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In light of recent off and on-field indiscretions across a number of Australian sports I have been forced to ponder the above question over and over again.
I acknowledge that society is an ever-changing system, the rules of which adapt and conform to fall in line with political correctness and public expectations as time goes on.
That being said, where do we draw the line and say ‘let them play’?
I am in no way condoning the much publicised James Tamou incident, nor am I siding with Holger Osieck and his unashamedly sexist sense of humour.
I’m just of the opinion that we need to take a step back, have a deep breath and re-evaluate the way in which we treat our sports stars.
At the risk of flogging a dead horse, the Paul Gallen/Nate Myles dust up is a perfect case in point.
It’s crazy to see how much of a tangent the Australian public, Australian press journalists and television sports reporters have flown off on following a half-a-minute push and shove that is part and parcel of one of the most physical sports Australia has to offer.
Inflammatory criticism from commentators involved in codes other than the NRL are only adding fuel to the fire, they are using their respective codes as the benchmark when analysing the incident and as a result are creating an apples to oranges scenario.
Enough about Origin and league.
Moving to cricket. Nobody knows yet what David Warner actually did to Joe Root in the Walkabout Pub but that hasn’t stopped a still-emotional Malcolm Conn from calling for Warner’s withdrawal from the most important series of his career.
Cricket Australia has become so sensitive about their image that players are rarely afforded leisure time on tour but when they finally are they do what most, if not all, Australians on a tour would do: head to a pub for a few cold ones.
As soon as that majestic three-letter word starting with ‘P’ appears, everyone loses control.
Players can no longer safely relax let alone drink themselves into a stupor on the tour flight or celebrate a win as it should be celebrated:
Has the Australian public and sports analysists become so obsessed with political correctness that Fui Fui Moi Moi can’t even enjoy an energy drink mid-game without ‘he’s drinking a beer!’ or ‘Toohey Toohey Moi Moi!’ being shouted at the tv screen?
Has ‘bringing the game into disrepute’ been taken so far out of context that David Warner can’t do anything without being held to a different pedestal than we hold ourselves, our colleagues, and our friends?
I may be out-of-line with my more traditional stance on Australian sport but either way I’m holding out hope that the pedestal on which our sports stars are placed doesn’t rise so high that we actually lose sight of the players that draw us to the games we love.
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