You are 100% correct.
That is the thing though isn't it, perception is reality. It doesn't matter one bit what I think, Cronulla isn't my club. However, the stories splashed on the front page of the newspaper has a profounding effect on potential sponsors and members.
If News Corp is wrong, the Sharks should sue them for slander and inaccuracies reported. It is ruining the brand and that is fair grounds for a law suit. However, there never seems to be a retort from Cronulla other than a meek......the report isn't accurate.
I actually feel sorry for you, the fans. We all invest financially and emotionally in our clubs. It would be demoralising to wake up and read these type of articles all the time.
Put a broom through the place and get rid of the cliques.
True. But I guess it depends on whether you believe in fairness or not. I believe in fairness. I will stand up for what is right. If it turns out he needs to be sacked then so be it.
I'm not interested in perception any more. I want a fair investigation. I want real facts reported. I want balance. I want punishment where warranted. I don't want a molehill turned into a mountain. I want to be informed about the intricacies. I don't want to be yelled at with a newspaper headline that strays from the facts of the case.
Some of what they report has an element of truth to it, but more often than not it is conflated to a point where it doesn't reflect the actual events at all. I don't just say this about Sharks stuff either. It's everything they do. From the front page to the back.
News Ltd know full well that the Sharks aren't in a position to sue. We all know it. So it's just picking on the little kid in the playground.
I'm tired. I've been following this bullshit for the last 10 years. I now have a massive chip on my shoulder towards everything in this sport and it's unhealthy. I have virtually no goodwill left towards opposition supporters, and they have none left towards my club either. This isn't the way sport should be conducted.
I'm just a guy that wants to watch sportsmen from my local area compete in sport. I've lived a breathed Rugby League since I was 5 years old. I've played, I've coached, I've watched.
To be honest I'd now actually rather we die fighting for something worthwhile than being left a corporate shill of a club. Corporate Australia (particularly the financial services and the media) are the last people on earth that can preach to a Rugby League club about ethics.
But I guess ultimately they win. If they want us gone it's going to happen one way or another. I'm prepared to walk away from the game now. I probably wasn't a couple of years ago but here we are. Each one of these things has drained me a little more and I have nothing left to give.I'm just a guy that wants to watch a sport. But I can't take the absolute toxicity that surrounds this game now. In every facet of it. It stinks. It's truly worn me down.
So yeah. They'll get rid of the club and I'll go too. If alienating me was what they wanted, here it is. That's probably at least $2,000 a year that I spend on the sport gone (not to mention my physical hours of volunteering). That was free, easy money and manpower invested into the sport that came at virtually no cost to them but I'm sure it won't be missed. I'll invest my time in other more worthwhile pursuits. They can go down whatever path it is that they like.
They make the quick buck out of the shock headline but in doing so they've damaged the core product. That cow won't continue to produce milk for ever.
