A time of crisis can bring out either the very best or the very worst in people.
However, either good or bad, a crisis provides individuals with the opportunity to learn some life lessons and gain some personal perspective – if they are willing to learn.
Recently the NRL faced a potential boycott by the players, who said they would delay the 28 May commencement of training until certain conditions were agreed to between the Rugby League Players Association and the NRL.
Players such as James Graham were vocal on the point, saying that unless they received an outline of employment rights and protocols that ensure player safety, they wouldn’t show up to work – a strange demand from a player who at one time wanted the right to play on even if concussed.
The players of course denied it was a pay issue, but it quickly become clear that was the main sticking point involved in the potential stand-off.
The players wanted an assurance of payment from the NRL before they would return and were unhappy with what the NRL had put on the table.
(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Soon after the issues were resolved, with the players again happy campers after receiving 80 per cent of their wages to be paid rather than what they considered the below-par and unacceptable 70 per cent the NRL originally put on the table.
So what to take out of this saga and what does it all mean?
I guess not much! Only that the game will go on like it always does and that the players will get back to their usual business and the show will go on.
Until the next time they are unhappy.
Until the next time they feel hard done by.
Until the next time they want (and demand) more (vaccinations, anyone?).
Perhaps what could have been taken out of this saga were lessons learnt from certain players who don’t really seem to understand just how the sport of professional rugby league works and just how they fit into it. Perhaps rather than worrying about how big a piece of the pie they were going to get, they could have spent some time learning just how the pie is made in the first place.
Obviously there is no league without the players. The players are the product, and as the game earns huge amounts of revenue the players rightfully deserve to be adequately paid and fairly rewarded for their contributions toward it.
But like any business large or small the most important asset is the consumer market and the people who make up that market. You can have the greatest product in the world, but without a consumer market to sell it to you essentially have nothing.
This is not rocket science or some great modern business philosophy but a simple fact of life in the business world.
In the business of rugby league the fans of the game are the consumer market. No fans means no TV deals, no sponsorship, no merchandise and no money – just a game where a bunch of guys smash the crap out of each other over a piece of egg-shaped rubber. An entertaining and enjoyable pastime for many but not one that would put food on the table or pay the bills. These are simple facts of life, but facts nonetheless that some players sadly either forget, ignore or simply fail to grasp.
Younger players can perhaps be cut a little slack for failing to understand just how it all operates. After all, most of these guys come straight from school into a club environment that in many ways acts as an extension of it.
(Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Senior players, however, should have a better understanding of how the system works. Their time could have been spent imparting some of this knowledge onto these younger guys rather than squabbling over pay and looking after their own self-interest rather than that of the game.
From the player perspective it is both fair and reasonable to have all the details around their working environment. In a perfect world that is the minimum expectation. The problem is that at that point in time it was anything but a perfect world.
‘Project Apollo’ at times appeared rushed and disorganised. However, that was always going to be the case in an ever-changing social and political landscape that had no precedent. It was always going to have to get things done on the fly and was always likely to be operating right until the last minute in order to have everything nailed down.
The messaging from the players could have been around the lines that they still have several details to be resolved and are working with the NRL towards resolving them but are happy to continue business as usual as they continued to work together towards getting the game up and running again. The players, after all, had already been paid up until the end of May.
Instead we had players threaten to stay at home until their own interests were taken care of first, a luxury not afforded to many in these times, including staff members of their own clubs.
In a situation where almost a quarter of the Australian workforce was either unemployed or underemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and their own industry faced the prospect of losing millions, demanding certainty on everything involving themselves smacked of arrogance, entitlement and greed.
Loyalty in this instance should not have been reserved only for the almighty dollar and their own interests but extended to the millions of fans who have helped make this great game what it is today. It was time to give a little back.
Yes, this crisis provided the players with the opportunity to learn some valuable lessons around the meaning of community and gain some true perspective through all the sacrifice, hardship, adversity and loss that so many have had to suffer through during this pandemic. Unfortunately, the opportunity was missed.
Davico
Roar Pro
I noticed that a few MLB players in the States stated that they wanted everything that were owed no matter what and it has been a bitter of a disaster for them. Blake Snell is one who stands out as copping a massive whack from the talking heads as being totally tone deaf to the situation going on in the US with nearly 40 mil being made unemployed. It is not a great look demanding to be paid fully if you are not actually doing what you are paid to do, and their is reduced revenue coming in. Nobody wants to take a cut to their agreed pay, but these are strange times and millionaire sports people demanding to be paid just put a few people off I think. Having said that, fair play to the NRL and the players association, as they got it sorted and we can all look forward to kickoff on Thursday.
Josh Bailo
Roar Rookie
Thanks Paul, I really appreciate you saying that. I think you are spot on with that last comment. I have heard it referenced before and said in the article that for a lot of these guys club land acts as an extension of high school which over time I think becomes a problem for them. In a way I feel sorry for some of these guys because they go through their careers really not having to worry about anything except footy, then hit their 30's, retire, and really have no idea what to do with themselves. Coaches, agents etc. all have their own agendas and jobs to do, so everything for these guys is footy related and because some of them make great money at such an early age, they are often fairly poor at managing it, and not everyone around them always has their best interests in mind.
Paul
Roar Guru
All good Josh, you wrote an excellent first piece that I thoroughly enjoyed. I really like people offering new and different ways to look at things. To be honest, I'm a tad surprised more players didn't take the selfish path. For the bulk of guys at this level, they've been treated with almost fawning respect since they were young, simply because they were that much better at the game than everyone else. Throw in a lot of money ( that suddenly becomes a small amount), time to talk to each other, youth & no understanding of the NRL's business and I reckon there'd have been way more wanting to get paid everything they thought they were owed - only they haven't come out in public and said it!!
Big Daddy
Guest
While some of us assume that some NRL players aren't intellectually proficient there are some that are quite astute and know if they are being disadvantaged. They are no different to anybody else in the workplace and have that right to question management on their contractual rights and if that means going to court or settle with amicable arrangements . Quite a few years ago the NFL season was interrupted because of grievances. Let's hope that doesn't happen here but let's not deny them or anybody the opportunity to their right's. It's not about learning their lesson it's about natural justice wether they are right or wrong.
Josh Bailo
Roar Rookie
No. Well, I guess I could try and make out I do if I was trying to big note myself because I am a sole trader. But the truth is I am just a fairly average plasterer who has a boss and gets paid hourly. The only thing I have in common with a business owner is that I get paid into an ABN.
Josh Bailo
Roar Rookie
Your probably right about the NRL dragging their heels Paul. I have no experience at all when it comes to industrial relations, but know that the NRL over the years has a track record for being slow to react to certain situations. So perhaps it was better for the players to react quickly as this situation might have been inevitable in the end. I just felt in this instance though that given the circumstances they could have just gotten on with things and maybe waited for it to become an issue before making it one. But again you are probably right in the sense that perhaps it was better from the players point of view to be pro-active and not re-active in this situation. The article was written more to vent the fact that I feel sometimes, certain players, not all the players, in fact probably just a small minority of them, don’t understand or fail to consider that the game is not all about them and there are others involved who are just as important, especially the fans. Perhaps I could have used a better situation to emphasise this point. Also, I really didn’t want or mean to pick on James Graham. I personally love the bloke, especially the fact that he has the guts to speak up on issues involving the game. I only used his interview as an example because he was one of the few that did speak up and voice his opinion.
Paul
Roar Guru
"but when this was happening they were only being asked to resume training in a time span that they had already been paid for". In one way, you're right Josh, on paper the players should have returned to training for exactly the reasons you described but having been heavily involved in industrial relations over the years, there is a real chance inertia then takes over. The NRL takes it's time complying with the players demands, (no need to focus on that, we've got the players back training, let's focus on something else). The RLPA is only left with one course of action which is to withdraw their players, at which point this has the makings of an industrial dispute and the players are seen as the bad guys, when it's really the NRL dragging it's heels who are to blame. I think it was better for the players to act quickly, simply to put the NRL on notice they wanted answers they were reasonably entitled to be given and they didn't want to be mucked around. I see your point and don't disagree it was a reasonable course of action, I just think the way this went was better.
Blackberry Smoke
Guest
Do you run a business ?
Josh Bailo
Roar Rookie
Hi Paul, and thanks for taking the time to comment. I think a large portion of the playing group must have shared James Graham’s view as a date to recommence training was put back till after a meeting was held between the NRL and RLPA. Reports at the time also suggested that the players were at odds with RLPA in regards to starting back at training and would not do so until they knew what they would be getting paid. I don’t know how much of that was just rumour or fact but in hindsight it must have had some merit as the players did not return to training until after they were given an 80% pay guarantee. I do agree with you Paul in the sense that in the end a fair compromise was reached without too much blood being spilt, and that the players before the season commenced absolutely should know what financial benefits they would receive, but when this was happening they were only being asked to resume training in a time span that they had already been paid for. The point I was trying to make is that it was simply the wrong time for the players to threaten a no show. They only needed to go about their business and wait for their union and the NRL to iron out all the details, and if the NRL begun to stall then bring the hammer down, but to play hard ball at that stage was not a good look and to me looked as though any player who was unwilling to return, failed to understand the situation. You said that “Graham was voicing was a desire to understand why the NRL was making an offer when there were few if any financial numbers from the NRL for the players to see. Effectively he wanted to understand the business”. Again that is fair enough Paul, but again is something that could have been addressed in time. After all the players at the next meeting took the 80% guarantee without knowing all the financial details, as the NRL had yet to agree to terms with Channel Nine or Fox Sports.
The Barry
Roar Guru
PS - I don’t think it’s that surprising that even senior players - in general - don’t understand the business side. They’re largely sheltered from it by their clubs and their managers so they can focus on playing footy
The Barry
Roar Guru
I thought this was a pretty well reasoned and thought out article Overall I agree with Paul though. I think the players and NRL have done pretty well in pretty unique circumstances A couple of players haven’t covered themselves in glory. AFB springs to mind. At the start of this he was demanding full payment, even if the NRL didn’t get back on the field again after round 2. All the while parading in a surgical mask. Meanwhile people all around the country were getting stood down from their jobs Then when the NRL strike deals with the NSW and Qld government, he’s at the vanguard of players refusing a flu shot... just cause
Paul
Roar Guru
"Yes, this crisis provided the players with the opportunity to learn some valuable lessons ....... Unfortunately, the opportunity was missed." Which players missed this opportunity, Josh? You mentioned one player, James Graham, but I totally supported his stance and I'm guessing the huge majority of his fellow players did as well. You suggested all players should have an understanding of the business they're in and that's fair enough, but what Graham was voicing was a desire to understand why the NRL was making an offer when there were few if any financial numbers from the NRL for the players to see. Effectively he wanted to understand the business, which as you pointed out was a good thing. Yes there have been a few players saying some things that were questionable about how much they should have been paid, but overall, this entire situation has been handled in a very reasonable manner by both the NRL and the players through their Association. More to the point, both sides have been willing to work together to achieve some financial certainty for players then more so in recent times to get the season restarted. I suspect in years to come this episode will be widely used to highlight how parties at odds can come together in times of crisis and achieve a win:win situation, through clear, timely communication and a willingness to compromise.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
I think you can say James Graham HAS learned his lesson if he now cares about player welfare.
Nat
Roar Guru
In these unprecedented times, I don't think the oplayers were too far out of order. At the time Graham was talking about boycotting training was around the peak of infection so you can understand if they want to know some specifics about how they are going to stay safe as their first priority. That's fair enough, most employees have that same concern about their workplace. As far as their salary goes, they really had no choice but to accept the 40% cut if no further games were to be played. You wouldn't want to be playing for that agreed amount knowing the NRL were makng their money from TV rights. In all I think the NRL and RLPA worked quite well together in achieving this outcome with minimal concerns.