror as the news seeps out of each of these sordid messes, should we, as fans, feel like we have empowered these young men with the brazen disregard for the rules of society every day citizens live by?
Confused? Let me explain.
Let’s start with Greg Bird’s alleged attack on his girlfriend. The thought of any man harming a woman in any way, be it physically, mentally or emotionally repulses me (to be fair, this is a topic that has deep rooted feelings for me personally).
So, say the whole Greg Bird situation goes away. His girlfriend has already said she supports him, so there’s not much chance of a damning testimony coming from her, and let’s face it, he can afford the legal support to skirt the real issue, that being some pretty incriminating evidence to suggest he has a serious case to answer (at least from what has been reported in the media to date).
So Mr Bird gets off, and is, pardon the pun, free as a Bird to once again grace the football field with his presence. No conviction recorded means innocent, right?
Well, at least in the eyes of the ten NRL clubs that would be rushing to sign him for the 2010 season.
Now, as a fan of any one of those sides, would a little part of you not wonder what a player of Bird’s ability (disregarding if you can his obvious character flaws) could do for your side? Would it get them over the hump? Deliver a Premiership? Make them competitive at the very least?
We’re fans, and we want our teams to win don’t we? But at what price?
Now, as I mentioned, the violence against women issue is one that hits a little close to home for this little Tiger, so I could never condone what Bird is alleged to have done and would regard the hypothetical signing of Bird as a disaster, but I am a fan for life, through thick and thin.
God knows we have had our unsavory issues at the Tigers (cocaine or disappearing fingers anyone?).
But let’s take Carney.
Great player on the field, seemingly a complete and utter waste of space off it. I don’t care how many people stand up and say what a treasure of mankind Todd Carney is, the amount of incidents he has been involved in speaks volumes more than a bunch of his nearest and dearest vouching for him. But when I heard that the Tigers were pursuing him heavily for the 2010 NRL season, my first thought was ‘that is exactly what we have been looking for’.
I even justified it to myself by saying that Sheens would be able to get his off field issues sorted and make him better man, let alone footballer, so things were rosy.
But what does this say to any other player, young or old, rookie or veteran, thinking that it might be a good idea to take a leak on someone’s head, or jump on some cars for fun? It says ‘as long as you are a good enough player, you’ll be right. And if you are young enough to spend a year on the sideline, pretending to sit in the naughty corner and think about what you’ve done, all the better!).
Therefore I am part of the problem.
Now onto Mr Watmough.
He slapped (although the first report was a punch) a sponsor. This from a star player of a club already in administrative turmoil. All NRL clubs are tightening their belts, begging for membership and wooing sponsors, and NOT by punching them (or slapping them, call it what you will).
So what does this say to any other player now happy with a pushy, or overbearing financial supporter of a club? That it’s ok, if you are a good enough player, to punch said financial supporter of the club. Even the Sponsor has kissed and made up, and he was the one in the position of power to say ‘Sort this thug out or I am pulling my dollars out of your club.
Now this is a big call for yours truly, but if I was putting any part of my advertising/marketing budget into my beloved Tigers, and one of their players assaulted me, I would be shredding that agreement faster than Benji can injure a shoulder.
So the sponsor is part of the problem, too.
I am sure there are two sides to every story, and I am more than happy to hear any of the other sides not being reported in the media. But at what point do these young stars think to themselves, ‘I am not going to put myself in that potentially catastrophic situation’.
What possesses someone to think that they can just hit, glass, abuse or have sex with anyone, whenever they feel like it? Too much money, too much alcohol, too many people pandering to their every whim, and too little respect for the real world.
But who is really to blame?
The young men in the limelight living the high life, or the ones that say it’s ok to do whatever the hell you want. As long as you are a good enough player. In our own little ways, we are all part of the problem.
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