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Sporting curfews don't make sense

James Tamou bailed on the Kiwis to play Origin footy. (AAP Image/Paul Miller)
Roar Guru
14th June, 2013
12

The Australian cricket team didn’t have a curfew in place as their players prepared for the Champions Trophy last weekend.

Team management trusted the players to make good decisions and not create international headlines ahead of a tournament that is so important it is being scrapped from the calendar.

A trip to a Birmingham Bar, albeit undertaken by a small group, ended shortly after Aussie opener David Warner delivered a glancing blow to England batsman Joe Root.

He copped his Cricket Australia imposed fine, apologised both publicly and privately to Root and vowed to make better decisions in the future.

As a part of that process he also suggested that had a curfew been in place the whole situation might’ve been avoided.

“We don’t have curfews but looking back there should have been in that situation,” he said.

No, there shouldn’t have been.

in fact, the whole concept of the curfew is ridiculous.

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It means grown men and women are effectively being told when to go to bed by other grown men and women.

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland got to the heart of the real issue when addressing Warner’s punishment.

“Whatever the case is, he’s making some pretty ordinary decisions and bringing the game and his teammates down. That’s not going to be tolerated for any longer.”

The bedtime is part of the problem, but it isn’t the magic cure-all.

Sporting teams have been chasing the dawn light for decades and will continue to do so.

The decisions made during that process have de-railed the careers of some, but others have managed to escape the wrath of the monster we’re told descends on establishments after midnight – robbing patrons of their sense of right and wrong.

Good decisions, largely, render curfews useless.

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A good decision maker will realise when is the right time to pull up stumps and head back to the hotel on the eve of a tournament.

A good decision maker will avoid situations that will obviously lead to trouble.

And do you know what happens to people who continue to make bad decisions?

They, eventually, will get replaced by people who have made more sensible choices.

As part of his punishment, Warner won’t play again before the first Test.

It now looks like Chris Rogers and Ed Cowan will open the batting at Trent Bridge on July 10.

It’s a similar story for North Queensland forward James Tamou.

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He didn’t need to get behind the wheel of a car moments before being charged with high-range drink driving and unlicensed driving.

If he had have just caught a taxi home then no-one would’ve ever known he’d gone out.

The North Queensland forward has lost his place in the New South Wales side for State of Origin 2 and if Tim Grant, Aaron Woods, Tim Mannah or Aiden Tolman performs, then he might not be back for game three.

This isn’t just about Warner or Tamou either. They’re just the most recent to fall short of the expectations placed on them by their employers.

Officials need to trust that players will do the right thing.

If they don’t then they’ll simply find someone who will.

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