Hold the phone, what's going on here?
by Chris Cox
Friday May 21, 2004

It's not easy being a rugby league fan these days.  The game we dearly love, which has stoicly built itself back up from the devastating "civil war" of the mid 1990s, has for the past three months been dragged through the mud by a sorry but dominant minority of players.

Just three years ago, Broncos' veterans Gorden Tallis and Shane Webcke issued an open letter to their fellow players pleading with them to clean their acts up following recreational drug problems, an infamous on-field finger incident, and crowd violence.

Already in 2004 the sinister shroud of recreational drug use has lingered again, and off field crowd violence has erupted once more, and while the digital exploration of John Hopoate has not been repeated, an even more worrying issue of sexual harassment and degradation of women has stepped in to sink Rugby League's credibility as a family activity to an all time low.

As Tallis and Webcke pointed out three years ago, however, these incidents are caused by a very small minority of players and fans.  But it seems to be a deteriorating situation.

The latest debacle surrounds a spate of incidents following the New South Wales State of Origin team's bonding session which culminated in a disgusting phone message left for an unsuspecting 27-year-old woman by Blues and Dragons' back Mark Gasnier in a drunken stupor. What's worse, he did it with team mate Anthony Minichiello's phone.

To the Blues' credit, Gasnier was immediately dropped from the side and for breaking the "no phones" rule, Minichiello followed 24 hours later.

Five other players have been fined up to $6000 for offences ranging from inappropriate behaviour at a team function to  attending an "inappropriate establishment", believed to have been a brothel.

This comes just weeks after Queensland State of Origin squad member Chris Walker was dropped for a street brawl in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley after another team bonding session.  Allegations of other Queensland players misbehaving have also been made with nothing proven and no action taken.

These are the elite players in our game.  To many, State of Origin represents the absolute pinnacle of a Rugby League player's career.  Some players would trade the opportunity to represent their country in exchange for a sky blue or maroon jersey. 

All of these incidents have come hot on the heels of the New South Wales Department of Public Prosecutions deciding that insufficient evidence existed to pursue action against up to six Canterbury Bulldogs players for an alleged gang rape during a pre-season trip to Coffs Harbour.

That no charges were laid should have represented relief for the game, but players admitted to engaging in consensual group sex with the alleged victim three days earlier, and at least one player admitted to having consensual one-on-one sex with the woman on the night of the alleged rape. All this despite strict code of conduct rules imposed by the Bulldogs that strictly prohibited bringing anyone not related to the football team back to the team hotel.

And the players added to their woes with unsavoury comments directed at media and wearing off colour slogans on clothing as they attended interviews with police.

Throw in the number of players suffering burn out or emotional distress and needing time away from the game and you sit back and shake your head and wonder how is this possible?

To the average person, these players live the dream.  Six figure salaries.  Travel the country in all expenses paid comfort. Play a game you love and have thousands of people - men, women and children - admire you and respect you.  Want to be like you.

Why then do these players want to jeopardise everything by acting, and let's not beat around the bush, like absolute idiots?

Sure, the media and public scrutiny they're subjected to is meticulous and unnatural.  How many 24-year-olds go out on the town with mates and run amok, maybe even getting themselves ejected from some establishments? 

But they're not elite sportsmen.  They don't get all the benefits that those elite sportsmen receive. 

Players need to take the good with the bad.

There is an argument amongst some supporters that as fans we have to take the bad with the good as well.  For many, they can forgive a drunken phone message or a brief stink outside a nightclub.  Heck, some people probably have no problem with consensual group sex.  More power to you.

However, Rugby League and all elite sport for that matter is built around the foundations of its supporters.  The fans are the ones that pay the money to go through the gates and watch the games.  The children are the ones playing the game from the time they can walk, all the way through to club and representative football. 

These incidents inevitably lose those valuable assets of our game.  Little Johnny's mum might take him out of his rugby league team and make him play soccer instead.  That Little Johnny might very well have been the next Darren Lockyer.

The impact of these incidents is underestimated by too many.  It can, very easily, have a devastating impact decades after the fact.

Rugby league crowds were approaching all time highs early this season.  The second State of Origin game in Brisbane was sold out literally within hours of tickets going on sale to the public.  Television ratings were going through the roof. An unprecedented number of teams held and still hold reasonable aspirations of making the finals.  Even the New Zealand Warriors who, at the time of writing, are languishing in last but with a turnaround in form could still make the finals - just two years after making the Grand Final.

The game should be celebrating.  It's healthier than it's been in almost a decade. 

Yet some people keep wanting to drag it through the mud.

Thankfully, the stern action of the New South Wales Rugby League and Queensland Rugby League in dumping and fining representative players swiftly has shown that the game won't tolerate this mud slinging.  The Sydney Roosters and St George-Illawarra Dragons have also shown great strength of character by imposing fines and suspensions on Walker and Gasnier respectively.

Canterbury Bulldogs, having already copped a $150000 fine with another $350000 suspended for their involvement in the Coffs Harbour affair, also dished out heavy fines to a number of players this week for the same incidents. Although their secrecy over who was involved does the innocent players in the club more harm than anything else.

NRL chief executive David Gallop has been embarrassed and frustrated by these incidents.  But his embarrassment could not possibly be worse than it was with the Gasnier revelations.  On the night of Gasnier's sexually charged and offensive phone message, Gallop had hosted a dinner with partners of NRL players, kicking off a determined campaign to repair Rugby League's image with women.

Talk about bad timing.

Again, it must be stressed this is a very small minority of players bringing the game down.  In all the incidents this year that have consumed many media publications and broadcasts, there have been just over a dozen players.  That's out of more than 400 professional players registered within the NRL.

The vast majority are doing the right thing. But, as with any situation, a few bad eggs ruin the whole bunch.  The reputations of the game and its players is tarnished.  That's human nature.  The jokes keep coming, and each one is like a dagger into the heart of our proud game.

There is only one solution.  Players have to be deterred from repeating these mistakes.  Fines and arbitrary suspensions only do so much.

Very soon an offender must be deregistered from the NRL.  Their name stamped never to play again. Then, and only then, will the players realise they have a responsibility beyond themselves.

Perhaps that stern punishment will prevent any more damaging incidents occurring, incident which, dare I say it, may force imprisonment for the offender?

But let's not get too disheartened or down on our great game.  It's not just Rugby League players disgracing themselves and their game.  Aussie Rules has been consumed with similar incidents this year, with rape allegations, drink driving, and other drunken misdemeanours dominating the press coverage of their game.  We're not alone, and perhaps the two sports, such fierce rivals, could work together on some initiatives to better educate players on their responsibilities - wanted or otherwise - to the greater community?

And it need not be some outsider preaching to the fraternity.  There are plenty of people involved within both sports who are outstanding characters who anyone would be able to follow and admire and respect.  Broncos and Australian Rugby League coach, Wayne Bennett, the articulate and honourable Canterbury captain, Steve Price, the likeable and committed pride of Brisbane Lions captain Michael Voss and coach Leigh Matthews.

There are plenty of role models that not only children can look up to, but players already playing at the highest level.

Ultimately the players need to take responsibility of their own actions, to stop hiding behind their clubs knowing that the need to win and be successful on the field will at times prevent the clubs from taking the necessary harsh action. We, as fans, expect a lot from our players on and off the field, and in turn we owe the players something.

The violence that erupted earlier this year at Aussie Stadium, and the spitting incident with Richmond in the AFL, and the growing regularity of home crowds booing their team after a loss are not helping. One can't help but understand players' lack of respect when they are subjected to such behaviour.

If some of the players won't set an example, let's set the example in the stands, on the internet forums, on the talkback lines.  Let's respect our sports and hope that respect will be returned.