The thing I love about sport is that at the end of the day it really is only a game.
Yes we commit hours of our time watching games and debating the latest hot topic, and we spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on tickets, merchandise and pay TV.
But it’s just entertainment, and as excited or upset as we might get at the end of a match it makes no material difference to our lives who wins or loses.
But for some the National Rugby League is how they provide for their families and how they identify as a functioning part of society. Whether it’s a club administrator, media personality or even a stadium canteen employee, for them the NRL means an awful lot.
Of course there is a group for who the numbers on the scoreboard and stats sheet can literally be life changing. For the 400 players of the NRL one crucial dropped ball or missed tackle can be the end of a career, as can the emergence of a younger and better player, or an injury.
A quick Google search reveals that the average career of a player in the NRL is 43 games over three or four years, and that does not count the hundreds who never make it to the top grade.
For all the glamour we dream of when thinking about life as an NRL player, the reality is that it is a stressful, high pressure job with little to no job security. Often these pressures are compounded by the fact young men move far away from their support networks of family, friends and partners.
Players in the NRL are no different to most 18 to 30-year-old men. Each year when we read about the latest off-field drama of a player we roll our eyes and run to the nearest internet forum to give our opinion. But the reality is the behaviour of our NRL players is no different to society at large. Look at any cross section of 400 young men and you’ll find some with alcohol and drug problems, some who have committed domestic violence, and some who are just idiots.
This week has again highlighted another deep societal issue that is occurring within the NRL playing group- depression.
Depression is an awful disease which affects far too many people in Australia, particularly the young. According to Headspace, a staggering six to seven per cent of 16 to 24 year olds will suffer from depression in any given year, while the Black Dog Institute reports that suicide is the leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 24, while 20 per cent of the population will suffer from depression in any year.
Despite these shocking statistics and the amazing work of organisations such as Headspace, the Black Dog Institute, Beyond Blue, Lifeline and mental health care workers across the country, we as a society still attach a stigma to mental health and as a result it can be difficult for sufferers to seek help.
Unfortunately, professional athletes are not immune to depression. In fact their lives can provide a perfect storm. Their lifestyles can be difficult on relationships, they can be far from support networks and have their sense of identity snatched away in a heartbeat. Not only that, but the rough and tough nature of sport can make it intimidating for players to speak up and seek help.
In recent times though, we have been given small glimpses into the impact this awful disease has on players. My first memory of a player publicly announcing his battle with depression was Corey Paterson, then a young up-and-coming star for the Knights.
In more recent times Reni Matua and Preston Campbell have revealed they attempted suicide, while this week Darius Boyd opened up about his ongoing battle and time in hospital. All these stories are heartbreaking, and it cannot be understated the amount of courage it took these young men to be so open publicly.
But in reading the recent articles about Darius Boyd, I was struck by David Riccio’s strange side article about his interview with Darius. Riccio was full of praise for Darius and his willingness to open up, and also rightly pointed out that openness about the disease is the way for the NRL to tackle the issue head on.
What I did find disappointing was that there was no mention of the role the media have played in Darius’ story. We all remember how Darius was publicly crucified over an interview in July this year, and his infamous 2009 press conference while playing for the Dragons. Riccio’s own News Limited ran a headline, ‘What is Newcastle Knights star Darius Boyd’s problem when it comes to the media’, after Boyd struggled to answer questions when confronted in the street by a Channel Seven reporter.
His problem was of course he had depression. And when you have depression even the simplest conversation can be impossible. While the media had their laugh at Darius’ expense and reeled in the horror of his disrespect, for Darius even walking out the front door was probably an achievement greater than anything he has done on the field.
The article still contains tweets from other News Limited staff, including this from Gerard Middleton, “Darius Boyd. Will never grow up, will never learn, will never understand… when he goes… will never be missed.”
At the time of course it was not publicly known that Darius was battling with depression, but now with hindsight I think Darius is owed an apology.
In his article Riccio amazingly even stated that Darius still had a long way to go to swing public support back towards him. I suspect he really meant the media, and that they still resent how Darius acted towards them.
Unfortunately for all the bravery of the likes of Darius, Preston, Renny and Corey, and the great work of the NRL through their What’s Your State of Mind campaign, it seems as though for the media it’s more about page views than the actual issue, which is giving these young men the support they need.
After the tragic death of Robin Williams this week, mental health support services Lifeline and Beyond Blue have seen a rise in the number of people seeking help for depression. For young fans of rugby league it may be seeing their hero speak out about their own battles which lets them know it’s ok to speak up and seek help.
As the gateway for those messages it’s important for the media to be on board and help us as a society take away the stigma and tackle this awful disease.
If you or someone you know needs help please contact lifeline on 13 11 14.
david webb
Guest
Does Billy slater think darius boyd is a sook
nerval
Guest
Peter Fitzsimons doesn't talk himself up? While boasting from his bully pulpit at the Sydney Morning Herald of his duty to "bag" rugby league? A well-paid journalist - it can only be a matter of time before he boasts publicly of his earning capacity - publicly labelling Boyd a "rude turd" after the latter refused to partake of a pathetic journalistic stunt in the middle of the street? If only each and every rugby league player were fortunate to have had the upbringing that Fitzsimons is able to provide for his children. Sadly, delving a little deeper into the backgrounds of a number of them, it is clear that family circumstances did not afford them such a head start in life. And, oh, wouldn't it be marvellous to analyse the private lives and secret histories of some of our favourite journalists! Their colleagues would have plenty to get their teeth into...
Daniel Murphy
Roar Rookie
You're 100% right that at the time they could not have known. To his credit Phil Rothfield is great to acknowledging when he gets something wrong, and I think there was a chance here to publicly apologise with the benefit of hindsight and highlight how difficult those times would have been for Darius. But unfortunately it seemed more about whether Darius was moving to Brisbane and another dig at the NRL to me.
Daniel Murphy
Roar Rookie
This exactly highlights what I think needed to be acknowledged by Riccio in his opinion piece. It was not about manners, or Darius being ungrateful, as someone suffering depression those conversations would have been impossible for him. It's difficult to understand if you haven't been there yourself, but literally forming words can be difficult, let alone being unexpectedly bailed up in the street. Beyond Blue has great resources if you would like to learn more about depression and some of the symptoms and difficulties for sufferers.
ABarbauld
Roar Rookie
The media focus on players and their behaviour is excruciating to watch. I'd hate to be one of their victims while suffering an illness. They only care about ratings and news and not about the individual. Leave the players alone! Comment on the sport and not the player. If I'd had a massive amount of external, unwanted attention on me when I was suicidally depressed I would probably have taken my life. I was thinking the ony thing that would satisfy my employer was if I topped myself. The media loves a story and seem to NOT care about the people of whom they write. If you haven't got anything nice to say don't say anything. The people who showed up at John Manna's after he died to ask about whether they knew if John had taken supplements at Cronulla appalled me and it's just one example of the lack of humanity in reporting.
ferret
Guest
Case 1 - Paul Kent - watched several episodes of 360 but it was nothing more than the Paul Kent show. He continually talked over Ben Ikin. Case 2 - Andrew Bolt - "I am right, you are wrong. Nothing further to discuss." "There should be an amendment to Australian law named after me - the "Bolt clause". Others I would classify as opinionated egotistical twats - Phil Rothfiled, Janet Albrectsen, Robert Fisk, Graham Richardson. I think it is only natural that if you;ve got a national profile and a daily / weekly platform to sprout stuff that one wouldn't eventually fall into the trap of hubris. Actually I could abide the self-promotion if they actually talked about the game but all league journos seem to discuss is everything about league EXCEPT the game itself. BTW - I think you'll find many journos get 6 figure sums (source = Ros Gittins Fiarfax journo) so they are on a par with many footy players.
Robz
Guest
Regardless of who is close to him and what they picked up on, like most illnesses, you cannot help someone with depression until they want to be helped. I say this as someone who has lived with diagnosed clinical depression for coming up to 15 years, but have only in the past 9 months finally submitted to getting the help I need. Even though I was medically diagnosed, I refused to get the professional help I needed and became very very good at hiding it from those closest to me. It was stupid of me not to get the help, but I believed that made me weak and that I could just deal with it myself and get over it. Finally something just clicked and I realised I was being stupid and went back to my GP to start my treatment. On another note however, depression does not excuse behaviour such as assault, trashing hotel rooms or even being plain rude to people for no reason.
turbodewd
Guest
Watch the news tonite, ferret, show me a journo who takes time out from their reporting to talk themselves up. Show me evidence that journos have egos like footballers. Im struggling to see anything to back up thy stance old chappe.
ferret
Guest
"Humble journos" that's an oxymoron surely?!?!
MAX
Guest
When it was indicated that Canterbury was interested in signing Darius I went into reverse, simply because of bad behaviour reports earlier in his career. Benny Barba (2013) still hurts. Then I read where upon receiving his 20 game Origin medal he broke down and cried uttering that "you are the only family I have ever had" Loneliness is voracious. Loneliness is a full brother or sister to depression and travels without need of a visa inflicting the rich,poor,cripple or athletic. I have known many lonely people. Cure the loneliness and depression looks elsewhere. Des , Raelene and the Canterbury team can help Darius #1. The door is open.
turbodewd
Guest
Humble journos simply trying to earn a living on a fraction of Boyd's wage and Boyd doesnt have the basic manners to answer their questions politely. He's always been an a-hole to journos. Ungrateful young man. Needs a rocket if you ask me.
Paneer
Guest
Cop out, mate, cop out. So anyone who beats their wife has an excuse?! Cmon, get real. Thank Zeus youre not a judge. Your logic doesnt follow. You seem to have a seperate rule for footballers. No excuse for a person to trash hotel room or beat their wife.
The Barry
Roar Guru
So it makes more sense to blame the media who have limited interactions (quality and quantity) with Boyd for not picking up his mental health issues than it does asking why no one in the club picked up on it?
The Barry
Roar Guru
It's too easy to just blame the media in all of this. For Boyd's infamous press conference Sydney journalists were invited down to Wollongong for a press release. They were greeted with Boyd's "yeh", "nuh", "sorta" answers. What are they supposed to do with that? How do they support Boyd when he's just absolutely wasted their time? You're also asking them to identify Boyd's mental health issues from a non-communicative, time wasting press conference. No one in the club, including his father figure had been able to pick up on it and it was five years before he was diagnosed with anything. Would it actually help if a journo wrote an article saying that Boyd had mental issues and needed help? For the most part the media have been very sensitive in the way they've handled it since he's sought help.
ferret
Guest
Yesterday I tuned in briefly to the radiio to some pre-game chat between Matty Johns and Gordie Tallis, and then Paul Kent came on and proceeded to pontificate about the "Darius Boyd" issue. After a very cursory sending of "best wishes" to Darius, Kent then proceeded to lamblast the Knights and NRL for not doing more to help him out. It appears that Kent was aware that something was wrong all along and surely the NRL / Club should have noticed. I was under the (obviously) mistaken impression that people suffering depression very much keep it to themsleves. Obviously Wayne Bennet, who knows Boyd better than most and obviously cares for his wellbeing, was being negligent according to one P. Kent. Kent's talents are obviously wasted as a journno. He should be running the NRL / Canberra Raiders / NSW parliment and Telstra!!! He's a dead-set genius and infallible. As you may have guessed, the radio didn't stay on for very long.
James
Roar Guru
Good stuff mate
Punter
Guest
Paneer, an alcoholic, a gambler, a drug user or a wife beater, if you go deeper, I would say the odds would be strong that you would find some psychological demon they are fighting & they abuse themselves or others as a form to escaping from it. Hurt others before they hurt you or hurt yourself so others can't are all classic examples.
Liatrevlis
Guest
Paneer when was the last time you were lambasted by the media ? Scrutinised ? Had blokes like voss invite listeners to comment on most "hated" players , he starting with Darius , buddy there's a line ya just don't cross regardless of your position in community or society
Paneer
Guest
The cynic in my wonders why NRL players come out with depression after doing something bad, i.e trash hotel room, go on a 48-hr bender, squander their savings on gambling, wallop the wife. The media already does an excellent job at handling this delicate issue. I reject the notion that they arent doing their best already.
Liatrevlis
Guest
Hope ya listening to this voss