No wonder people think all NRL players are thugs. The way the media slandered Brett Stewart last week was disgusting. In fact, the way that they slander all NRL players with accusations against their name makes my blood boil.
There is nothing to say at this point in time that Brett Stewart is guilty of sexual assault. And if he wasn’t one of the greatest fullbacks the game has ever seen, there would be no where near this much coverage on the issue.
NRL CEO David Gallop said last week that Brett Stewart would have been stood down regardless of whether he was charged with sexual assault or not.
Why?
Because he behaved badly by drinking at the clubs season launch.
Well, I’m sorry Mr. Gallop but I don’t believe you.
If Brett Stewart got home last week and took himself back into his apartment without any hassles, no-one would have known he was that drunk. Except maybe the taxi driver.
Stewart would have woken up the next morning with a hangover and that would be about it. But allegedly something else happened.
Now I’m not sure of the details, no one is. Nobody knows yet what really happened in between Stewart leaving the launch and getting home.
And if he wasn’t chosen to be the ‘face’ of the NRL this season, then I’m sure the punishment would not have been so severe. Stewart now probably hates the fact that he has such a massive following and is such a big star in the game.
It probably hasn’t helped that fellow Manly player Anthony Watmough was involved in a scuffle as well, which has been dealt with by the club.
Manly were the cleanskins of the game, never involved in any off-field dramas. They were the team that everyone looked to because of their great reputation.
Their focus was on footy, not on partying.
So the one time that the players are allowed to let their hair down (so to speak), it all goes belly up for them. Which is a real shame.
I feel sorry for Stewart as no matter the outcome of the court case, this will live with him forever. Every time an article is written about him, this will be dragged up and thrown around because it has become part of his life.
It’s the same scenario as the Canterbury Bulldogs players years ago.
To this day, people still think the team and the fans are all thugs. And it’s only because until the full story was actually told, the media assumed the worst case scenario and made them into criminals.
And therefore it has stuck ever since.
People look down on the Bulldogs like they’re dirt.
The three Brisbane Broncos players involved in the scandal at the end of last season are lucky that it has been swept under the carpet. They’ve narrowly escaped becoming ‘criminals’.
They were just blasted about binge drinking, which was a serious issue that they had to deal with at the time.
This is why the general public who don’t follow league have such a bad image of footballers. Because they only see what’s written in the papers and what’s on the news.
If Stewart is guilty, then he does deserve whatever comes his way. But if he is innocent, then I hope that it is covered as much as the allegations have been.
Jameswm
Guest
By the way - call me a Grammar Nazi but the expression is tarred with the same brush, not tainted.
westy
Guest
Look i will defend rugby league when some of the attacks descend to genuine supporters of league simply because they support league but do not for one moment think that i do not believe some professional rugby league players in their mid 20's have let the game down and shown an immaturity and lack of discipline that is disgusting. The very concept of having a piss up six days before playing a season opening game and the absolute petulence of Manly players not congradulating EL Masri was again appalling. Manly have basically cost the Bulldogs i.5 million dollar sponsorship. Greenburg has got them back on track then they get this bombshell. Good on them for advertising Camp Quality. I live in a league area. I am not its enemy its supporters are the people i live and work with. i enjoy the game and think it is tailor made for tv. these are old fashioned people a little hard edged but consevative discipline is important . They are people who believe in grabbing an opportunity because you may not get many. there are many disciplined young men out here who would give their right arm to play professionally. That rugby league does so much good work with islanders and indigenous people and battlers in my area is beyond dispute and it spends solid community hours. As gallop said 19000 hours last year.These pricks just waste all that effort. Watmough got looked after by Menzies. have alook at the Daly Ms. what did they think he was going to change when Menzies left? These players were told the function was a reward for winning the RL world club game. Just sheer poor management that has reflected on the good bad and the ugly. that rugby league has 16 professional teams to rugby's 4 means there are more professional rugby league players. is relevant but no excuse for the frequency of transgressions by elite players in their mid 20's. I feel sorry for league who have helped out programmes I have participated in at state schools hindmarsh price benji El masri Burt Farah..The reality is they do get tainted by these acts of ill disciplined stupidity I do not attack them for their schools or their social background just their conduct.You tell the hard boys out west you want to be judged by your conduct not your background. Discipline and hard work is everything. Your conduct falls below standard do not give me a sob story.
matta
Guest
my god Jessica and Oikee, your comments above are exactly what people have been talking about on the forum over the last few weeks. You two are so blinded it makes me laugh - actually maybe its just you dont understand how your words read. you may as well be saying; "there is no problem here, they are just lads having a good time. The girl is either making it up or was asking for it. Even if it is true its nothing worse than people have done in the past so it will be delt with" For christ sake dont you see...... attitudes like that from Mungos is 50% of the problem with the games public image. "If Brett Stewart got home last week and took himself back into his apartment without any hassles, no-one would have known he was that drunk. Except maybe the taxi driver.” Oh my lord... I am so amazed by this comment I can hardly type.
Dan
Guest
Jessica, "Well, I’m sorry Mr. Gallop but I don’t believe you. If Brett Stewart got home last week and took himself back into his apartment without any hassles, no-one would have known he was that drunk. Except maybe the taxi driver." While I appreciate your sentiments, you're simply not being pragmatic about this and fail to understand that the NRL is a business with a serious image issue. You're probably right that Gallop was using Stewart's intoxication alone as a smoke-screen, but the fact of the matter remains that Stewart, whom the NRL put on the front of a 1.5 million dollar advertising campaign, got himself in a situation where he was charged by police for the sexual assault of a 17 year old girl. Now, as you say, he may very well be yet proven innocent, but the very fact that he put himself in the position to be charged represents a huge blow to the NRL brand name, and to make matters worse he did it 1 week out from the start of the tournament! You simply cannot overstate how bad that is from a business perspective, especially in such a highly saturated and competitive sporting market. The NRL simply did what any major enterprise would do in such situations and just went into damage control mode immediately. Look at it this way, if the “MAC” guy from the “I’m a PC” “I’m a MAC” commercials had been arrested by police for sexual assault on the eve of MAC launching the campaign do you think they’d have kept him on? F#ck no! They’d have canned his arse within minutes of hearing about it even if he was proven innocent months later. This is just how business works. It may not always be fair, but that’s why they pay you so well; they’re expecting that you won’t f#ck it up! If you do, you deal with the consequences.
oikee
Guest
Drink- league players = Bad cocktail.
True Tah
Guest
Jessica are you a Manly supporter?
Jameswm
Guest
That's one of the most blinded head-in-the-sand rants I've heard for a while. Watmough was so smashed he couldn't remember what he did, groped an unwilling girl and punched a sponsor. And all this in public just before the season starts. Yet you see nothing wrong with that? You're presumably a woman - how do you like drunken idiots groping you in a pub? Even Stewart's mates said he crash tackled the girl. Smashed, can't remember and crash tackling an innocent girl. There's nothing wrong with that either? For once Gallop's done the right thing.
oikee
Guest
It will blow over Jessica and Stewert will be a better person because of this i hope. His football should be what we are talking about. I see the doggies supporters are still turning up and i dont have a issue with them, on the contrairy i enjoy their games. The broncos are all forgiving for their errors also i think.