This is going to turn out to be a very expensive leak for Greg Bird. My understanding is that he can expect to be fined somewhere from $10,000 to $50,000 by the Gold Coast club, depending on a couple of factors.
One is how angry the individual members of the club’s disciplinary committee are when they meet on Thursday to decide on penalty. The second is how good an argument Bird is able to put up on behalf of himself for a fine at the lower end of that scale.
Even a $10,000 fine would be a decent whack for a splash of the shoes. Bird’s co-captaincy of the team is also at risk after the weekend’s frivolities.
It is hard to decide exactly how to consider this incident, in which Bird was seen by witnesses to have urinated in the vicinity of a police car outside of a Byron Bay hotel on Sunday night.
It was the weekend of his wedding and the police car was parked next to a Bird-group vehicle.
We could laugh our heads off at it and say “oh, Birdy, you boofhead, you’ve done it again”. Particularly since, when he fronted the media to make a statement apologising for what he had done, he referred without thinking to it having put a “dampener” on the weekend.
I mean, it isn’t the crime of the century.
Or we could stick it to him for being stupidly irresponsible at a time when his club really doesn’t need it.
The Titans struggled to attract crowds to its home games last season.
It is easy for fans to drop off because they’ve got a legitimate excuse that is not even related to whether the team is playing well – getting to and from the club’s home ground can be a nightmare because of the lack of parking and public transport.
Gold Coast is also currently without a major sponsor. The club’s chief executive, Graham Annesley, travelled to China in August for negotiations with a potential sponsor, but the deal fell through.
The Christmas-New Year period, when business traditionally shuts down, is about to descend upon us, decreasing the odds of the club having a sponsor in place by the start of next season
The Bird incident just further weakens Gold Coast’s position.
It is embarrassing to even talk about it, but the debate over just how big a misdemeanour Bird is guilty of centres on whether he actually urinated on the police car or just beside it.
There were initial suggestions that the incident may have been captured on CCTV footage, but my understanding is that there is no such footage available.
Bird says he urinated next to the police car, not on it.
My question is this: When he realised he was about to urinate in the vicinity of a police car, why didn’t he think ‘maybe this isn’t a good idea’ and hold fire?
The look on Annesley’s face when he fronted the media along with Bird made it clear that the club’s level of anger over the incident is high.
I don’t know if Bird is genuinely remorseful or not. I hope he is.
As an isolated incident – and particularly if Bird didn’t actually urinate on the police car, as he says he didn’t – it’s obviously at the lower end of the scale when it comes to the register of off-field incidents.
Really, we shouldn’t have to be talking about this sort of rubbish and the sooner we’re no longer talking about it, the better.
The problem is stupid stuff like this keeps happening. Because it inevitably damages the game to some degree there has to be accountability.
Kurt S
Roar Pro
Yes, I believe sponsors would have considered such things, including the fact that Bird was a captain and would have come into line.
The eye
Guest
Don't you think potential sponsors are going to factor in the high percentage risk of an incident occurring within a team including noted 'larrikins' Bird Miles Roberts Blair Carter and Taylor ? You honestly think,they sat back Monday morning and thought 'wow,didn't see that coming..' This is G.Bird we're talking about here,he's probably outside having another indiscreet wee as we speak..
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
No, no - not just that one Brad. H. Your previous two have spelling and punctuation errors as well. Lift your game.
Brad. H
Guest
Mick See previous comment.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
Hey Brad. H - literacy is not your strongest suit is it? Did you not pay attention in Basic English Expression classes?
Brad. H
Guest
Mick For your edification , satire is only recognised as such when the author is a recognised satirist or people are familliar with that persons particular writing style. By your comment it would be quite ok to say the most heinous things about you as long as I claimed it was satire. You sir are an eneducated oaf and your time is up.
Brad. H
Guest
Lindsay I accept your intent but violence against women is a very serious subject and not only in the NRL Unfortinately joking about in the written word does not get accross your real intent and can be seen as encouragement to the perpertrators of such a low act.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
I agree Kurt S. As I wrote on another thread this galoot has a responsibility, especially as captain on six or seven hundred grand a year, to represent their club especially well at all times to ensure the sponsors sponsor, the fans turn up and buy tickets and merchandise and the kitchen and cleaning staff get to keep their jobs in a solvent organisation. The Titans are right now trying to convince some corporation which doesn’t read the sports pages to shovel money at them because they do not have a sponsor. I wonder if any of the lowly Titan’s club employees are so amused at funster Gweggie’s efforts that they’re happy to forgo their job in a rotten employment market, and be evicted for being unable to pay the rent, because it’s all "no big deal".
Paul D
Roar Guru
Actually, the last part of my sentence was cribbed from Andrew Denton's remarks in the World Series Debate circa 20 years ago on the ABC, "That football is stupid." He was making the light-hearted point that rugby league performs a valuable public service by allowing a lot of blokes to get excess violence and testosterone out of their system on the football field, rather than out in public. You've totally misunderstood the intent of my remarks - it wasn't meant to be taken seriously, but I can understand how you might have thought it was. I agree with you that there are plenty of examples of foolish behaviour in AFL, as there is in rugby league. I totally disagree however, that the AFL media covers these up - Stephen Milne's assault was linked constantly on afl.com and was openly discussed in the media. Buddy Franklin crashed his car in Sydney, that was discussed at length earlier this year. AFL 360 - a program that airs on Fox Footy, made the allegation that Dan Hannebery was doing cocaine at the start of this season, an accusation that no-one in the mainstream media was prepared to put to print. There are countless other examples. The only stories I can think of which perhaps don't get published always are stories concerning drug use, but often that's due to lack of hard evidence and respect for player privacy vis a vis the 3 strikes rule.
Jay C
Roar Guru
I have said it before KC There are two things I h8. People who aren't tolerant of others cultures. And the Dutch. I am curious about this Franklin Flower though. Also, I don't think it is that they are covered up. A friend of mine moved to Melbourne (I know, can you imagine) and he tells me that there is just as much coverage of AFL's failings in the local papers down that way as there is in the East Coast papers in regards to League. Just don't get so defensive. There are two scenarios. 1 is that they are a troll, in which case all they want is this reaction. Second scenario they support multiple codes and are genuinely cranky about off field dramas. It isn't a competition between who has the biggest gooses. If it was then it would be neck and neck...
spruce moose
Guest
It's also wrong. Robert Lui is Fijian.
Kingcowboy
Guest
Jay C, i don't take to kindly to people who judge people based on what sport they play. Paul D wrote the following about our code "Just one of a long list of moronic incidents in this code over the years. Lot of boofheads to carry. I suppose we should be grateful league keeps them on the field and not roaming the streets at will" I just provided an example of other fools from his sport of choice. There was also that St Kilda footballer who got away with no being jailed for his attack on that young lady a number of years ago. The only difference is that the AFL media cover all these up.
Jay C
Roar Guru
That's not fair you have just named all of the Indigenous players who have had troubles. Plenty of non-indigenous players having similar troubles.
Kurt S
Roar Pro
What Bird did was dumb. It wasn't terrible if he wasn't deliberately urinating on the police car. But the guy is a leader of a team. All the staff who work behind the scenes should be rightly filthy at Bird. All the hard work they have put in to trying to turn the Titan's fortunes around have just literally gone down the drain. I just could just imagine the marketing department having to field conversations from potential major sponsors they have been courting, and the demands from current minor sponsors to have the Titans justify why they should keep their funding contracts intact. To those that feel Bird has ben harshly treated for something so benign; you just don't get it. Like Bird, you can't see the ramifications of this stupid act. It's not that Bird had a sneaky wizz, it's that the ramifications of being caught doing something so bloody stupid that he jeopardises the fortunes of his club and all the staff and players involved. Sponsors (The NRL itself included) play a large part in funding clubs and therefore funding player salaries. Bird's stupidity has potentially affected all staff and players at the Titans from the ground staff to the CEO. He might need to consider that next time his monthly salary hits his bank account.
Kingcowboy
Guest
Wow that $50k+ spent per year by your parents on your education was money well spent. I am sure no government has looked into the alcohol issues facing indigenous communities around Australia. Maybe you and your brilliant mates should put together a task force and get the problem solved.
Ash
Guest
I was thinking more along the lines of them all being indigenous and they have he inability to manage their alcohol we can add Kurtley Beale to the list as well. Unfortunately this is just a representation of the broader Australian society an stretches far beyond sports people. The misuse of alcohol and problems indigenous communities face from alcohol abuse needs looking into.
Ash
Guest
Wow what wise words Kingcowboy. I actually an ex private school boarding student, I have 3 daughters and a wife and treat them it the utmost respect and have taught my son to do so as well. You sound just a tiny bit envious that your folks couldn't afford 50k + for a years education.
Jay C
Roar Guru
They might get Adult Huggies on board? Seems like a good fit "Don't go Myles looking for a place to lay your golden Egg" Or maybe a place that makes sheds. "Don't leave your new car to the Birds, get a McCracken shed" And Bird park his car and have a flock of birds give it a treatment and do a big dumb sort of hands in the air shrug. Or Queensland Healths prostate awareness campaign. Bird could be struggling to get a decent flow going, taking too long as the cops slowly come round the corner. Then a picture of Hoppa with the words "Leave it to the professionals"
Silver Sovereign
Roar Rookie
you are a typical PC person if there ever was one. Its satire of the fact that these footballers can do just about anything to these partners of theirs and the women keep coming back for it. In Bird's case, his woman ended up claiming that she glassed herself.
Jay C
Roar Guru
Paul, anyone who likes AFL is not entitled to an opinion on here. We are programmed to immediately become ultra defensive at any sign of another sport.