Back in 2016 NRL boss Todd Greenberg came out in condemnation of Andrew Fifita in regards to his support of convicted one punch killer Kieran Loveridge.
Kangaroos selectors were ordered not to consider him for Test matches at the end of the 2016 season because “only those who distinguish themselves on and off the field should be selected to represent their country”.
Fast forward to 2018 and we have the Greg Inglis drama.
After being caught speeding and with a blood alcohol limit more than 1.5 times the legal limit, Greg Inglis fronts a press conference and states he doesn’t think he has let his country down. “I don’t think I let my country down but I think I let a lot of people down” and thinks he deserved to stay on as skipper of the Kangaroos.
“Me personally, I feel like do (deserve to),” he said.”
Saving the best for last though, both Greenberg and coach Mal Meninga came out and praised the way handled himself. “I thought he showed really strong leadership skills yesterday in coming out and fronting up [to the media], and being accountable for his actions,” Meninga said.”
Greenberg was quoted as saying “He deserves full credit for being upfront today by apologising and taking full ownership of his mistake.
Really, what did they expect him to do, come out and say that he didn’t give a toss about being done for drink driving and it was all a storm in a teacup?
Greg Inglis
The bloke didn’t want to be suspended from the tour and miss out on playing, not to mention the nice pay day that comes along with it.
Courts take a dim view of people who are found to have lied in press conferences.
Of course he was going to front the press and admit to his mistake, what other choice did he have?
It’s like praising the bloke you catch trying to knock off your house with your telly in his arms for admitting that he did try to rob you.
I’m sure Mitchell Pearce and the blokes from the Bulldogs would be filthy. They were hammered by Greenberg and other execs within the game and punished far more for doing the wrong thing when they were recorded without their knowledge for incidents that were far less serious.
Here we have a bloke who could have killed someone and everyone in the NRL is falling over themselves to downplay the seriousness of the matter and praising him, in essence for not lying about it.
You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried. The only thing missing was the famous rugby league cliché “It’s not his go.”
Maybe the no dickheads policy should apply to coaches and administrators too.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Yes Moth, that's probably the case, but it goes against journalism reporting "without fear or favour".More like a little fear for a favour. Notice Hoops has been missing in action of late.
Moth
Roar Rookie
Neither paper really wants to hammer the other about bad behaviour in case it comes back to bite them. Will be Interesting to see how hard Hooper goes after player misbehavior next year though.
Beastie
Roar Rookie
"but are only human like the rest of us". Firstly, the rest of us would be charged for drink driving and, depending on your profession, could lose you job. Not just your title as manager or team leader, your job. Secondly, trying to play this incident off as some sort of "guilt by association" or saying that it isn't a "hanging offence" is trying to diminish the severity of the situation. He was speeding whilst over the B.A.C limit. People die doing this. People kill innocent people doing this. That is not overreacting to a situation, it is a fact. Stop trying to treat this as if he was caught doing a burnout in an empty car park or something stupid like that.
Moth
Roar Rookie
That would be a good start. What bothers me most is that he doesn't seem to think he has side the jersey down. If it doesn't value it that much then he shouldn't be captain in the first place and his test match payments and any monies he is fined should be given to a charity that provides drink driving education in the community / at schools. It may go some way to help the next generation from making similar poor choices.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Inglis deserves punishment for being plain stupid and putting lives at risk, and one can argue about the severity of the penalty within the code.He of course will receive another penalty via the police/courts. My argument goes along the lines ,the media operating from their ivory tower of purity, working on the do as I say ,not as I do motto. A sport's journalist from one of the dailies recently attended court ,after an incident involving alcohol and damage to a car bonnet.This incident was pointed out in the SMH.No mention of said incident nor the court's decision toward said journalist, was made by his employer. The question I pose.Does the no dickhead policy apply to the media or are they protected species?
Daz
Roar Rookie
Yep, you just can't spin the iron laws of mathematics, but good effort anyway to the richard guy to give it his best shot.
Daz
Roar Rookie
Good piece. Inglis should have offered to forego the captaincy from the outset and then done his interview taking full responsibility for his actions. Notwithstaning the quote from Mal, i give credit to him for holding his team to better off field standards, even if he is really just a figuregead and Michael Hagan is the actual coach. GI is hardly the most articulate bloke, which to me indicates he isnt suited to that role in any event. Cordner seems decent enough, though he is not a good public speaker either.
Big Daddy
Guest
Times have certainly changed. In the old days if you had a skinful and turned up and had a blinder you got mom . Nowadays if if you walk by a hotel they will say you were on the grog alnight. Look at the Luke lewis incident, guilt by association. There was a lot of celebrities present. You don't see headlines about them. Sure inglis was stupid and deserves a penalty but its not a hanging offence. The problem is footballers with high profile are judged by their off field performances but are only human like most of us. The only downside is "the koori knockout" was an alcohol free tournament, so not a good look.
Dutski
Roar Guru
Are you serious or just fishing for bites? If we look at the people Moth referred to how many of them identify as Indigenous? Personally I think you’re dead wrong.
The Barry
Roar Guru
We’re all agreeing that the penalty is inconsistent...that doesn’t automatically make it racially based. Fifita got hammered, Inglis hit with a feather duster. Pearce cops 8 weeks, Wighton gets 10. There’s no racial line to be drawn from these penalties other than when it suits you. That’s why it’s grubby.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Totally agree BA
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Total failure by Greenberg. There are at least 30 more competent people on the roar blogs , who can run football better then Greenberg.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Greg Inglis should be suspended longer then Mitchell Pearce It’s a disgrace. I have nothing personal against Inglis, but you can’t brush off a drink drive charge . I know I would lose my job . Just when leeague was looking again , the idiots in charge give the game a dodgy look , look after the boys ay
Brett
Roar Rookie
The NRL also kept quiet on the connection they have to the Towards Zero campaign via the Knock on Effect. Taken from the website is a summary of the campaign and its connection to the NRL 'At the heart of every country community is a passion for sport. Sporting clubs could play an important role in supporting communities affected by road trauma by promoting positive messages around road safety.' Brad Fittler, Rugby League Legend "We’re proud to partner with the National Rugby League and NSW Rugby League to tackle road safety in the country head-on. While a knock-on may seem like a small mistake on a footy field, it can have dramatic consequences on our roads. Brad Fittler, Boyd Cordner, Wade Graham and Jake Trbojevic have joined forces to support the Knock-On Effect campaign. This was a knock on of Ben Hunt proportions.
BA Sports
Roar Guru
There is a piece today on SMH abut how politicians might be over estimating the influence of Alan Jones. The piece goes on to show his numbers and the demographic of his listeners - that is they are basically all over the age of 55 and below 55, he ranks about 9th among radio stations. Greenberg and company could take learning from this. Not specifically Alan Jones, but what media the public consume and what media we actually take notice of. Greenberg obviously believes Inglis is a much admired and loved player and thus throws his support unnecessarily, publicly, behind him. But fans of the game care much more about fairness and (hopefully) about saving lives on road and we care far less about what players do on their own time.
Major Bumsore
Guest
He’s broken the law , and been applauded and paraded about as a beacon good character as a result of doing so , If you fail to recognise the double standard , you’re either biased yourself or you haven’t been paying attention.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yep - and he'd been sobering up (behind the wheel) for three hours before he was breathalysed.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Ok semantics. But the article doesn't say 1.5 times OVER the legal limit. It says "1.5 times the legal limit" which is 100% accurate. Either way RP's last sentence "He was only just over the low range PCA reading" shows how badly he missed the point...
El Loco
Roar Rookie
You're right that there's a difference between the expressions but the article used "more than 1.5 times the legal limit", so it's correct.
El Loco
Roar Rookie
Exactly, state the maths how you want, bottom line is it's a high reading.