NRL Players - Treat them like babies?

[Nashy]

The NRL in recent years has had it's fair share of bad publicity. A game that is already lacking behind other esatblished sports in Australia, the image is only getting worse and worse.

We've had

- Stewart
- Carney
- Thompson
- Bird
- Taumata
- Mason
- Broncos
- Maitua
- Lacey
- Te Reo

Etc etc etc etc.

Andit's the same everytime. Sometimes they get sacked by a club, and the NRL won't register them for a year, only to be signed by another club again, and get another chance.

Sometimes they get a fine which equates to nothing based on their pay.

Is it time the NRL started getting tough and actually started to baby players. No drinking, no going out etc. Do they start adding it in contracts, do they start deregistering players for putting themselves in situations that hurts the image of the game?

Something needs to be done. But what?

Discuss.

 

[schmix]

I'm pretty anti-alcohol compared to most, but I really don't think banning players from drinking is any kind of fix.

Not only is it a band-aid solution in terms of the game's problems, because players will continue to drink and then we'll just have different types of scandals on our hands, but it is not at all conducive towards these men acting like the adults they are.

IMO, we need the players to make their own decisions to not drink (or drink very little). The only way I can think of to make this happen is for clubs to raise their standards. Alcohol is unhealthy and these guys are professional athletes, they simply cannot be performing at their best if they're drinking too much. Clubs need to say "this is not good enough because we know you are capable of more". Less focus on the alcohol itself and more on performance, so hopefully the players will make the choice to cut back in order to live up to what is being asked of them.

I really doubt there are many other professional sports in which excessive alcohol consumption is acceptable behaviour, purely from a fitness point of view.

 

[Assassin]

I think they took a good stance with Carney... well kind of ... he did get a lot of chances before they made the ultimation... ditch the drink or ditch footy for a year. THe smart ass told em to take a hike and luckilly the UK's visa restriction have kicked in and he's now serving a rather good punishment getting smashed by the bush footy mob up north for 2009. A year's ban for a serious offence is pretty good. I also liked the fact they offered a reduced punishment if he took the booze ban. Gives the player a chance to genuinly make an effort to change and turn a new leaf if they want.

 

[Emma]

I want to know why these 'grown men' seem to have such a hard time in realising how much grog they can handle and knowing when to stop. I know a lot of guys who regularly go out and get hammered, and I've not known any of them to do anything ridiculously stupid in the process. Surely it's up to the individual to realise that he can't perhaps handle alcohol so well, to know when to stop, to perhaps make that decision not to drink....I realise that a culture exists that makes it acceptable to drink to such levels and perhaps even makes it unacceptable to be a non drinker, but seriously, how many players need to get in trouble before someone finally has a light bulb moment and connects the dots?

 

[mrslong]

No! They're grown men. Like Emma said. Men that need to make their own decisions and deal with the consequences.

Stewart's image is tarnished now and he needs to deal with the consequences of that. Wtf is a Type 1 Diabetic out boozing until all hours for anyway? Surely his sugars would've been through the freakin roof!

 

[Flutterby]

Agree that a complete alcohol ban is simply un-workable - it can't possibly be policed to start with. And definitely agree that the clubs need to take more responsibility for their players. Let's not forget that on the night in question, Stewart was drinking at the club's season launch, with the free alcohol supplied by the club, from 1pm through until at least 8pm that night. Someone from the club should sure have been keeping a better eye on the players and making sure they weren't going over-board.

But the other thing to remember is that these guys don't live in the same world as the rest of us. They are their school's best players and treated like gods there, they are brought into a professional club system often before they have even finished school and don't ever have to face up to some of life's harsh realities - they don't know or appreciate the social rules of the real world and think that these rules don't apply to them. What they need is a dose of reality and a massive wake-up call about what is and isn't acceptable behaviour.

 

[Hamm.0]

I think most of us miss the bigger picture. Like with any cross section of the community, trends in a particular study group reflect trends in general society.

Whilst many 17-25 year old men don't go around beating up/abusing women, what you have to look at is the % of young NRL players abusing alcohol vs. the % of young men (and women) abusing alcohol. Also have a look at the % of alcoholic related assaults on any given weekend. And that there is the answer folks. Alcohol abuse is not only an accepted norm of the youth, it is nearly unacceptable to not drink in excess.

We have had this debate a million times and I can already feel you all jumping back in defence, so before you type; read! Go out and ask young people (17-25 year olds) and actually find out how many are either taking recreational drugs or abusing alcohol (binge drinking). It's a scourge on our society and I have witnessed so many people on this very forum glorify the mass consumption of alcohol. Hell, I don't even blame young people, it has been an accepted custom in Australia for numerous generations. If a % of BHQ abuses alcohol, does that make us, as a forum, out of control? Should we be treated like babies? The % of BHQ alcohol abusers would be close to the % of NRL players who are alcohol abusers.

The next thing people will say is, "Hammo I get smashed and I don't abuse people". Well, try being smashed, having many young girls admiring you because "omg you're that footy player!", etc. And also, have guys want to give you aggro because all the girls like you and you're famous. It's a recipe for disaster. Add to the mix what Flutterby alluded to;

They are their school's best players and treated like gods there, they are brought into a professional club system often before they have even finished school and don't ever have to face up to some of life's harsh realities - they don't know or appreciate the social rules of the real world and think that these rules don't apply to them.

Then you can start to see where the problems come from. I'm not in any way justifying players actions or condoning players drinking habits, I'm simply reminding society that, we as a society have allowed alcohol abuse (esp. binge drinking) to be an acceptable habit and as such we as a society shouldn't look to sporting players and ask why they behave the way the vast majority of their peer group behave.

From a business viewpoint, I can't understand why a club doesn't have some form of alcohol usage plan in place. Many of us, on far less paying jobs, are expected to pass breath or drug tests at anytime, so should NRL players. The NRL should take control of the mess that is club administration and put clauses in player contracts that players can be breath tested or drug tested at any time. Furthermore, clubs need to have the balls to have their own personal restrictions on players. If players fail to abide by these guidelines, then treat them like children by hiring minders to watch them when they do go out on the grog, remove them (by force if necessary) to a safe location when they can't control themselves.

In a nutshell;
-Should players be treated like babies? Only if they stuff up a first, maybe second chance.
- Do I blame players for the recent spate of poor alcohol related off-field behaviour? No, I blame clubs for being weak as piss and not backing each other. I also blame the NRL for not forcing clubs to honour other clubs discipline efforts.
- Do I blame the individual player for his actions? Yes.

NB; If anyone is going to respond to my post, feel free, however if your response has anything along the lines of "but they are role models, average isn't", I will simply not reply. To hold an uneducated footballer, who more than likely hasn't even finished high school, up as a role model and demand he behaves better than the vast majority of his peer group is both irresponsible and ridiculous. It's not that I don't believe they are role models, I just don't believe a player under 25, has received the life experience nor job coaching it takes to be a role model.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Your my hero Hammo.... The footballers are just doing what most people in society do every weekend..

 

[Jeba]

Hammo we agree with you. It's not unusual behaviour by any means! A certain percentage of society will go out and drink and not abuse people and there is also a certain percentage of society who will go and get drunk and beat someone up - That's how it is and we all understand that.

However, these players are in a industry where they CANNOT AFFORD TO behave badly. Pure, cold hard fact. If they do, it'll reflect badly on their club and thus put their careers in jeopardy.

Even the average Joe will sometimes need to be careful when they're out. For example: If I went out one night and got drunk and punched someone in the head and got taken to the Police station and was charged etc with a criminal record, I would HAVE to tell my company of my wrong doings. My company's clients often request random police checks for many of our employees. If any checks fail, my company can be fined up to $200,000 as you are NOT allowed to support certain government clients that we have (Vic Police and RTA for example) if you posses a criminal record. In a nutshell, if I ever got a criminal record for doing something stupid like that while drunk, I'd lose my job!

Therefore when I am out at a club/pub, yes I'll drink shit loads but I KNOW how much I can have before I start being stupid and I never get to that point because I have a responsibility outside of the club/pub.

This is no different to players so how hard is it for them to control what they do?

Rocky = [eusa_clap.gi

Hammo = FFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [eusa_doh

 

[Flutterby]

In a nutshell, if I ever got a criminal record for doing something stupid like that while drunk, I'd lose my job!

Exactly Rock - many other people would lose their jobs immediately for behaviour such as many footballers engage in, yet footballers don't seem to (unless like in Carney's case they are serial offenders), so why would they modify their behviour if they aren't really going to be held accountable for it?

To a certain extent society has created the situation by holding these young men up to be heroes, above mere mortals to the point where they think (know?) they are going to get away with whatever they do. Yes they behave similarly to many members of the general public, in the same way they need to be held accountable and punished in the exact same way as members of the general public.

 

[Hamm.0]

Rock, you do realise you didn't answer the question don't you? Must be the Liberal in you...


Jeb, was there actually anything of substance to your emocons?

 

[Fozz]

Exactly Rock - many other people would lose their jobs immediately for behaviour such as many footballers engage in, yet footballers don't seem to (unless like in Carney's case they are serial offenders), so why would they modify their behviour if they aren't really going to be held accountable for it?

So why aren't the clubs doing anything about it? If I was stuffing up at work I'd get pulled in for review, we'd work out how to rectify it and get on with it.

All the clubs do is go "You naughty boy" and slap with a fine, maybe a few weeks off. Instead of setting up an behaviour or alcohol plan and enforcing it. The NRL doesn't help either, if they had any sense they would have a plan for players like Tomato and Carney where, if they wanted to be registered by the NRL in the future, they would have to stick to a good behaviour/alcohol ban. If Tomato had a plan from when he sacked by the Broncos then maybe he would still be at the Bulldogs instead of stuffing up repeatedly.

 

[Jeba]

Jeb, was there actually anything of substance to your emocons?

Mate, this frustrated the hell out of me during Alambhra-gate. I have acknowledged in the past and I acknowledge now that this is normal behaviour for a normal 17-25yo man living a normal life. BUT - when it is a high profile figure widely known in society, it is NOT ACCEPTABLE and just because blokes do it every weekend, doesn't excuse it for a high profile Rugby League player. When they are out in public, they are representing their club, and whatever they do reflects on that club, whether or not they are in uniform.

It's got nothing to do with being role models or anything like that, it's simply part of their life!!!

 

[Flutterby]

I agree with these sentiments - the players that do the right thing need to speak out and against the behaviour of the idiots.

http://blogs.brisbanetimes.com.au/thema ... layer.html

 

[Clintos]

Well put Rock.

Hammo - Essentially you are right, but to say "alcohol abuse is not only an accepted norm of the youth, it is nearly unacceptable to not drink in excess" is both a gross exaggeration and insulting. Yes, kids in the 17-25 age group have a tendency to go over the top at times, and I know this first hand because I actually am in this age group. As Rocky said, a lot of people know their limit and have the common sense to stop when they feel they need to. The limit is different for everyone.

Consider the following - a nightclub containing 200 people, 90% of whom are consuming alcohol. This leaves 180 people, most of whom will be in the age group you mentioned. The worst night out that I've ever seen was four one-on-one fights. Now, this is probably because of both alcohol and heightened testosterone, but obviously these 8 people had had a bit too much to drink. That leaves 172 young adults who managed to control themselves and their alcohol intake. What Rock said is 100% correct.

I can also tell you with 100% honesty that myself and my mates have never taken any recreational drugs of any kind, nor have we abused alcohol to the extent that we cannot control our actions. We are not the ones in the minority!

 

[Hamm.0]

Rock, you do realise you didn't answer the question don't you? Must be the Liberal in you...

What question? You didn't really ask one. You just went on a long winded rant about things we've already acknowledged. Must be the Labor in you.....

And it's the same everytime. Sometimes they get sacked by a club, and the NRL won't register them for a year, only to be signed by another club again, and get another chance.

Sometimes they get a fine which equates to nothing based on their pay.

Is it time the NRL started getting tough and actually started to baby players. No drinking, no going out etc. Do they start adding it in contracts, do they start deregistering players for putting themselves in situations that hurts the image of the game?

Something needs to be done. But what?

Discuss.

HTH

 

[Hamm.0]

I love the concept of players who do the right thing condemning misbehaving players, almost to the extent of ostracising them.

I also note many of us have a common theme of clubs not holding the players responsible, which in turn is actually the NRL allowing clubs to backdoor each other.

IMO, that's the key answers right there.

 

[Clintos]

Furthermore, just because it occurs 'every weekend' doesn't make it acceptable. High profile personalities need to be more aware of their actions. It's true, they are just like everyday people. The difference is that everyday people don't have every aspect of their life in public eye. The general public still need to be careful because it comes down to the possibility of them losing their job, just like NRL players would.

This is why it's important to have the older, more experienced players at the clubs. The young kids need to be set a good example, which is something we don't see enough.

Heck, let's blame the Poms for taking all our older, more experienced players. It's England's fault that young footy players can't behave.