Let's hear what Inglis says before we rush in to judge
Phil Gould | August 16, 2009
I will talk more about the Greg Inglis situation when we have more of the facts.
I see no reason at this stage to join the throng of social commentators that have prejudged, convicted and punished the kid before the courts have heard all the relevant evidence and reached an informed verdict based on the facts of this unfortunate case.
Some people can't wait to stick the boot into rugby league at every opportunity even though rugby league is neither the cause nor the catalyst for such behaviour.
Unfortunately incidents of the like are all too common in society these days and all major sporting bodies around the world are contending with the media frenzy that surrounds off-field problems involving their high-profile sports stars - not just rugby league.
I was, however, interested in comments made by Professor Ian Hickie, a mental health expert from the University of Sydney, who has been seconded by the Melbourne Storm to assist them in the management of this delicate matter.
Hickie was quoted as saying: ''The media has an overwhelming duty to respect [this situation] and not place undue pressure on the parties involved, especially Sally [Robinson, Inglis's girlfriend].
''Given the sensitive nature of the matter it is imperative that media outlets demonstrate responsible journalism. The media must be extremely careful with this extremely sensitive issue.''
Hickie is obviously highly intelligent and very experienced in such matters. I doubt, though, that he would have intimate knowledge of how our game is regularly attacked and mishandled by the media, or how sensitive the NRL is to these bad news situations.
The media swarms in not because a young man has done something wrong, but because he is a footballer who has done something wrong.
The NRL and NRL clubs immediately react to the negative media coverage, more often than not without full knowledge of the facts or the accused being given sufficient opportunity to defend or explain his actions.
This whole damage-control, avoid-criticism, please-the-media-and-the-sponsors style of crisis management has to stop. The players are too often prejudged, tried and punished before the matter even hits the courts.
The NRL has also been bullied into taking action on matters that don't concern it. I will talk more about this at another time as well.
Just because these blokes sign rugby league contracts doesn't mean the NRL owns the entirety of their private lives and the problems they face. In many instances, our courts adequately administer fines and punishments without the NRL having to add its frustration to the situation. In some cases the player hasn't even faced a charge because the offence was neither proven nor considered overly serious.
At other times the NRL and media have reacted without allowing due process in the court systems to take place before a more measured response can be administered.
No one condones illegal or violent behaviour. However, due process should be acknowledged before we are panicked into the politically correct knee-jerk reactions our clubs and governing body seem to make just to appease the media frenzy.
We don't support or show enough compassion to our people, but instead hang them out to dry.
As an organisation, many of our responses are emotional, inconsistent, haphazard and unprofessional.
As I said, I will talk more about this in the coming weeks.
