Footballers Sacked
 

Over the weekend, two A grade Rugby League players were involved in a brawl outside a nightclub in Brisbane. These guys are pretty high profile players, and the police have charged one of them with assault and the other has only been questioned but not charged. Meanwhile, a man lies in hospital in a serious condition after allegedly being 'king hit' by one of these players.

The Bronco's (the club the players are/were contracted to) launched their own investigation into the matter on Sunday and have found the players to be in breech of not only their club contract but also the NRL (national rugby league) code of conduct.

I think the club has done the right thing here, and it's not the first player they've sacked or 'let go' due to inappropriate behaviour outside sport.

I fully support the fact that high profile players have a social responsibility to their club and to their fans and when they behave badly they should be punished.

They should have no trouble getting a job with the NFL Oakland Raiders.

I dont know.....I am a fence sitter in this debate.

On the one hand, I know high profile sports people should be setting an example.....on the other hand.....I have problems with them being held to a higher law as such.

I guess, if they sign a contract with TOS, then they should abide by it, but I dont know.....it just shits me to see them dragged over the coals because they are *celebrities*.

I see your point there Ducks and to a certain degree I agree however, for one thing they did have a contract and agreed to a certain level of conduct so that's the thing to pushes me to one side of the fence.

It's like if I wear my work shirt with my work emblem on it to the shops after work. If I decided to get light fingered and got caught (or committed any other crime), it would reflect poorly on my company and it would also cause people to ask questions about the sort of people employed in my industry.

Aside from that, for me there's the whole role model thing. Look at Andrew Johns. He admitted to taking ecstasy and other drugs and avoiding NRL drug tests for 10 years and yet he's not been prosecuted in law, and he's a retired player however, because his profile is so high, and he was such a great player, there have been no formal consequences. I think a little public shame is called for. Now Bellamy wants to hire him as assistant coach for the blues next year? Fuck that! He's a drug cheat and he broke the law. He should be jail.

Sure, jail everyone that admits to ever taken illegal drugs, including anyone that admits to have consumed alcohol when the were still under age.

OK, maybe that was a bit harsh, but my point is that it's not good for kids to see that there are no consequences.

They're seeing no harm/no foul, all around them.... if you're rich/famous.

Well this thread isn't about everything else. It's about footballers. Two in particular and a third as an anecdote.

My point with this thread is that I think the club has done the right thing and it sets a good example to youngsters who see these people as role models.

I agree they did the right thing, but it is contrary to what we are seeing in the rest of the sports/entertainment/celebrity scene.

Oh, and limiting the scope and direction of a thread? Bwahahahahahahahaha.

Well that's true, however as with most things, if one person/club/organisation decides to take a stand, it paves the way for others to follow suit. I hope this is the case in this instance.

BTW, the players that got sacked were from MY team, so I'm not even unbiased in this case.

If they play well, that is what they are paid to do, after hours is after hours.
They are not paid to raise people's kids.

they signed a contract to uphold a code of conduct regardless of the hour

If you want to play sports at a national level you have to take account of the fact that you then become an ambassador of that sport. That's why the TOS include references to not bringing the club or the sport into disrepute.

Does anyone else want to point out the second meaning of 'Footballers Sacked in US lingo?

Is a rugby player considered a 'footballer' too? Is rugby itself called football? You brits/aussies confuse the bejesus out of me sometimes...

But this also demonstrates that it is possible to take recreational drugs and still be great at what you do. Whether it be rugby league, Aussie rules (Ben Cousins, wasn't it?) Olympic snowboarding... or regular life.
Damn, that's inconvenient when you're trying to tell the kiddies that Drugs Are Bad.