What are YOU doing about drugs?
Is it just me or does everyone suspect when it comes to drugs, they might be a shocking hypocrite?
It’s the talk of Australia, drugs in elite sport.
Rugby League legend Joey Johns admitted last week he was taking recreational drugs for most of his playing career. It's since been revealed that Joey's drug fascination/problem was the worst kept secret in rugby league. Everyone at the Newcastle Knights knew Joey was depressed and behaving recklessly at the weekend, however, thanks to his amazing form, not a word was ever said.
There's a claim too, that Gordon Tallis made a formal complaint to the ARL about the 2000 Kangaroo tour of England, apparently Gordy was unhappy that players were taking drugs while on tour and nothing was being done about it.
The ARL has refuted they did nothing. Officials are saying that since the 2000 allegations, they have employed a former Yorkshire policeman to warn off drug dealers on subsequent tours of England.
Paul Roos, AFL coach of Sydney says he’d be disgusted if he knew that coaches were fielding players they knew were using drugs. When I heard that quote on Friday night I thought it made a lot of sense. Like Paul Roos I thought that coaches should be more open, if rumours surfaced about a player, then the coach should have a word with him, tell him help is available, but make it clear he won’t be taking the field unless he is clean.
And then, as usual, Wayne Bennett, coach of the Brisbane Bronco’s said something that made me take a step back.
Bennett, as usual, went on the attack. He says how dare the media suggest the league is not doing anything about players behaving recklessly? He said they’re doing the best they can. And then he turned on the reporters and said something along the lines of, "You work in the media (notorious for party drugs)…do you know anyone who takes drugs in your organisation? What are you doing about it?"
And I guess it’s a question we can all ask ourselves.
It’s the talk of Australia, drugs in elite sport.
Rugby League legend Joey Johns admitted last week he was taking recreational drugs for most of his playing career. It's since been revealed that Joey's drug fascination/problem was the worst kept secret in rugby league. Everyone at the Newcastle Knights knew Joey was depressed and behaving recklessly at the weekend, however, thanks to his amazing form, not a word was ever said.
There's a claim too, that Gordon Tallis made a formal complaint to the ARL about the 2000 Kangaroo tour of England, apparently Gordy was unhappy that players were taking drugs while on tour and nothing was being done about it.
The ARL has refuted they did nothing. Officials are saying that since the 2000 allegations, they have employed a former Yorkshire policeman to warn off drug dealers on subsequent tours of England.
Paul Roos, AFL coach of Sydney says he’d be disgusted if he knew that coaches were fielding players they knew were using drugs. When I heard that quote on Friday night I thought it made a lot of sense. Like Paul Roos I thought that coaches should be more open, if rumours surfaced about a player, then the coach should have a word with him, tell him help is available, but make it clear he won’t be taking the field unless he is clean.
And then, as usual, Wayne Bennett, coach of the Brisbane Bronco’s said something that made me take a step back.
Bennett, as usual, went on the attack. He says how dare the media suggest the league is not doing anything about players behaving recklessly? He said they’re doing the best they can. And then he turned on the reporters and said something along the lines of, "You work in the media (notorious for party drugs)…do you know anyone who takes drugs in your organisation? What are you doing about it?"
And I guess it’s a question we can all ask ourselves.
2 Comments:
I work in the mining industry which is known for its cowboy attitude but we have been drug testing workers since 1994 when i started. It was quite controversial at the time but now it is the norm.
We are doing something about it why doesn't every industry...
Mine was the AFL club outed by Channel 7 for frequent illicit drug use by its players. My emotions have ranged from outrage and disappointment through to sympathy and understanding. These guys are elite footballers and though they are looked up to by children (and adults) across the land, they never asked for the role model tag. I'd love them all to be 'cleanskins' but how many of us are? I've never taken drugs, they weren't as common in my party days, but I've certainly given alcohol a fair workout and then done things I wouldn't want the world to know about. Most of these players are just kids, whose mates are all out letting their hair down in a big way. They have drugs offered to them for free by 'hangers on' desperate to court favour with the famous. None of this excuses their behaviour, but drug use in football is just a reflection of drug use across society. We ALL need to live by the standards we expect from our sportspeople, or stop flogging them for being like us.
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