Sick of the scandal
May 12, 2009
Put your hands up if you are sick to death of all the scandals involving rugby league.
I bet most of you have your hands up right now and quite rightly so.
I am absolutely disgraced by what has emerged in the last day regarding the Cronulla Sharks and a Christchurch woman back in 2002.
And it seems since 2002 there has been a constant flow of complaints involving high profile league players and teams.
And the most tragic part of all is that it's the behaviour of a few that is condemning the rest.
The old phrase guilt by association is definitely applicable here.
And as a league fan I hate it.
I'm sick of it and something needs to be done.
I'd hate to be David Gallop.
He must live in fear of waking up to a phone call from another journalist asking him for comment as the CEO of the NRL on the latest scandal.
So, here's what I think needs to happen.
The NRL and the clubs need to take a hard line on the players.
It sounds draconian but they have to bar them from heading out on the town and getting on the drink.
And if I was a club CEO I'd be writing it into each contract that any player that brings the game or the club into disrepute through their actions would be instantly dismissed without the right of appeal.
Why? Well it's simple, like it or not because of the actions of a few the majority are suffering.
Forget this rubbish about the game not being what it used to be and the players not being allowed to have fun.
It's not.
Players these days aren't out doing a hard day's work as a chippy or a concreter and then going to training and playing on weekends.
They're earning mega bucks and have a fair bit of time at their disposal.
And unlike the 70's and 80's the age of players at the top end of the sport is relatively young.
They don't have that many life skills to call on when certain situations arise.
And again it comes back to a few bad apples leading the rest astray.
The NRL has done almost everything in its power to help curb the bad behaviour.
The programmes they have in place would – you would think – start to make the players think about what they're doing.
And again I have to say I'd hate to be David Gallop.
It must be horrifically frustrating to see all that hard work go down the drain because of a few idiots who just don't get it or more to the point just don't want to get it.
And let's be honest about it, all the hard work is going straight down the drain every time an issue comes up.
Because it's the bad stuff that people remember.
The Coff's Harbour incident involving the Bulldogs will haunt the game forever.
And similarly so will the Greg Bird case, the Todd Carney cases, the Tevita Latu case, the Dane Tilse case and so on and so on.
It's sad but true.
And as a fan it's devastating.
I hate the idea that the game I love is tarnished.
And I can't stand to see it happening over and over again.
And I don't think I'm alone. Tell me what you think, should the club's ban players from going out on the town to drink?
I bet most of you have your hands up right now and quite rightly so.
I am absolutely disgraced by what has emerged in the last day regarding the Cronulla Sharks and a Christchurch woman back in 2002.
And it seems since 2002 there has been a constant flow of complaints involving high profile league players and teams.
And the most tragic part of all is that it's the behaviour of a few that is condemning the rest.
The old phrase guilt by association is definitely applicable here.
And as a league fan I hate it.
I'm sick of it and something needs to be done.
I'd hate to be David Gallop.
He must live in fear of waking up to a phone call from another journalist asking him for comment as the CEO of the NRL on the latest scandal.
So, here's what I think needs to happen.
The NRL and the clubs need to take a hard line on the players.
It sounds draconian but they have to bar them from heading out on the town and getting on the drink.
And if I was a club CEO I'd be writing it into each contract that any player that brings the game or the club into disrepute through their actions would be instantly dismissed without the right of appeal.
Why? Well it's simple, like it or not because of the actions of a few the majority are suffering.
Forget this rubbish about the game not being what it used to be and the players not being allowed to have fun.
It's not.
Players these days aren't out doing a hard day's work as a chippy or a concreter and then going to training and playing on weekends.
They're earning mega bucks and have a fair bit of time at their disposal.
And unlike the 70's and 80's the age of players at the top end of the sport is relatively young.
They don't have that many life skills to call on when certain situations arise.
And again it comes back to a few bad apples leading the rest astray.
The NRL has done almost everything in its power to help curb the bad behaviour.
The programmes they have in place would – you would think – start to make the players think about what they're doing.
And again I have to say I'd hate to be David Gallop.
It must be horrifically frustrating to see all that hard work go down the drain because of a few idiots who just don't get it or more to the point just don't want to get it.
And let's be honest about it, all the hard work is going straight down the drain every time an issue comes up.
Because it's the bad stuff that people remember.
The Coff's Harbour incident involving the Bulldogs will haunt the game forever.
And similarly so will the Greg Bird case, the Todd Carney cases, the Tevita Latu case, the Dane Tilse case and so on and so on.
It's sad but true.
And as a fan it's devastating.
I hate the idea that the game I love is tarnished.
And I can't stand to see it happening over and over again.
And I don't think I'm alone. Tell me what you think, should the club's ban players from going out on the town to drink?
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