Rugby league players embarrassed but will things change?
July 1st 2009 14:06
Rugby League Week, Australia's bestselling footy mag and the publisher of the much anticipated annual survey that includes categories such as Biggest Sook and Most Overrated Player has surveyed NRL players revealing their thoughts.
This year's scandals and the media frenzy have had an impact. The Player's Poll reveals 75% of players are afraid of "ending up on the front page of the paper" if they go out to a pub or nightclub. The Broncos say that after home games, they will pop back into the Bronco's Leagues Club to mingle with supporters for half an hour, and attend a bar with a function room upstairs where they can invite anyone they want and avoid the public eye.
60% admit to being "ashamed" to be a Rugby League player in light of the recent sex scandals and it is reported that one player attributes the bad headlines in part to the breakup of his marriage. "Every time a league player was on the front page for having sex or getting drunk, my wife's friends would say stuff to her.
"They would say 'See, they are all the same' and I think she eventually believed it."
Well, there are two issues here. (I won't get into the bloke with the marriage issue; I'll leave that for the pros).
The first is the media attention on players (and other celebrities) right now is so over the top, stupid incidents are making headlines. Two Broncos players had a few beers in Byron Bay and one urinated against a wall and now they’re punished? It’s hardly the same league as AFL’s Brendan Fevola urinating on a bar window on a busy street, let alone assaulting others.
A Gold Coast player says off field troubles are often started by random idiots, looking for a fight. Another Gold Coast Titan surveyed said he has become more ‘aloof’ when interacting with women since the 4 Corners documentary on the Cronulla scandal in New Zealand. He says he now tries to suss out a woman’s motives before letting his guard down. Well, DOH! For all the accolades and glory, imagine the difficulty of being in the public eye having everyone competing to be around you not to mention the endless sexual offers.
You may have encountered some of the footy groupie skanks around, who casually brag about their brush with fame and if they’re lucky, a conquest (or twenty) which could lead to some embarrassing and trashy tell all tales to tabloids. And let’s face it, it may not be my or your morals, but we live in a free country that doesn’t prohibit bad taste or slutty practices.
Last week's Post Origin Wrap Up on The Footy Show cited the media frenzy and club bosses cowering response as a reason Phil Gould wouldn’t want a coaching role with the Blues State of Origin team next year. The show went on to portray some of League’s positive efforts in the community, such as taking some remote Indigenous kids on an outing to Sydney for surfing and footy lessons, and publicizing a North Queensland local club’s efforts in reducing domestic violence.
However, there are a number of serious incidents that have contributed to NRL’s bad reputation at the moment, which a lovely short on helping poor kids isn't going to fix.
Some NRL players have sexually assaulted women. A few have ‘turned a blind eye’ to women being treated badly. A few more may not be rapists but have behaved like pigs, such as secretly taping their teammate’s sexual conquest and a culture of booze, boobs and sleaze has been fostered and enabled in some clubs. If enough players are embarrassed by the newspaper headlines and clubs are being tough and serious about breaches to codes of conduct, then the media in this case, has been a positive force.
As NRL Chief Executive David Gallop said in May, “Violence against women is abhorrent and sexual assault and the degradation of women is just that… if anyone in the game today is ignoring the importance of that message then frankly they will need to find another career. This is not a time for clubs and players to complain about the media or the fact that victims have spoken out. It is a time to either accept the changes that we are putting in place or to quite simply get out.”
Dave goes on to make a very valid point. “The vast majority of our players … do not deserve to be associated with such headlines and whose work in inspiring people in the community is so often unheralded.”
In the past, I would say that football wasn't going to change... but I think this year's scandals and the club crackdowns have been that bad that things can only get better. Hopefully, next year’s Poll will have players feeling a little more positive about their game and fans will be getting a lot more positive community input.
This year's scandals and the media frenzy have had an impact. The Player's Poll reveals 75% of players are afraid of "ending up on the front page of the paper" if they go out to a pub or nightclub. The Broncos say that after home games, they will pop back into the Bronco's Leagues Club to mingle with supporters for half an hour, and attend a bar with a function room upstairs where they can invite anyone they want and avoid the public eye.
60% admit to being "ashamed" to be a Rugby League player in light of the recent sex scandals and it is reported that one player attributes the bad headlines in part to the breakup of his marriage. "Every time a league player was on the front page for having sex or getting drunk, my wife's friends would say stuff to her.
"They would say 'See, they are all the same' and I think she eventually believed it."
Well, there are two issues here. (I won't get into the bloke with the marriage issue; I'll leave that for the pros).
The first is the media attention on players (and other celebrities) right now is so over the top, stupid incidents are making headlines. Two Broncos players had a few beers in Byron Bay and one urinated against a wall and now they’re punished? It’s hardly the same league as AFL’s Brendan Fevola urinating on a bar window on a busy street, let alone assaulting others.
A Gold Coast player says off field troubles are often started by random idiots, looking for a fight. Another Gold Coast Titan surveyed said he has become more ‘aloof’ when interacting with women since the 4 Corners documentary on the Cronulla scandal in New Zealand. He says he now tries to suss out a woman’s motives before letting his guard down. Well, DOH! For all the accolades and glory, imagine the difficulty of being in the public eye having everyone competing to be around you not to mention the endless sexual offers.
You may have encountered some of the footy groupie skanks around, who casually brag about their brush with fame and if they’re lucky, a conquest (or twenty) which could lead to some embarrassing and trashy tell all tales to tabloids. And let’s face it, it may not be my or your morals, but we live in a free country that doesn’t prohibit bad taste or slutty practices.
Last week's Post Origin Wrap Up on The Footy Show cited the media frenzy and club bosses cowering response as a reason Phil Gould wouldn’t want a coaching role with the Blues State of Origin team next year. The show went on to portray some of League’s positive efforts in the community, such as taking some remote Indigenous kids on an outing to Sydney for surfing and footy lessons, and publicizing a North Queensland local club’s efforts in reducing domestic violence.
However, there are a number of serious incidents that have contributed to NRL’s bad reputation at the moment, which a lovely short on helping poor kids isn't going to fix.
Some NRL players have sexually assaulted women. A few have ‘turned a blind eye’ to women being treated badly. A few more may not be rapists but have behaved like pigs, such as secretly taping their teammate’s sexual conquest and a culture of booze, boobs and sleaze has been fostered and enabled in some clubs. If enough players are embarrassed by the newspaper headlines and clubs are being tough and serious about breaches to codes of conduct, then the media in this case, has been a positive force.
As NRL Chief Executive David Gallop said in May, “Violence against women is abhorrent and sexual assault and the degradation of women is just that… if anyone in the game today is ignoring the importance of that message then frankly they will need to find another career. This is not a time for clubs and players to complain about the media or the fact that victims have spoken out. It is a time to either accept the changes that we are putting in place or to quite simply get out.”
Dave goes on to make a very valid point. “The vast majority of our players … do not deserve to be associated with such headlines and whose work in inspiring people in the community is so often unheralded.”
In the past, I would say that football wasn't going to change... but I think this year's scandals and the club crackdowns have been that bad that things can only get better. Hopefully, next year’s Poll will have players feeling a little more positive about their game and fans will be getting a lot more positive community input.
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