Sport, booze, testosterone

Angeni-Tala wrote:

I thought the players were not supposed to drink, let alone get drunk, while in training or did I have the wrong impression?

It is evident, from the number of stories in this country about those who drink, drive, do bodily harm to others (sometimes grievously), or who have sexually assaulted or abused others when they're on a "blinder", that this notion of players supposedly not drinking - whether they're in preparation for match games or not - is a complete fiction.

The facts are - and the current matter involving the Manly Sea Eagles rugby league club establishes the real situation - that sporting clubs not only do not instruct their players to not drink (whether in a "responsible manner" or to excess), players are encouraged to drink. The clubs encourage this by providing free grog to their players. The sporting code encourages this behaviour by actively seeking sponsorships from manufacturers of alcohol products, by using the players in these companies' advertising campaigns and by a failure to rein-in the irresponsible conduct of affiliated clubs. The players encourage each other to get loud, "matey" and filthy drunk because that's what real blokes do.

I believe, and I think the community as a whole is coming to this conclusion, that the time for excuses is over. There are no excuses for abusing alcohol whatever is your profession. I think it's gone beyond the stage that those who indulge in drinking to excess should be aware of the consequences and be held fully accountable for them. The community doesn't need the continuing dangerous presence of people who habitually drink themselves senseless. We, as a community, need to take a stand ... and large sections of the community have already taken that stand.

For as much damage that sportpeople do to themselves they also do to their profession. Rugby league has lost a huge following in this country because many supporters consider it to be a game managed and played by brutes, thugs, and yobbos who seem only interested in themselves. This is why rugby league supporters have taken to other football codes because they see them as cleaner, better administered, more exciting and better entertainment ... which is a shame, really, because I think rugby league is a good game.

But it really doesn't matter if it's league, union or rules: professional sports men and women have a responsibility to act professionally always. We may not always like them, but we should be able to admire them. When professional sports people continually make headlines for their disgusting off-the-field behaviours then they have to accept the consequences for their actions and they have to realise that it's not just their integrity that's at stake, it's the integrity of their sport, their professionalism, their team mates and the aspirations of future generations of others thats in danger of being forfeited because of their selfishness.

George, if this were a simple matter of law I doubt we would be having this discussion. I agree with you insofar as the process of charging someone in a criminal matter: you collect the evidence, consider the likelihood of a successful prosecution, lay the charges, bring the case to trial and allow the court to render its verdict. Simple, straightforward, no problem.

The problem is that there are issues in this case that are not simple, straightforward, non problematic. There are issues in this case that are moral, ethical and cultural ones. There are issues in this case about personal responsibility, probity, duty of care. There are questions about establishing "values" - even though I intensely dislike that word. These things go far beyond one case of alleged sexual assualt. I'm saying that we've got an endemic disease that few people seem too interested in doing anything about. That's my point.

ConcertForGeorgeNut wrote:

OK. Then let's (all of us) push for a law that makes it a criminal offence for a person (any person, anywhere, anytime) to have a blood alcohol content above .05%

Appealing to peoples' sense of responsibility to others seems to be a wasted cause these days. It's all about ME ME ME

No, that's not what I'm sayin', mate. This isn't a problem, just as with many of society's problems, that can be solved by waving the magic law-and-order wand and sayin' "Abracadabra, begone bad behaviour." The point is that people have a right to freely choose their behaviour.

What I'm saying is that these kids, these straight-from-school-into-the-public-spotlight, half-a-million-dollar-a-year sports stars, don't understand about choices. They don't understand, and they're not supported, about the range of lifestyle choices that they can make. They're thrown into the public arena - and they love all the attention they receive - they're given a taste of celebritydom, they're given booze, money, sex and, what, they're expected to behave like model citizens? It's all such a sham. Yes, they have to choose wisely. How does the sport help them?

For example, the NRL this week fined Manly for "bringing the sport into disrepute". What is the NRL going to do with this money? Is the money going to be reinvested into the sport? Will the money be used to better educate and rehabilitate those whose careers may follow a similar path as Brett Stewart, Ben Cousins, Todd Carney, Greg Bird and a host of others? What's wrong with appealing to a sense of responsibility?