NRL Players and family members in hot water

[Scorchie]

The Napa stuff is personal and whoever leaked it has what’s coming to them.

The violence though - You cannot assault your taxi driver, an Uber driver is no different. You cannot assault your partner.

This is the stuff Toddy needs to come out and say, if you do this, and if you are found guilty from this moment forward, you are gone from the game for a minimum of five years.

If you did this outside of the game and your boss found out, you wouldn’t be keeping your job.

 

[teampjta]

The Napa stuff is personal and whoever leaked it has what’s coming to them.

The violence though - You cannot assault your taxi driver, an Uber driver is no different. You cannot assault your partner.

This is the stuff Toddy needs to come out and say, if you do this, and if you are found guilty from this moment forward, you are gone from the game for a minimum of five years.

If you did this outside of the game and your boss found out, you wouldn’t be keeping your job.

I agree the penalties should be harsh, all things being equal and going by that rule, Lodge would be scrapped out for life

 

[Smartseal]

Well so much for "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas".

I reckon she'd be a working girl & he payed for filming privileges

 

[teampjta]

Unfortunately you’re talking about young men with little concern and a complete disregard for the game.

Seriously, how dumb do you have to be when you’re a well known personality and decide “hey let’s make a sex tape” “ I mean what could go wrong” He then decides to do it with a mate who appears to be secretly filming it.

WOW, these stupid judgment calls don’t just bring the game into disrepute they also stop mums from allowing their sons and daughters to participate in a sport where there is a clear lack of respect for women and society in general.

 

[Huge]

Unfortunately you’re talking about young men with little concern and a complete disregard for the game.

Seriously, how dumb do you have to be when you’re a well known personality and decide “hey let’s make a sex tape” “ I mean what could go wrong” He then decides to do it with a mate who appears to be secretly filming it.

WOW, these stupid judgment calls don’t just bring the game into disrepute they also stop mums from allowing their sons and daughters to participate in a sport where there is a clear lack of respect for women and society in general.

While I agree it's generally wrong to make bad judgment calls the evidence that it brings the game into disrepute is mighty thin. If one reads this and one's brain tells them I am endorsing it then one's a moron. I'm saying the game seems teflon coated and virtually nothing sticks nor diminishes it's appeal. A quick look back over recent years will show literally hundreds of instances of poor behaviour, violence, harm both personal and general yet the game continues to grow, out rate and prosper despite the claims it will somehow be irreparably damaged.

Yes, yes we cannot know if it would have been even more successful had everyone performed to perfection but it seems the evidence says we have little to worry about concerning the publics view of our reputation.

 

[Nashy]

I agree the penalties should be harsh, all things being equal and going by that rule, Lodge would be scrapped out for life

People keep throwing this out there like the majority of Broncos fans think Lodge should be allowed in the game. Most of us think he should be on his ass. But he was given the opportunity to play, so at least he's not playing against us.

 

[Big Pete]

Unless they are pleas of guilty, I doubt anything will be finalised on those dates. If the charges are defended, particularly Hayne and de Belin, it will likely be towards the end of the year or next year before they get to a hearing.

What I meant to write is that we'll know more about those cases at that time and Greenberg will be at more liberty to speak about player behaviour.

Regardless, I just wanted to pass on the dates since it isn't common knowledge.

 

[something]

I don't know about you guys (especially you Nashy) but players putting the game in disrepute* is one of the reasons I love rugby league. there's no other league like it. Napa gettin a root and calling himself Big Papi..... hilarious, not quite as hilarious as Nate Myles shitting in a pot plant, but right up there

*excludes the actual bad shit (assault, violence against women... I think NRL should let the justice system deal with these guys)

 

[broncos4life]

I don't know about you guys (especially you Nashy) but players putting the game in disrepute* is one of the reasons I love rugby league. there's no other league like it. Napa gettin a root and calling himself Big Papi..... hilarious, not quite as hilarious as Nate Myles shitting in a pot plant, but right up there

*excludes the actual bad shit (assault, violence against women... I think NRL should let the justice system deal with these guys)

Yeah, nah.

 

[teampjta]

I don't know about you guys (especially you Nashy) but players putting the game in disrepute* is one of the reasons I love rugby league. there's no other league like it. Napa gettin a root and calling himself Big Papi..... hilarious, not quite as hilarious as Nate Myles shitting in a pot plant, but right up there

*excludes the actual bad shit (assault, violence against women... I think NRL should let the justice system deal with these guys)

Unfortunately you’re in the minority, whilst viewer numbers are positive for now, participation levels are low.

It’s a natural transition from participation to viewership. When things like this happen it’s mums who decide to push their kids into other sports and they don’t look at every little incident on its own merit. It’s only natural for these kids to turn off league in exchange for their respective sport.

 

[Kimlo]

Unfortunately you’re in the minority, whilst viewer numbers are positive for now, participation levels are low.

It’s a natural transition from participation to viewership. When things like this happen it’s mums who decide to push their kids into other sports and they don’t look at every little incident on its own merit. It’s only natural for these kids to turn off league in exchange for their respective sport.

This is all assuming any other sport is better though.

I don't follow most other sports too closely, but soccer is something I do take an interest in and it has scandal after scandal too.

I agree we need to clean up the game but ultimately I think there's only so much that can be done. Threats of big punishments has never really proven to be a deterrent to my knowledge (correct me if I'm wrong) inside or outside of sports.

Seems the best idea in theory and in practice (outside of sports anyway) is player education. The NRL has been pretty active on this, year after year they implement more player education programs. Players getting a tertiary education or trade outside of the NRL is now enforced, etc.

At some point though, ultimately people in a big bash sport rise to the top, for better or worse, because most of them treat their safety with reckless abandon. Is that a cop out excuse? Probably in some sense but I do also think it's the practical reality. Ultimately it's a bunch of dumb young guys who are physically on top of the world, lots of money, lots of attention, limited life experience or education.

I don't have figures (nor can I be bothered researching it) but it does seem to me almost all of these incidents are by players in pre-25's, and almost every single time players under 30.

Is the occurrence of incidents amongst NRL players any worse than the general public of men in that age group? I'd be curious to find out.

 

[Morkel]

This is all assuming any other sport is better though.

I don't follow most other sports too closely, but soccer is something I do take an interest in and it has scandal after scandal too.

I agree we need to clean up the game but ultimately I think there's only so much that can be done. Threats of big punishments has never really proven to be a deterrent to my knowledge (correct me if I'm wrong) inside or outside of sports.

Seems the best idea in theory and in practice (outside of sports anyway) is player education. The NRL has been pretty active on this, year after year they implement more player education programs. Players getting a tertiary education or trade outside of the NRL is now enforced, etc.

At some point though, ultimately people in a big bash sport rise to the top, for better or worse, because most of them treat their safety with reckless abandon. Is that a cop out excuse? Probably in some sense but I do also think it's the practical reality. Ultimately it's a bunch of dumb young guys who are physically on top of the world, lots of money, lots of attention, limited life experience or education.

I don't have figures (nor can I be bothered researching it) but it does seem to me almost all of these incidents are by players in pre-25's, and almost every single time players under 30.

Is the occurrence of incidents amongst NRL players any worse than the general public of men in that age group? I'd be curious to find out.

Education without a doubt.

Just to add too, from my experience playing (admittedly at the lowest of levels), I just can't deny that there is a certain demographic that the game appeals to, I mean in terms of the kinds of households, for want of a more accurate term. Put simply, there are a lot of kids that grow up knowing not much more than an aggressive, boofhead father figure, potty-mouth mother, and a 1950's attitude about blokes and sheilas. It just makes me think that the "education" needs to start at a younger level. I mean, it is (or should) already be happening in their school education, but maybe those younger footy clinics need to have an element of social respect, behaviour, and responsibility in there.

I know I sound like a SJW here, but I look at a player like a 2016 Andrew Fifita, and I know I'm broad-brushing, but you don't act like he does unless you grow up with that sort of behaviour being the norm in his life. And I'm sure acting like a fuckwit from a young age was dismissed because he was most likely very talented, and just like the NRL, if he was booted from his team for bad behaviour, the team down the road will pick him up in a heartbeat. It just makes me think that responsibility needs to be imbedded in these players from a much younger age, not just when they're 15 / 16 / 18, when it's already ingrained.

 

[Sirlee oldman]

Education without a doubt.

Just to add too, from my experience playing (admittedly at the lowest of levels), I just can't deny that there is a certain demographic that the game appeals to, I mean in terms of the kinds of households, for want of a more accurate term. Put simply, there are a lot of kids that grow up knowing not much more than an aggressive, boofhead father figure, potty-mouth mother, and a 1950's attitude about blokes and sheilas. It just makes me think that the "education" needs to start at a younger level. I mean, it is (or should) already be happening in their school education, but maybe those younger footy clinics need to have an element of social respect, behaviour, and responsibility in there.

I know I sound like a SJW here, but I look at a player like a 2016 Andrew Fifita, and I know I'm broad-brushing, but you don't act like he does unless you grow up with that sort of behaviour being the norm in his life. And I'm sure acting like a fuckwit from a young age was dismissed because he was most likely very talented, and just like the NRL, if he was booted from his team for bad behaviour, the team down the road will pick him up in a heartbeat. It just makes me think that responsibility needs to be imbedded in these players from a much younger age, not just when they're 15 / 16 / 18, when it's already ingrained.

It’s a cultural problem in society and culture is learned behaviour. We learn our behaviours from a very young age and a variety of sources (especially family). Simply calling a bunch of boofheads into a room together and saying don’t do this because it’s wrong is not enough.

 

[Morkel]

It’s a cultural problem in society and culture is learned behaviour. We learn our behaviours from a very young age and a variety of sources (especially family). Simply calling a bunch of boofheads into a room together and saying don’t do this because it’s wrong is not enough.

Not enough, no, but it has to start somewhere. And not when they're already mid-late teens.

 

[Browny]

Just show them the Gillette ad, that’ll fix em

 

[Nashy]

It’s a cultural problem in society and culture is learned behaviour. We learn our behaviours from a very young age and a variety of sources (especially family). Simply calling a bunch of boofheads into a room together and saying don’t do this because it’s wrong is not enough.

It's never been enough, and never will be enough. What the sport needs to start doing, is make example out of the next one who ***** up. Kick the **** out.

The game needs to grow some balls and stop thinking they owe these shit human beings a massive money job. It just says to the next bogan as **** brainless fuckhead that he will get away with continuing his life of uselessness because he knows how to chase a bag of air around a paddock.

 

[Old Mate]

It's never been enough, and never will be enough. What the sport needs to start doing, is make example out of the next one who ***** up. Kick the **** out.

The game needs to grow some balls and stop thinking they owe these shit human beings a massive money job. It just says to the next bogan as **** brainless fuckhead that he will get away with continuing his life of uselessness because he knows how to chase a bag of air around a paddock.

Don’t be like that, there’s a lot more to chasing a bag of air around a paddock than you’re giving credit. Our captain struggles big time with it.

 

[Sirlee oldman]

It's never been enough, and never will be enough. What the sport needs to start doing, is make example out of the next one who ***** up. Kick the **** out.

The game needs to grow some balls and stop thinking they owe these shit human beings a massive money job. It just says to the next bogan as **** brainless fuckhead that he will get away with continuing his life of uselessness because he knows how to chase a bag of air around a paddock.

I am happy to go along with you on that but it’s only part of the long term solution. It needs a more complex approach.
Teaching boys to think about the kind of man they want to be and why they will have happier and more fulfilled lives if they achieve that and the pressures and distractions they can expect to have to overcome should start in primary school. Mentors should be part of all boys lives. More men should feel comfortable teaching at the primary level. Discipline should be consistent throughout childhood and strategies for dealing with issues should be taught.
NRL clubs sign kids pretty young these days. Many of these kids go to school and big note themselves and the attitude of entitlement begins. The clubs should be intensively educating and demanding high standards from these boys before the really big problems begin.
The game as a whole should be spending some of its enormous revenue in local junior clubs helping kids who don’t have the talent to make the NRL as well.
Severely punish those who offend now if you want but the way to guarantee the problem will be much reduced in decades to come is to change the way we raise and teach boys today.