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Mad Monday has once again reared its booze-soaked head and everyone is up in arms, well everyone with any morals that is.
The rest laugh it off as “boys being boys”, “they didn’t hurt anyone” or “it was at a private function”. There is also my personal favourite, “People do this every weekend and no one bats an eyelid.”
Wrong on all accounts.
This is 2018 and we want the game of rugby league to be seen in a positive light, one that encourages participation, one that invites families to come along to games and witness these amazing athletes doing their thing.
In this day and age, it’s time to shed the blokey, misogynistic image the game has worn for over a century and embrace a different way of behaving. One look at the Daily Telegraph’s front page from the other day it’s clear we still have a ways to go.
Bulldogs veteran Josh Morris took to Instagram to defend their actions with a bizarre post showing Prince William holding up three fingers, which, when viewed from side on, looked like he was flipping the bird.
Um ok, what was that about Josh? There was no confusion as to what the team was up to. Adam Elliott was buck naked, but perhaps if viewed from a different angle, he would appear in a suit and tie?
I took to Twitter to gauge the responses, and most people are saying it’s fine, using the above, tired old lines that just don’t hold up.
Mad Monday is not a good look for the game, it’s not a good look for the clubs, their sponsors or little Johnny who may look up to Adam Elliott who is a nominee for the Ken Stephens Medal for his work supporting autism programs such as Giant Steps.
I think it’s great he’s doing this, but then he brings it all undone by acting like a frat boy on spring break, and he shouldn’t be in contention for the medal for his behaviour.
Elliott hails from a small town, Tathra, on the Far South Coast of NSW, and he is probably idolised by the small community down there, I wonder how they feel seeing their ‘local boy done good’ plastered all over the front page of the Daily Telegraph.
The Ken Stephens medal “recognises the efforts of an NRL player who has not only achieved on the field, but has also committed time off the field to community projects.
“A player is nominated by their club for their involvement in charity work, youth development or community support. The nominated player will have consistently demonstrated their commitment to making a difference in their community and be seen as a role model in this area at their club.”
That’s taken straight from the NRL website and I’m struggling to comprehend how getting pissed with your mates encapsulates those values.
Both Todd Greenberg and the Bulldogs have condemned the actions of the players and rightly so.
They are professional athletes behaving like spoilt brats, and while an ‘investigation’ is unlikely to yield more than a small fine, followed by a carefully worded club statement, it won’t lead to much more than that.
Mad Monday does nothing for the game, it merely creates unwanted headlines in the lead-up to the finals, which promises to be a classic, with just two points separating first and eighth.
Instead we are dealing with the fallout from a boozy drinking session which, predictably, got out of control – because that’s what Mad Monday is; a group of muscular, testosterone-filled guys, with too much money and too much time on their hands, spending too many hours on the drink.
Oh my, what could possibly go wrong? It’s a recipe for disaster and the club should have put their foot down and stopped it before it even started.
I actually came up with a much classier event and I think it has merit. When their season ends, clubs gather at their home ground, and for the Bulldogs this would be Belmore, and they have a few drinks with fans.
Uhere is music, merchandise is on sale for dirt cheap because it’s the end of the season and they need to make way for 2019 stock, and there is a great, family-friendly atmosphere.
If I were a Bulldogs fan I’d love to have a beer with David Klemmer, or the Morris twins. Media are invited and there is no scandal because it’s a controlled event and the club, and the game, comes off looking great.
It’s a far cry from one of your players spewing in the street, getting naked and making a fool of himself and those that pay his wages.
But that’s just me.
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