Alex McKinnon possibly Quadriplegic - Mclean guilty of dangerous throw - 7 weeks

[madunit]

If he apologises now people will say he did it because of the 60 mins piece.

It will not be seen as genuine. So why bother. All it will do is heap more criticism on Smith. Smith won't want that.

 

[Spot On]

For all the accolades Smith gets from players, coaches, media and of course some LU forum users, highlighting his playing ability and his outstanding leaderships skills, it must be noted that he has been inexplicably reluctant to speak to McKinnon about his behaviour and dialogue to the ref when clearly something horrendous had happened to McKinnon. I find it hard to believe he was unaware, after only a few seconds, that something very serious had occurred. Why did he/has he chosen to behave like this?

I'm shocked that he can offer public condolances to sports people who have passed away on behalf of the league community, as seems to be part of his league leadership role due to his standing in the game, but hasn't fronted up to the McKinnons to privately discuss the event in the 12 months since??? If anyone is undecided about the type of man Smith really is then watching 60 Minutes tonight might just give a lot of people a new reason to doubt his stature as a true leader for this game. Tonight's program will do him great damage in the eyes of many, for ever.

As captain of the Melbourne Storm, QLD and Australia and as a leader and spokesman for the sport, it should have been an automatic response to seek out McKinnon and his family to give an apology and explanation for his behaviour and the incident. How he did not feel he should is unfathomable.

 

[Craig Johnston]

If he apologises now people will say he did it because of the 60 mins piece.

It will not be seen as genuine. So why bother. All it will do is heap more criticism on Smith. Smith won't want that.

yep it's all about smith again isn't it?

 

[Danish]

If he apologises now people will say he did it because of the 60 mins piece.

It will not be seen as genuine. So why bother. All it will do is heap more criticism on Smith. Smith won't want that.

If he approaches Mckinnon privately and apologises sincerely, I think it will make a massive difference to Alex personally.

No, there is no way that Smith can save his public perception now after not having even spoken to Alex after 12 months, but why should how Smith will be perceived come into his decision to apologise?

If he still chooses not to apologise, despite it being made abundantly clear that this kid is still hurting over his actions, and he chooses not to simply because he figures "whats the point, no one will think better of ME for doing it", he'll just prove to be an ever bigger self-involved f**kwit than he is now.

 

[Meapro Ham]

It's going to do nothing now, as it would clearly just be a bit of PR bullshit on Smith's part.

At the time though, it's quite obvious it would have helped given both he and his parents were very upset about it.

Right. It would do nothing now. So stop feeding the 60 Minutes hype machine and stop talking about it.

I doubt it would have made any difference at the time either. Surely McKinnon and his family were focussed on the injury not worrying about whether anyone should be apologising. That just sounds like a bunch of 60 Minutes hype as well.

 

[madunit]

yep it's all about smith again isn't it?

I was talking about the matter from Smith's perspective you twat. Furthermore it's became all about Smith, who else is everyone else complaining about right now.

My point is that Alex has bigger fish to fry than worrying zbout an apology he won't get and even if he does grt one, its not going to have any profound impact on his life.

Its such a petty minor thing to be worried about given what he's dealing with.

 

[madunit]

If he approaches Mckinnon privately and apologises sincerely, I think it will make a massive difference to Alex personally.

No, there is no way that Smith can save his public perception now after not having even spoken to Alex after 12 months, but why should how Smith will be perceived come into his decision to apologise?

If he still chooses not to apologise, despite it being made abundantly clear that this kid is still hurting over his actions, and he chooses not to simply because he figures "whats the point, no one will think better of ME for doing it", he'll just prove to be an ever bigger self-involved f**kwit than he is now.

and given he hasn't cared about the public's perception over him regarding this matter til now, i don't think he'sgoing to care if people think worse of him.

 

[League guru]

The timing of this documentary is dubious a few days way from the origin decider. Hang your heads in shame Channel 9 and the SYdney centric power brokers.

Agree 100 percent. Isn,t it amazing that the tackle is not the issue. We have seen numerous similar tackles since this issue seemingly condoned by the NRL. If your an origin player one week suspension at most. No attempt has been made to punish the tackle out of the game.

 

[madunit]

Interesting that Alex has only spoken out about Smith now. You'd think if he was as hurt by his actions as much as he says, this matter would've been raised much earlier than now

 

[Spot On]

Interesting that Alex has only spoken out about Smith now. You'd think if he was as hurt by his actions as much as he says, this matter would've been raised much earlier than now

Alex may have been preoccupied for the last 12 months adjusting to .... you know... a few life changes?????

Spose he should apologise to Smith for not finding the time to seek him out and discuss the matter.

 

[Danish]

and given he hasn't cared about the public's perception over him regarding this matter til now, i don't think he'sgoing to care if people think worse of him.

If he doesn't care about public perception, then why would whether or not the public would think it sincere have any impact on a decision to reach out to Alex?

You can claim that its impossible for him to apologise now without being perceived as insincere on the one hand while also proclaiming that he doesn't care about public perception on the other.

If he doesn't care about public perception, then that means he has chosen not to apologise or even talk to Alex because he doesn't think he has any reason to. And that is just wrong.

 

[madunit]

Alex may have been preoccupied for the last 12 months adjusting to .... you know... a few life changes?????

Spose he should apologise to Smith for not finding the time to seek him out and discuss the matter.

Given Smith's reaction has apparently been so hurtful, I would've imagined the issue would've been raised earlier.

The fact it wasn't suggests to me that it wasn't as big a deal as is now being made out, because he was dealing with the new life he had been forced into (which had nothing to do with Smith)

 

[madunit]

If he doesn't care about public perception, then why would whether or not the public would think it sincere have any impact on a decision to reach out to Alex?

You can claim that its impossible for him to apologise now without being perceived as insincere on the one hand while also proclaiming that he doesn't care about public perception on the other.

If he doesn't care about public perception, then that means he has chosen not to apologise or even talk to Alex because he doesn't think he has any reason to. And that is just wrong.

If he hasn't apologised in the past, and not cared what people think of him, then people hating him more isn't going to change his stance and make him more likely to apologise.

Knowing that any apology he makes now will not seem genuine only furthers his reason not to apologise at all.

 

[Knownothing]

If he hasn't apologised in the past, and not cared what people think of him, then people hating him more isn't going to change his stance and make him more likely to apologise.

Knowing that any apology he makes now will not seem genuine only furthers his reason not to apologise at all.

If Smith does not apologise he will live with an increasing sense of guilt for the rest of his life. Assuming that he has a normal conscience, that is.

 

[Mig2006]

Don't underestimate the media's role in all of this. I'm not condoning Smith's actions during that game but it seems a little convenient for all of this to be hitting the papers just days before the 'biggest SOO game in years'.

Is it all coincidence that McKinnon visits the NSW camp last week then then this whole Smith/McKinnon issue explodes just days out? Is it all just unsettling tactics or even for book sales?

I believe the media are making a showpiece out of an obviously serious incident to further their ratings - nothing more. Seriously, channel 9 - the home of rugby league - do they actually do anything 'good' for the game? They seem to 'sink the boot in' whenever they get the chance...

We saw channel 9's typical play on the viewer's emotions piece the other night on The Footy Show which was without class and simply to exploit a bad situation. The media are classless and look for easy targets when it comes to rugby league stories...

 

[Charlie124]

If Smith does not apologise he will live with an increasing sense of guilt for the rest of his life. Assuming that he has a normal conscience, that is.

I very much doubt that, and nor should he.

 

[Danish]

Thing is most peopple at the time of the Mckinnon incident thought Smith's actions wer calous and wrong. The media aren't making up what Smith did or spinning it to make it seem worse. What they are saying he did is exactly what happened, and people were just as disgusted then as they are now (save for a few that seem to not know what empathy is)

 

[madunit]

If Smith does not apologise he will live with an increasing sense of guilt for the rest of his life. Assuming that he has a normal conscience, that is.

Given a year has passed and he hasn't apologised, I don't think this is the case.

And I doubt shaming him into an apology will work either.

 

[madunit]

Thing is most peopple at the time of the Mckinnon incident thought Smith's actions wer calous and wrong. The media aren't making up what Smith did or spinning it to make it seem worse. What they are saying he did is exactly what happened, and people were just as disgusted then as they are now (save for a few that seem to not know what empathy is)

I'm not defending Smith's inability to make an apology. He should have done that immediately after the game, when McLean went and apologised.

But to bring it up a year later as something that has hurt Alex and his family since the time it happened seems a bit contrived to me.

Sure they would've been hurt briefly, but I doubt they were giving it any thought whatsoever once Alex was injured.

As the article stated, the family were watching it live on TV and were saying "Come on Alex, get up" (or something along those lines)

They weren't saying "You merkin Smith, f**k you, I hate you, you prick! f**king apologise for your unbecoming behaviour"

If they were abusing anyone, it would've been McLean. Why would they care about Smith's actions at the time ahead of a) Alex's welfare and b) anger at the player who put Alex in his injured state

Yes Smith acted like a dick. So what. His inability to offer an apology is just a blight on him, if anything at all, which he has been carrying long before this 60 mins piece will air. It hasn't prevented Alex from making the progress in his recovery that he has made.

 

[Perth Red]

Storm club statement. Just a nsw driven media beat up by the sound of it,. Timings everything and if this has A) nothing to do with Origin and B) nothing to do with his book launch I'd be amazed!

In relation to specific references regarding our club in media reports published today, Storm would like to make the following points:

At the time of this tragic accident, no one on the field had any idea of the severity of the injury Alex had suffered. All at Storm and especially the playing group were shocked and horrified to learn of Alex's injuries in the days after the event;

Storm players led by captain Cameron Smith requested to visit Alex in hospital numerous times while he was in Melbourne. The requests were declined which was totally understandable given Alex needed to focus on the initial stages of his recovery;

Storm's Football Director continued to liaise with his Newcastle equivalent regarding the right time for club players to contact Alex in the weeks and months after the incident;

Cameron Smith was proud to launch the #riseforalex round last year alongside Paul Gallen, as well as to wear Alex's jersey number at Storm's game in Melbourne in the same round. Storm's fans raised more than $20,000 for Alex that day alone.
Storm sincerely wishes Alex and his family all the absolute best for his continued recovery.

https://www.melbournestorm.com.au/content/storm/club/news/2015/07/05/melbourne_storm_medi.html