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Well, James Roberts and Wayne Bennett sure said some things last night.
After their 4-17 win over the Parramatta Eels, the Brisbane Broncos did their best to get into the headlines with their post-game comments.
It’s a distinct possibility they meant no offence with these comments, but the fact they have left themselves open to this criticism shows that whoever’s doing the media training for the club is not doing their job.
It all started with James Roberts, who in reply to a question about his pace, answered:
“I’ve got more speed than Oxford street.”
First off, putting everything else aside – it’s just not a very funny joke.
It’s something a seventh-grade-me would have come up with – the sort of lazy humour that people who think Dave Hughes is the pinnacle of comedy would maybe find slightly amusing.
You can forgive players for crossing the line if it’s a cracker of a joke – but this wasn’t that.
Jurgen Klopp, Rob Gronkowski are highly entertaining personalities – and far from PC, media-trained drones but yet they rarely get bad press because they know how to do it.
They’re pros.
Secondly, is it offensive?
On some level, to some people, obviously yes.
Certainly not anything that anyone is going to lose any sleep over but still, a thoughtless thing to say nonetheless.
Making light of substance abuse is usually not a very good idea – especially given how far-reaching and wretched the problem is in Australia.
I’m sure it wasn’t Roberts’ intention to do that, but that’s how it comes off – and really that’s all that matters.
Maybe you can justify that sort of banter with your mates, but on live TV with a nation-wide audience that includes children and families – that is an incredibly dumb joke to make.
VERDICT: Bafflingly thoughtless thing to say, deserves a clip behid the ears.
Wayne Bennett, come on down.
When told of Roberts’ comments in the post-game press conference, Bennett replied “As long he’s not on the NRL’s (Mardi Gras) float then I’ll be fine”
Um.
Hard to see how this is not at the very least, a incredibly offensive thing to say.
Whether joking or not, the implication that Bennett would not back a player supporting the NRL’s initiative to combat homophobia is completely unacceptable.
The league, to its credit, is hosting a float at this year’s Mardi Gras in an effort to engage with the LGBTI community.
Undermining this like he has goes a long way to undoing the good work that the league is doing to deal with the systemic and deeply rooted homophobia within the code and sport generally.
In Bennett’s defence, Steve Renouf offered up the explanation that “they were just the words that came to his head” – which doesn’t so much vindicate the coach, as it does just explain how thoughts and speaking works.
Any way you cut what Bennett said, he’s having a dig at the gay community – and they’ve copped more than their fair share.
VERDICT: At best, unintentionally demeaning. At worst, blatantly homophobic
The common thread between these two is that offensive or not, they show an absolutely alarming lack of self-awareness.
Part of being a modern sportsperson who earns a chunk of their bread by being a marketable personality is understanding how you’re coming across, and how media and society could reasonably interpret your words.
It does the code a great injustice when they make headlines for rubbish coming out of their mouths – fire whoever’s supposed to be training them, because they’re falling well short of the mark for professional athletes.
Want people to focus on the game and not off-field nonsense? Don’t provide off-field nonsense.
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