Let’s talk about scrutiny in professional sports.
Generally speaking, players, coaches and administrators would rather live without it. Fans like scrutiny as long as it is applied to other teams, or to their’s when they think the coach should be sacked – and pretty much only then.
But scrutiny is, in most places at most times, a natural by-product of an organisation being in the professional sports biz.
There’s the volunteer pyramid, mums and dads and officials and amateur players feeding the machine of the local franchise; hundreds or even thousands of individuals giving up their time as part of a mechanism that gives the first team a supply of players, supporters and sponsors.
And when it is time for the best of the best to be paid, the largest proportion of the stars’ pay packets comes from media rights. They make their money back, amusing viewers and acting as mobile billboards for corporations big and small.
To the media, this is programming and the players are subject to the same rules and levels of public interest as reality TV stars and other celebrities.
Star power is the fuel of professional sports; you’re good at one thing but you have to become competent at a whole heap of others quickly if you ware to make the most of your short window of opportunity in the spotlight.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right? As a club if you want central funding and the sponsorship and merch sales, you answer to hundreds of thousands who consider themselves stakeholders. If you’re a player and you want to buy your parents a house and drive a nice car, you are also subject to standards that would otherwise apply to someone voted into public office.
But what happens if there is a short circuit somewhere along the line in this global churn? What happens if a team and its players get the money and the fans and sponsors but somehow escapes being subject to the scrutiny?
The answer: you get Catalans Dragons.
Isolated by geography and language, and with enough function rooms at Stade Gilbert Brutus to seat more corporates than any other club in Super League, the Dragons gave new meaning to the term ‘tone deaf’ last week by signing Israel Folau.
It was a decision so unpopular that a couple of their fellow clubs threatened to sue if they lost a single sponsor from it.
But here’s the thing: Catalans won’t lose too many sponsors from it. The bad press is in English, a long way away from idyllic Perpignan where Todd Carney postulated in his recent biography that big-name NRL players can get away with most things.
Formed in 2000, Catalans needed to be successful from the off – signing everyone from Steve Menzies to Stacey Jones – and they weren’t.
The predicted benefits for the French national team have not come to fruition because the side has been full of foreigners.
Yet when the Dragons won the Challenge Cup final two years ago, there were those involved in the club who argued that should have been a line in the sand; that it was time to invest in the future rather than rely on Antipodeans at the end of their careers.
Catalans has been a dumping ground for just about every player who has fallen foul of the NRL, the law, the public, the Australian media, for as long as most of us can remember.
The national French media doesn’t cover them – their home games aren’t even on TV anymore – while the north of England tsk-tsking over Folau is so far away as to be inaudible.
Still the euros keep rolling in. Most sports franchises would envy this having of cake and eating too.
There’s one problem though.
That lack of urgency, scrutiny, a publicly-enforced moral compass and all that stuff that allows them to sign Folau? Those are the same missing elements that result in them losing year after year after year.
Looking at their rosters, you’d call them chronic under-achievers.
If it doesn’t matter who you have in your club, it doesn’t matter whether you win either.
It’s an épée à double tranchant.
Zak
Roar Rookie
Like I said in my post below Ad-o, Issy is chasing the biggest pay cheque he can get. Turns out he has agreed to not post any religious view points on social media while he is playing for Catalans because he is getting paid $400k-the biggest pay cheque he can get at this time. With all of the supposed millions he got from his Rugby Australia payout, why is he prioritising a measly $400k ahead of shoving his religious views down my throat via social media????
Gepetto
Guest
The Tahs moral compass isn't helping them on field and the crowds seem indifferent. Raelene should talk to Anthony Mundine management about how to attract patrons when you are selling an average product.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
If the Super League could ban Folau they would apparently and one of the reasons they would cite would be the financial damage caused to the game due to lost sponsors and other factors. We get to see how true this is now. Will fans stay away in droves or will Folau draw more people to games? Will more people watch the Dragons on TV to see Folau play or less? Will any sponsors flee specifically due to Folau and if so will they be replaced?
Daniel Szabo
Roar Guru
It literally could not be put better than that Barry!
KenW
Guest
In summary then, he praised Catalans when they were doing well and suggests it was good for the sport. And now he's criticising them when they do something bone-headed and suggests it is bad for the sport. So we all understand Steve is fair with his opinions then, good work!
KenW
Guest
Yep, I don't understand why people keep doing that either. The scenarios are completely different.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from consequence Folau has exercised his freedom of speech several times. He hasn’t been thrown in jail for it and his views haven’t been censored But sports clubs or codes or fans are also free to say “we don’t want someone with those views representing us.” It’s a two way street
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
My opinion has always been that’s he’s been over rated. By a long way too. Happy for you to disagree. He’s also a divisive and negative figure. The sooner he’s gone the better.
Ad-O
Guest
LOL! He was the highest paid player in the country, but u know best I guess.
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
I don’t think you even remotely proven that.
Jimmy
Roar Guru
I agree and they won it against all odds. I think he is referring to the amount of big names who have gone there in the past and underperformed but to gloss over the Cup win like that was pretty average.
3 bags empty
Guest
I’d say the point is that , this bloke is nothing more than an agenda driven hypocrite.
3 bags empty
Guest
Lazy , uncreative , agenda driven journalism, is that what you’re saying ?
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
I never rated him.
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
What is your point?
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
I agree. They are totally different actions requiring totally different response.
Zak
Roar Rookie
He has a high profile as a sportsperson and he has used that profile to spread his message. Why doesn’t he give up professional sport and give 100% of his time to preaching? Because when he plays professional sport he can chase the highest dollar income ( that’s the real reason he went from the Storm to the Broncos to Giants to the Waratahs to French rugby league team) and have a wider audience to shove his views down our throats. I’d rather Issy give up professional sports and use the millions of dollars that he has purged from sport to start his own political party. Politics will give him a chance spread his beliefs in the appropriate platform
Chad
Roar Rookie
https://twitter.com/therealsteavis/status/1033292673170456576
Chad
Roar Rookie
Here's the same writer singing the praises of Catalans a couple of years ago: https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/08/28/catalans-rugby-league-takes-another-tentative-couple-of-steps-forward/
Ad-O
Guest
Equating the "crimes" of Folau and Lodge is what is the biggest nonsense.