Cherry.Pie wrote:
It's a fair point, but there seems to be a difference between most businesses and a professional sports club. And any business can have a bad culture, but it's unlikely that anyone outside that company will become aware of it. Not so in professional sport.
I can't claim to know the ins and outs, but my assumption is Rugby league provides a unique set of circumstances. Players have to live quite different lives from many who work 9 to 5 jobs or what might be considered 'regular' jobs. Rugby league seems to encourage a binge drinking culture which is an issue that's been raised many times by former professionals. The nature of the sport - the training schedules, playing on weekends etc. means players are going to have time to unwind at irregular times and hours compared to most - so there's a good chance they'll spend a lot of time with team mates away from rugby. If there's a culture where players go out and get hammered whenever they have time off then other players are going to follow suit, whether they socialise together or not.
Young players get thrown into this world of professional sport and they are going to look for role models - the players say it themselves - whereas in most jobs you probably wouldn't look at colleagues as role models as such. At least not to the extent that young sports stars seem to. Most jobs you'll have mates outside work who work the same hours and can socialise with at the same time and there's a very distinct difference between work and socialising.
For me that's why it's so important to have good role models in rugby league. It's not so much about young fans, but young players who are probably going to follow the same patterns as those they play alongside. So in these unique circumstances the club should have a certain degree of responsibility towards players to ensure they can cope with this irregular lifestyle. That would include making sure there is the right kind of working environment and the right kind of education for players.
The club might not be able to stop a player drink driving if they choose to, but they can certainly make it so there are serious consequences for those who do it. Take the Hardaker situation. The club offered him help which was commendable, but in terms of punishment for the offence they did little. There seems to be a mentality of 'well I've only had a few so I can risk it'. If they get caught they'll lose their licence but still have a decent job and can keep playing as if nothing happens. And if players keep going out with that attitude others will follow. Actually giving players suitable punishments for drink driving might make others think twice about 'risking it'.
If it's seen as normal for players to go out and get absolutely hammered when they have down time then it's always going to continue and the club and the sport as a whole will always have to contend with numerous drink related incidents.
You're entirely correct in everything you say, especially on the culture of drinking for athletes, especially prevalent in Rugby players. The amount of ex-players you see getting absolutely smashed is incredible, but they've been doing it since they were in their 20s. You can go out in Wigan, Warrington, St Helens, Leeds and you will see players of clubs doing or snorting god knows what.
This isn't a club issue though, it is personal/social. Clubs can go to extensive lengths of education, discipline, scheduling etc. and players will still f'up.
Look at the NRL - it's one of the best sports leagues in the world. Massive amount of funding, the clubs do everything to look after their players (especially the stars), incredibly professional with all sorts of training and education at their disposal and there were 66 high-profile scandals in just over 3 years.
Ben Barba beat up his wife. Was that NQ Cowboys fault for not teaching him to not beat up his wife or was it Barba's responsibility to behave like a human being?
When Michael Maguire was at the club (most fans would agree the toughest culture we've had in a long time?), was it the clubs' fault that Martin Gleeson turned up for training vexed?
Taulima Tautai is a 31 year old man who has played professional RL since he was 20 years old, i.e. old enough to know better and experienced enough to know that getting caught drink driving could ruin his career or life.
