'Canberra have continued to kick me while I'm down': Scott blasts Raiders in extraordinary rant

Yeah it seems to be a card played by many pro athletes when its convenient for them. Compare that to Mitch Clark the former AFL player - there was nothing convenient at all about his mental health battles, they severely limited his career. To me seeing players use it as an excuse when they get in trouble means the people like Mitch Clark (and many other professional athletes who are struggling - and not getting in trouble - but trying to do so in silence) have their genuine issues taken less seriously by people.

HY maybe he needs some of that electrode treatment they dished out to Jack Nicholson in “one flew over the Cuckoos Nest” .Better still get him to watch that movie, save him a trip to AA

I can understand the cynicism, in relation to the timing from Scott. But agree that it sounds like the Raiders did the bare minimum to “support” him. Scott started the Zoom AA meetings himself, and contacted the NRL directly who provided him with a welfare officer who he speaks to on a daily basis. The Raiders kept him on the books because, on his day, he a quality centre. Sebastian Kris and Matt Timoko suddenly look the future, and what do you know, Scott gets dumped.

Well.. it didn't work, did it. I suspect if he picked up a phone most of what became a drama later could have been resolved.

So what would you have done with George? Continue to have him drag himself around the club feeling sorry for himself? How many weeks did he want off for home sickness? As I've stated the situation was not going to resolve itself easily given the COVID restrictions on travel. Cutting him loose was probably the only way to resolve it. George is back home in England playing in the ESL. I presume he's happy. He was certainly happy to dump on the club after he left. The Raiders have lost an international half back and their form mirrors that.

I think Ricky is a pretty straight shooter and when Scott said he didn't do anything wrong during the tasering incident on Australia Day he supported him. He trusted him. Even though the bloke should have known better and should never have put himself in this position. The fallout from this dragged out through much of 2020 which affected his mental well being and form. Lots of supporters felt sorry for him. But then he follows up with the fight with Bateman - which many of us weren't aware of - but many were including the club - and then decks a bloke at a night club. Sorry Onya but he had spent his tickets in terms of getting sympathy for the predicament he's put himself in.

No it isn't as simple as a psychical injury that doesn't mean it can't be treated at all, that's early 1900s asylum thinking. If you see the only option if someone says they have a mental health issue is for them to suck it up or be fired then that's on your character. Did George want his cake and eat it too... he wanted the chance to recover from his injury and if he couldn't then he'd leave at the end of the season. If a club tore up the contract of a physically injured player like that we would be outraged. Does Canberra have the right to make a cold decision on that - sure. But then they should also rightly be judged as a cold organisation that only pays lip service to mental health. Which in turn gives us the right to view them as "the bad guys" because for the past century we've been progressing as society to having less "Canberra Raider" in us.

Completely agree DPS - if you have some issues talk to someone in person - don't hide behind a text. But I suspect this issue had been building up for weeks and possibly months. And discussions had already been going on between George and the welfare officer. I guess the club had to make a call on whether this was just going to be an ongoing de-stabilising issue both for George and the club. It looks harsh cutting him loose but was the issue ever going to be resolved? I guess they could have said to George - OK we will let you go at the end of the season but you have to promise that you will let the issue go and attend every training session and play every match you are available for - would that have worked?

Interesting that the club was making all sorts of excuses up for Scott. After the Australia Day incident. The incident that they seemed to say nothing about straight away. Then they said that he’d done nothing wrong & that the police were totally at fault. That’s when the club wanted to keep him there. Now that they don’t want him there. He’s done all sorts of things wrong according to the Raiders & they release every bit of dirt about him that they can. They could have paid out his contract quietly & went about trying to find him somewhere else to play . If he’s in a good enough state to play? Plus offered as much help as possible to him , with his mental health worries. Such sympathy shown for him by the club & people on this site.

Yes some people do DP. And yes your old school thinking has coloured your view into a binary - this is the exact and only possible way it would work. And that type of thinking is why some would text because they see themselves being judged - which he was and is

If you are really struggling do you text?? I mean - I might be old school but isn't that worth a phone call? Alert them of your struggles, ask for help and also answer some questions so they can get the right help to you asap? You want an understanding of why people seem to lack connection and communication skills and possibly some resilience look at the lack of F2F or personal interaction. Highlighted in current lockdown conditions.

The latest word is that it wasn't the club that leaked the news around the fight, apparently it came from his own 'camp'.

I share your cynicism, to me the Williams incident both gives it convenience and potential credibility. As you elude to mental health is an extenuating circumstance, it doesn’t absolve him. Though I’m also cynical that just because they gave talent another chance means they did effectively support him rather than just enable.

Apparently George texted the welfare officer at the Raiders and said he wasn't up for training or playing on the weekend due to mental health issues. I'm not sure George's mental issues were going to be resolved easily unlike a physical injury. He was home sick and the COVID situation made it difficult for him to travel to England or his family to travel to Australia. I'm not sure how the Raiders could overcome this. They don't have a private jet and there are restrictions on international travel. The Raiders could have demanded that he stay for the rest of the season but there was the risk that his mental health issues would be ongoing. In the end the club released him so he could go back to England and be with his family. But when the decision is made the club is made out to look like the bad guy and George wants his salary for the rest of the season - with no certainty that his mental health issues would be resolved. He seemed to want his cake and eat it. Get released but also get paid. Can't see what else the club could have done. There was no certainty that George would play until the rest of the season - they couldn't resolve his homesickness issues - and I suspect he was an unsettling influence on the rest of the squad. As it turned out George leaving mid season has contributed to the Raiders average performances and only a slim chance of making the finals. Not sure there were too many winners out of that predicament.

George "refused" in the same way someone with an injury refused. The issue here is that it just highlighted that the club, and by the looks of it you, do not believe that mental health deserves treatment like a physical injury.

Line breaker, Albo. There is no vaccine to guard against political pollution.

I’m far from an expert but I work with people with mental health issues and have a direct family member who has battled (and I don’t use that word lightly) depression for a long time If Curtis Scott has mental health issues I hope he gets the support he needs and I think the NRL should step in given he’s not with a club But I have a reasonable amount of cynicism around an entitled footy player who struts around drinking and picking fights and calls “what about my mental health issues” after the fact and immediately before being sacked for yet another alcohol related punch up. Then immediately calls out in the media the club who’s stuck by him through three? four? of these incidents for not supporting him If he’s fair dinkum I absolutely hope he gets help but it doesn’t seem he’s doing much to help himself. He’s called victim the whole way and not one shred of accountability or humility evident. Everyone is different I guess but it’s not consistent with my (limited) experiences

Gets on the drink and punches his team mate in the head, gets on the drink and king hits a bloke in a night club. I can't comment on his mental health problem, but it looks like Scott had a d#ckhead problem he needs to deal with.

How much does an employer owe an employee who goes off the rails and attributes it to mental health issues? They are an employer, and I'd argue their duty of care extends to assisting the employee either because they acknowledge harm has been done due to the employment, or they believe the employee offers them value as a contributor to their organisation. In this case, the first doesn't seem to apply at all, and the second no longer. NRL players blaming the club or NRL also need to ask what's stopping them getting their own support for any mental health problems, like most people have to. After all these guys are better placed to pay for their own psychologists, counsellors, whatever than 95% plus of people.

It does doesn't it. But I also thought the story that appeared about him the other day, where he detailed his alcoholism and seeking psychiatric treatment, was also pretty strategically placed to maybe make Canberra decide against sacking him, or have public sympathy on his side when they did. Or maybe that's too cynical...