So some of the arguments I've heard so far.
"Alex shouldn't have tucked his head in." - Thats a pretty unfair thing to say. He's going face first into the ground with the weight of three men on him. He has no arms free to break his fall. It's fair to say that instinct would make you tuck your head in.
"Cameron Smith shouldn't apologise as he had nothing to with the tackle." - No he didn't. But he did blame Alex for his injury whilst he was on the field. He is the Australian captain as captain of the opposition team on the night. Of course his opinion and actions are going to be carefully recognised.
"Cameron Smith isn't a doctor. He couldn't have possibly known the extent of his injuries." - True, but most other people on the field knew it was serious. Alex was screaming for help saying he couldn't move his legs. There were 8 or 9 people helping stretchering him off. I believe someone posted an article earlier that had Will Chambers say that he could see it was bad.
"Cameron Smith was doing his job as captain." - Yes he was. He was arguing with the referee for his own teams advantage. That's what captains do. However, and this is the crux of it all that alot seem to be ignoring, it isn't the human thing to do. The right thing to do that most will agree on is that Cameron shuts his mouth and just cops it.
"Cameron Smith hasn't tried to contact Alex since the incident." - I don't think people really think Smith should apologise for the tackle. He didn't do it. He should however contact Alex and say something along the lines of "mate, just wanted you to know that on the night when I was talking to the ref, I didn't mean to sound insensitive. I was just doing my job as a captain. Sorry." Fair enough, Cameron, and other captains, argue with refs all the time, probably a few times when players are injured. But it has been 15 months and it was a pretty significant moment for the game. It would have been mentioned to Smith a few times since. He has had ample time to contact Alex and explain things to him.
"Channel 9 are milking it." - Of course they are. It's channel 9. Is it anyone surprised? They're doing it now near Origin as the interest in Rugby league across the country is at it's peak. This argument is just trying to deflect the rage against Smith.
"Bringing Cameron Smith into this ruins the whole story." - Yeah perhaps, but again, this is channel 9. Are we surprised? They're creating controversey. Controversey creates ratinds. Again, this argument is just deflecting it off Smith.
"Alex is doing this to promote his book." - Maybe. If he is, he's obviously trying to increase sales for his book so that he has more money for his treatment. I thought it was pretty clear that he doesn't really want to sue the NRL. He loves the game. But he's got to think of his future for the rest of his life. He really does need millions of dollars just to have a comfortable life.
Calling for Smith to be stripped of the captaincy is well over the top and unwarranted. I think Wayne and Alex got it right in their comments. It shows Camerons character as a person and he got it wrong.
What happens now? Nothing. When the dust settles, Cam should call Alex and say what he needs to. And when it does, it should never make it to the media. It will mean more for both men if it stays private between the two.
Missed anything?
