As an advocate for controlled gambling, I have been watching New Zealand former Test and One Day batsman Jesse Ryder tweet away about his sports bets throughout the whole NRL season.
I’ve even been tempted to say, “maybe you should keep your multis to yourself,” as not to encourage, or even worse, look like he is promoting gambling.
But if anyone is aware of Ryder’s reputation, Jesse does what Jesse wants.
In the cricket world, Ryder is what you would call the black sheep (excuse the Kiwi pun). His most recent incident saw him dropped from the One Day side back in March for breaching team protocol by drinking after the Kiwi’s second One Day match against South Africa.
In 2008 injured himself when he punched a window in a hotel toilet, and in 2010 he was fined and warned for his rowdy behaviour at an indoor cricket tournament.
And so Ryder was stood down from International cricket. Following his most recent misdemeanour Ryder spoke out saying he may have a problem with alcohol.
“I think throughout that last month after I left the Black Caps, the drinking got real bad and I would start getting on the p*** on a Friday night and I’d still be going on Sunday.
“I was just hammering it and it did get to a point where I think I needed to hit rock bottom to see how bad things actually were,” Ryder said.
On a positive note he recently tweeted he is on track with his alcohol problem, “Day 150 off the booze #KeepGoingStrong”.
So with Ryder clearly having an addictive ‘all or nothing’ personality, why isn’t anyone stepping in and questioning him about his gambling?
“Checked the tab account and was happy to see 400 in there thank u Welly Lions too easy,” one tweet stated.
“7+ halftime an (sic) 13+ plus full-time thanks lions easy 350 in the back pocket,” he wrote soon after.
“Big bets on the league 2 day looking to have 2000 in the account at the end of the nite.”
Hello? New Zealand Cricket? Are you there?! How about checking up on one of your best batsman who is aiming for an international return to summer cricket?
When David White, chief executive of NZC was questioned if he was concerned, he was all too quick to distance himself from any impending issues.
“It’s important to point out that he is not contracted to New Zealand Cricket,” White said.
“In saying that, we know he’s been working very hard in preparation for the new season with the Wellington Firebirds.”
Basically, not NZ Cricket’s problem.
Ok, well if not them, where is his manager, or anyone within the NZC media? Is there any guidance being offered?
I for one am tired of seeing some of our finest athletes make life changing choices, only to then be in far too deep with no support.
Now am I accusing Ryder of having a gambling problem? No. But I think anyone who is clearly sharing the fact they have a strong interest in sports results for their bet’s sake needs to be addressed.
I sadly know the signs all too well.
Baker
Guest
Im not sure Ryder is a fine athlete.. overweight, lazy, alcoholic...
Johnno
Guest
Yeah, I hope Ryder gets his act together for his own sake and that of NZ cricket, He is by the far the most naturally gifted batsman in NZ right now. With a solid head, he could be a great player. And there is too much gambling in sport. It's shocking here in Australia. Can't watch a game or foxtel for more then 5 minutes without odds being shoved down your throat. There was a story in the paper a few weeks back about a father whose 8 year old son asked how old he had to be to place a bet on th football after having betting odds thrown at him for 2 hours at a AFL game. That surely in not a good thing. I would like to see a bit of regulation on gambling ads. Too many a
Matt F
Roar Guru
Interesting article again Haylz. I think there are two issues at play here. The first is is the main point of the article. Do NZC have a duty of care to Jesse Ryder? You'd certainly like to think that they do. he took a leave from NZC to work out some issues so you would hope that NZC would be helping him through them. Not only is it probably the morally right thing to do but, at 28, there's still time for Jesse to resume his NZ career and he is no doubt a very talented cricketer and NZ don't have too many of those. Even if he doesn't come back you'd like to think that they'd be willing to help a man who has played 70 odd matches over all three formats for his country. However the second issue is, does Jesse have a problem here? I'm not privy to his financial records but he plays in the IPL and probably a few other T20 leagues, or he could if he wanted to. Even without a national contract he could still be quite well off. If he can easily afford to make the bets that he does, is it really an issue? Obviously gambling can be a very serious issue for some people, but he may not actually be one of those people. He may simply like a punt. It may be a stupid waste of his money but if he's still got enough money to maintain a comfortable lifestyle and this is simply how he chooses to spend some of his extra, discretionary income then I don't see an issue here.You hear plenty of stories about big name athletes in the USA and European football gambling $10k+ a week on a variety of things. That's clearly a lot of money but when you consider that many of them earn at least 5x that amount every week, is it really an issue? I'm not saying that Jesse doesn't have a gambling problem. I certainly hope that he doesn't, and from your previous article its clear that you'd know the warning signs better than I would, but I think it's important to judge each case on its individual merits. That all being said, you're correct when you say that his history with alcohol could indicate an addictive personality which in turn could make him a risk for developing a similar addiction to gambling, so you would like to think that NZC would at least ask the questions and try to discover whether it is a serious issue or not.
Pillock
Roar Rookie
Hardly surprising is it when you see the advertising from betting shops on sporting broadcasts. The billion dollar the codes are getting from television has to come from somewhere. As for this indivduals case of being a non contracted cricketer betting on football matches, can't see the problem although not very smart if he is trying to get new contract. Basic fact is that a lot of professional sportsmen are in their early 20's eaning good cash want to be doing what all their mates do and that is have a few beers and a punt. The clubs and governing bodies can make all the rules they want but unlikely it's going to stop.
Max
Guest
Hmmmmmm its a yes and no article. Jesse Ryder has been given ample opportunity and NZ cricket has placed sanctions on him and tried to control his behaviour. What is the difference between Jesse and another "Jesse Like" character running around in the domestic stuff doing exactly the same thing? Why give someone that only because he held a contract with NZ cricket preference? I think jdubya has hit it on the head and NZ cricket have taken the right stance and let him live his life as the way he intends, obviously his attitude is not fit for the national team... yet. We all associate gamblers as lonely drunkards who probably do drugs, aka Brendan Fevola, but look at him after being ousted from the AFL and making his own life decisions, I haven't heard a bad word yet. Bottom line is they have no affiliation to each other (NZ cricket and Jesse) and they are in control of their own destiny. It would be a waste of an already stretched budget to keep running after him.
jdubya
Guest
Nobody is questioning him because he is a grown man. If he wants to gamble he will and if I want to put money on something I should be able without anyone controlling my behaviour. Keep in mind that not all "gamblers" are degenerates many gamblers actually analyse markets and seek to mathematically exploit them This is no different to playing the stock or forex markets and yet whenever this is brought up I am perceived as an addict without any impulse control which couldn't be further from the truth.