The media's beat-up of sport stars

The last few articles I’ve written seem to have come off as somewhat controversial, with the know-it-alls and trolls being well fed. This article won’t be as much, for this touches on something more my style – behaviour, politics and the media.

I’ll deal specifically with how the media portray player behaviour on and off the field, regardless of sporting code.

Certainly, I’ll primarily use NRL examples, for I don’t follow any sports as closely as the NRL, even from distant Adelaide.

In fact, thanks to the Mitchell Pearce blow-up, I think I’ve got all I need to make my point.

And what is that, exactly?

Easy, the media seem obsessed with taking all and sundry down a few pegs, and it just seems to create fiction if they can’t find an actual story. Regardless of standing or position, be they the prime minister, the CEO of the code, or some NSW Cup player, everyone is watched like a hawk.

Now, I know we all care so very much for the latest scandal in Hollywood – whatever it is this week, maybe Brad and Angie are splitting up – but seriously, who do they think cares? NRL players are copping the same bullshit treatments these days.

Let’s examine the Mitchell Pearce situation, given it’s the latest in a string of beat-ups. It was originally reported he was punted from a nightclub in Kings Cross after causing some issues with a girl inside, and had further issues with the security staff and police who arrested him.

It seems pretty bad, maybe another Blake Ferguson issue, right? Well, you’d be wrong. Like most people who watch, listen to or read mainstream media. As it turns out, Pearce appears to have allegedly been set up by a girl with questionable motives, was man-handled by the overly-zealous security staff, and misjudged, based on his high profile, by the cops.

What was he actually charged with by the police? Not much it. Maybe resisting an order to move on, and being handed an infringement notice. Bit of a slap on the wrist really. I bet if you ask Pearce, and anyone else involved, they’ll say he was actually trying to explain to the police what was really going on, and got arrested for saying, ‘hold up officer, let me explain’ one too many times.

What did the NRL and Roosters do? Fine him $5000 and suspend him for one game. Why? To avoid more bad press, I’ll bet. It’s another case of the Politically Correct Brigade ruining everything.

Pearce is the innocent party here, harshly treated and judged before any evidence was brought forward, evidence which exonerated him, as it turns out. Now, I’m no Pearcey fan. I don’t think he is State of Origin quality, but just another decent half who’s trading off the family name, like many kids following on in the family business.

NSW have better halves options out there. Having said that, I think the way the media handled this case, from the initial Channel Nine reports, through to the ABC, Channel 10, Channel 7, Fox and Sky reports, have been sensationalised. They have targeted him, even bringing up the fact that he was earlier asked to leave another club in the area.

So what? He is a young bloke who enjoys a night out with mates. You or I would hardly garner the same media attention, even if Miss Yellow Dress threw herself at us and then accused us of some inappropriate action. It might get a few lines a week later when they mention the problems in the Cross, as they do.

So he gets the attention, but why? Because he happens to play professional football? Really? That means it’s ok to follow him around 24/7 with cameras, waiting for a story?

But do the media wait for something to happen? Or do they go out of their way to make it happen? Too often I’ve seen set-ups like this, and too often the money has led back to a reporter attempting to create a story, or a person trying to increase their profile.

I honestly don’t care if Willie Mason got wasted at the Coogee Bay Hotel, and urinated on a wall. Old news, I know, but he was drunk and under 30. Find me a bloke under 30 who hasn’t had to do that, and I’ll show you a liar.

They are sports stars, under incredible amounts of mental, emotional and physical stress, and they need a release valve. What, you want them to all wake up, train hard, go home and hide in their house until the next day of training, with no social lives? What happens when their 35 and their career ends if they are forced to do that? No social skills, no world experience. Athletes that can’t be athletes anymore, but have no skills to transition into a non-sporting career.

They can’t all be commentators, coaches or trainers. We’ll end up having more terrible shows run by no-talent hacks like Fatty Vautin. You should have stuck to the footy, Fatty. A comedian you are not. And do we really want Darren Lockyer to commentate a fast-paced game, doing even more damage to his vocal chords, eventually losing the raspy voice for good? He’d be better off coaching, putting that footballing brain to better use than Channel Nine ever will. In fact, it seems a few clubs might be in need of a new coach comes season’s end… Canberra, for one, if the talk is anything to go by.

Benji Marshall is another example of someone who should’ve just stayed away from the cameras, or who the media should’ve let disappear into obscurity.

His epic fail of, “I’ll never play against the Tigers” has come back to bite him now, and it may cost the Dragons a pretty penny. Throw away angry comment or not, nothing disappears from the online community and the media never forgets an epic statement like that, either.

Ask good ole Tony Abbott… he’ll tell you, but unless it’s witnessed and signed on legal paper, it might or might not be correct. Even then, it’s still not correct, apparently. So Benji has now signed with the Dragons until the end of 2016, and eventually will face the Tigers. What’s he going to do, injure himself sightly to not be selected each time the Dragons play the Tigers? Doubt it.

The guy seems to have an ego bigger than Jupiter. I can’t see him going away quietly, ever. He’ll be the next Footy Show host mostly likely, since Channel Nine punted Matty Johns years ago. Benji and Beau, bullying and banter-bashing their way to ratings failure and cancellation… well, that’s what I feel should be done to that show.

Have we all noticed what’s going on now? Journos can say whatever they want, without facts or with loosely assembled facts and stats, and manipulate them any way they like. They have a brief understanding of something, and act like an expert, all the while developing the next scandal unrelated to the current one.

Will’s shagged some random Aussie bird behind Kate’s back while on tour. Michael Jackson isn’t really dead. Steve Menzies will play another season with Manly in 2015, and Petero Civoniceva will turn out for Queensland this year. D you believe that? Really? Reading it somewhere doesn’t make it true. Seeing it on the news in the age of CGI and Photoshop also doesn’t make it true.

I can create a very convincing photo of myself playing for Queensland, but I ended my professional footy career in Jersey-Flegg well over a decade ago, and would, unfortunately, have had to have played for NSW if I had ever made it to the pros. Coaching juniors in Adelaide is all that I have left, aside from the voyeurism that is Foxtel. Don’t believe your eyes or ears, unless you were actually there, and leave the players alone. What they do when not on the field is their business. If they play up, they’ll be punted.

If you were Hazem El Masri, Luke Priddis or any of the many others who do good, you’ll fade into the background. Anyone heard of Panthers on the Prowl? I’m certain other clubs have similar community set-ups. Where’s the media articles on that? Not the ones in the local rag, but in the Daily Telegraph, the Sydney Morning Herald or on Fox News.

Why doesn’t Channel Nine cover a Luke Priddis Foundation event, or work with El Masri to promote the work he does for Islam and the local community? It’s not newsworthy, and doesn’t sell copies, that’s why. And that’s our fault as consumers of scandal, intrigue and other negative press.