Yesterday, Malcolm Knox wrote what I would loosely describe as a ‘think piece’ urging the Australian public to turn their backs on Nick Kyrgios, as he has “zero regard for what we think.”
By ‘we’, he must of course mean ‘the media’, a group that has quite a hold on the Australian sporting sphere, and whose many pastimes include hounding tall poppy athletes into shrinking down.
It appears he missed Kyrgios’ signing more autographs for supporters than most other tennis players, regularly inviting kids who are watching on during his practice sessions to hit with him on court, attending numerous family and charity days, and constantly engaging in a jovial and candid manner with fans on social media.
I reiterate, when Malcolm Knox uses the term ‘we’, he’s – even if he doesn’t know it – most likely talking about the media.
Australian sport has become bogged down in recent years by an overkill of media analysis- not of the dynamics of any given sport, but of the flaws of many personalities in the sport and how they conduct themselves.
I find it very self righteous for journalists- many of whom enjoy their ‘golden years’ or the primes of their careers in their late 30s, 40s and even 50s – to badger a bunch of people who usually have only their 20s to maximise their talent. If not, they are forever cast as failures and underachievers. This is an incredible burden to carry for a person in their 20s, male or female.
Living in the sport-obsessed Melbourne, it appears young professional athletes constantly quake in their boots at the media scrutiny of their every move – on or off the field. If a player does something genuinely untoward and sinister, of course they deserve criticism.
But recent years have seen the media make headlines out of the least newsworthy things one can imagine. Ask Michael Clarke, or an AFL player who dares to post a cheeky joke on social media, like the Brisbane Lions’ Tom Rockliff.
People may say “well, there is a demand for these ‘stories’, so why not write them?” That’s like saying “if you put fast food and a salad in front of most people today, most people would choose the fast food, so why not keep serving it?”
Just like the abundance of fast food companies and burger joints that seemingly pop up everywhere these days, it’s pointless to tell certain members of the media to stop doing what they’re doing. The journalists who have taken that route will write whatever fills their pockets, and over the top criticism of big personalities seems to do it.
Enter Nick Kyrgios. An Australian athlete who regularly takes members of the media on – in press conferences as well as on social media – refuses to be cowed by their scrutiny, and has charisma that shows many of them up for the ‘buzz killers’ that they are. If the media aren’t going to monitor themselves, at least let there be an athlete who is willing to defy and challenge them.
After his hard-fought win over John Isner in the Davis Cup on Friday, Kyrgios said he will likely “still throw my racquet”, “challenge the umpire”, “say what I think” and display his “emotional” side every now and then, “but I will compete for every point”.
To me, that means something to the effect of “I care very much about the fans and public, and will give my all for them, but I will not be bowed by the nit-pickers who try to shut down my individuality”.
I’m grateful for that, Kyrgios. Keep being you and challenging the all-powerful mainstream media. Somebody has to.
Remo Shankar
Roar Pro
The piece by Malcolm Know was quite contemptuous in tone. To quote from the article: 'One thing he (Kyrios) and I have in common is that neither of us is all that interested in tennis.' As someone who loves the sport, as soon as I read something like this my first reaction is to pretty much dismiss the substance of the article. I can only assume that the writer was facing a deadline and had run out of ideas, so he rehashed an article on Kyrios. There was nothing new in the article - it had all been articulated in one form or another in a myriad of other pieces. I don't think Australians have too many problems with Nick showing some fire on the court - and that includes smashing racquets and verbal altercations with umpires. Where he lost a lot of us was with the distasteful comments to Warwinka; his tanking episodes and the berating of ball kids. The Warwinka comment to some degree can be forgiven as being impetuous and a heat of the moment thing for which he apologised. He seems to be genuinely trying to change his ways with the tanking and off-handed rudeness to ball kids. There's a lot of talk coming from Nick about competing for every point - and his recent, consistent performances can be cited as evidence of this. In Miami recently he also smoothed out a situation with a ball kid who was throwing the balls at his feet...Nick seemed very aware of curbing what would normally have been an ill tempered response and ended up joking with the ball kid and having a kind word to him at the end of the match. I for one hope what we're seeing is a realisation from Nick that if he works on a couple of these things, he won't have to bury his natural fiery and flamboyant personality. Whatever else you may think of him, he is a wonderfully dynamic and talented player who is great to watch and generates a level of electricity and expectation that the sport will need as some of the all times current greats edge closer to retirement.
R2k
Guest
Well reasoned. He shows emotion on the court - every player does unfortunately his show of emotion is consistently causing code violations and yelling at the crowd. He is gettting better no doubt about it but he still has a long way to go. No he hasn't committed any crimes. Apparently that's now the measuring stick. As I said to Dtrain's comment - in my mind his off the court sins are largely based on a failure to communicate. But say if for example Jordan Thompson or any other tennis player did the same things as either Kyrgios or Tomic, I wouldn't support them either.
R2k
Guest
I don't think he is Bernard Tomic and I never said he was. I know trying to compare the life of a tennis superstar to any other job outside of sport is insanity and 'ridiculously negative' but that's how I look at things. The most negative off the court stuff he does are consistently making mockeries out of interviews and legitimate press converage. That damages him personally because you then have the consistently negative press about him. He continues to laugh off every code violation and fine off court. This amplifies the stuff on the court but thank you for cherry picking. He has to be a role model because he is a sporting superstar. Of course he doesn't have to be - much like Donald Trump doesn't have to be a role model. I think many would prefer it if he was. Nick reminds me a lot of Marat Safin in terms of his on court temperament - who is now thought of as one of the biggest underachievers ever in tennis but Marat did win a major and I'm sure Nick will to. I am interested in what would (if anything) stop you from being a Kyrgios fan. For me it was the whole Wawrinka and Kokkinakis debarcle.
Rohit Asopa
Roar Pro
@Pete thank you mate, I appreciate you reading!
Pete
Guest
Well said Rohan Asopa, When a journalist like Malcolm Knox attacks Kyrgios, it's not about the tennis player. It's really about the writer wanting to project his own virtue through contrast. But humiliating a 21-year-old kid doesn't portray Knox as a good person. It exposes him as a bully.
jonty smith
Roar Guru
What poor things has he done off the court? He shows his emotion on court so he is said to be bad but he certainly has not broken any law or intoxicated himself. That's Bernie Tomic, and is the reason (as well as his lack of effort and skill) why he has far fewer supporters
Rohit Asopa
Roar Pro
@Jeff I don't think you put much thought into your comment at all. You seem to have stopped mid sentence. It's not a couple of wins, it's a couple of months of play- 2 matches against Djokovic, 2 matches against Zverev, matches against big names like Karlovic and Goffin, the Federer epic, and now the impressive Davis Cup matches.
jeff dustby
Guest
i think that malcolm knox put more thought into his articvle than you did into yours. he wins a couple of games so everything is ok. the guy is a
Dtrain
Guest
R2K, i think your comment is pretty indicative of the ridiculously negative coverage Kyrgios has endured to date. Can you please enlighten me as to the many "poor things" off the court you mentioned? I'd suggest there is very little to support that call, but because of the routine bashing he cops in the media people make incorrect statements like the above and/or mistakenly lump him and Tomic into the same person. Lets not forget the run into the Olympics last year where (the incompetent) Kitty Chiller was attacking Nick's on-court perfomances whilst keeping mum on Anna Flanagan going DUI and then hiding it from Hockey management. Outrageous double standards. In regards to the role model bit, why does he have to be? And in the event you need to him to be, i'd suggest being true to himself and constantly backing his own ability despite constant detractors would be pretty admirable traits to have? Not excusing his on-court explosions (that said, they're great theatre!) but if he can maintain emotional control his talent will bring him some majors. Regardless, it's going to be a great ride. Go Nick!
Woody
Guest
I just love this kid! Davis Cup and being around his teammates is going to be the best tonic for him. Ladies and gentlemen and most importantly all the haters and rednecks out there ,i think we are on the verge of seeing something really special. GO NICK.....AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE
R2k
Guest
Nick is the hero we need not what we deserve. Look I'll be honest I've been a major detractor of his over the years. He's done so many poor things on and off the court that have been simultaneously blown up by the media and watered down by other sections of the media claiming he is young and needs to learn. However every single time I get told a phrase such as 'just give him time he'll grow up' or 'he's actually the embodiment of Australian workmanship' or whatever else that describes him in an overly positive light, I look back on what he's done and the response anyone else would get if they did the same thing and repeatedly smashed tools of their trade, reprimanded onlookers, offended opposition players and who show no remorse for their actions. Odds are the response would be negative possibly more negative in any other environment. And if that's the case well riddle me this, would you really want that sort of person as a role model. Thank god he is improving, albeit slowly.