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Round 03 match between the Geelong Cats and the Collingwood Magpies at the MCG. Slattery Images
Free Agency will tear our great game apart, turning executives into bitter people and dub players bigger than the game itself.
The turmoil that the NBA finds themselves in should serve as a warning to the AFL. Otherwise prime time TV segments similar to LeBron James will become a regular occurrence on Australian screens with AFL stars.
LeBron James, along with his managers, demanded a one hour prime time TV slot on America’s ESPN to announce the number one pick will move to Miami Heat from Cleveland Cavaliers.
No press conference, one Journalist, and just sixteen conservative questions, opening with mindless time-fillers like “What’s new? What’s been going on with you this summer?”
Tempers continued to rise when Cavalier’s owner Dan Gilbert labelled James as a “coward”, following “The Decision”. Gilbert, too, was made aware of the move for the first time on ESPN’s coverage.
He was slugged with a $1,000 fine by NBA commissioner David Stern following his comments towards James.
Whilst Stern condemned Gilbert’s comments, he suggested that he would’ve recommend James to “advise Cleveland at an earlier time”.
“I would have advised him not to embark on what has become known as ‘The Decision.’ It was ill conceived, badly produced and poorly executed,” Stern said.
Free Agency encourages today’s sports stars in America to dictate financial and journalistic terms, and if we are not careful, it will become a way of life here too in Australia.
The AFL intends to introduce restricted free agency at the end of the 2012 season.
The plan allows players who have contributed eight seasons or more to be listed on free agency system, allowing players to seek offers from rival clubs. If their current club doesn’t match the offer, they are automatically allowed to venture to the club of their choice.
This is a worrying sign for struggling clubs who will now have to battle it out against the wealthier teams in the competition to retain their star players. They will simply have to match the offer or wave goodbye to potentially their biggest draw card.
The new system allows older players (who have remained at the club for eight years) to move swiftly to their club of choice. But with the way the game is played today, wouldn’t those players more often than not want to remain one club players?
That’s where loyalty is disappearing in our game.
One for all, all for one will no longer be the case and Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett also continues to oppose the AFL’s new free agency system, suggesting that longevity of clubs will significantly decrease.
Kennett maintains that player managers will turn both clubs and players against each other to ensure they don’t get the raw end of the deal. And in the end, the clubs will suffer.
“They will play player against player, club against club, it will be uncontrollable. Where does that lead? The weaker clubs are going to get weaker,” Kennett said.
Free agency is dangerous. I would strongly suggest that the AFL look at the bigger picture and see who this decision will really affect. AFL is a community game, not owned by stakeholders like rival codes who endorse free agency.
Could you imagine Gary Ablett having a segment similar to LeBron’s, The Decision? For the record, it would definitely be a terrible one
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