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It seems the days of footballers behaving badly may finally be coming to an end. The success of the Sydney Swans and their ‘no dickheads’ policy has shown that a strong and positive culture is worth as much as a high tech training centre, or a killer right boot.
Sport is reacting. Dayle Garlett, the talented young West Australian footballer, was overlooked by all clubs in the AFL Draft due to some previous off field issues, even though he had been rated as a potential top ten pick.
Established footballers such as Jason Gram and Kyle Reimers, both of whom had their discipline off the park questioned, have been left homeless.
Dustin Martin, Dane Swan and Sam Fisher, all key players for their clubs, have had their characters called in to question in the media.
On the other hand, as I pointed out earlier, the Sydney Swans won a flag based on a strong culture that they have worked hard to maintain.
The “no dickheads” policy meant that the Swans became the feel good team of the league.
They won a flag with a lot of good players, an ageing superstar, and a strong work ethic and belief across the team.
Then there is the story of Andrew Krakour, who went to jail, served his time, and still came back as a good player, and perhaps, a better person.
Compare these examples to that of Quade Cooper. He came out, sledged his coach and team, and (shock horror!) the ARU offered him a contract that means he can’t just turn up and get paid. He actually has to earn it.
Cooper has to be selected, and to be selected, he needs to fit into the team.
As Peter FitzSimons wrote last week, Cooper needed someone to sit him down and pull his head in. Instead, he is going off to become the next Mohammed Ali.
It probably doesn’t help Quade Cooper’s situation that he is being compared to the likes of David Pocock and Nathan Sharpe, who are notable for their extremely strong morals and work ethic respectively.
Pocock’s story of his turbulent years in Zimbabwe and subsequent move to Australia is inspiring stuff, as are his views and way of living.
Sharpe’s determination and pride in the Gold top will be sorely missed. It is the sort of moral strength you can build a strong team culture around.
Cricket has not escaped the disciplinary zeitgeist either. The Marsh brothers, Shaun and Mitchell, are the most recent controversy, when they were disciplined and dropped from the T20 Champions League for drinking before the game.
The swiftness of the discipline was impressive. Shaun had been previously suspended for drinking in 2007. How would a young Shane Warne, beer, smokes and all, fare today?
There are of course positive characters in the NRL – Will Hopoate, who is following his religious beliefs, and retiring great Nathan Hindmarsh, who has always been a great influence on the game, immediately come to mind.
However, they are greatly outweighed by the playground of problem children the NRL is forced to babysit.
The point is that athletes are no longer worth just their athletic ability, and organisations are starting to realise this.
The 24 hour media cycle means that bad eggs are now a real liability, and it is a lot harder to sweep things under the carpet.
Readers will feast on a scandal, and give the organisation a bad reputation. In terms of tangible evidence, they can cost memberships, sponsorship dollars, and fines.
The handling of Brendon Fevola should have been a lesson for everyone. Carline Wilson pointed out two important factors in her recent article “AFL needs to help men in trouble”.
One is that the problems that footballers have are problems which blight the lives of young men right across society.
Secondly, these troubled men should not be ignored, but helped, without using the sport as a personal rehab centre.
Strong cultures are created by inventing, writing and standardising factors like club identity, beliefs, morals, proper behaviours, rituals, heroes and icons.
They are sustained by the people you bring in and what you teach them.
Strong sporting culture can and should be used as a tool to bring sustained success, on and off the field. This success can be measured in morals, dollars and trophies.
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