Mascord: Rugby league, your image stinks, fix it.

[hutch]

Now I have fox I see some of the other codes here and overseas. Pre and post match player stuff is a million times better and erudite and entertaining. Most leagues can't string two thoughts together without smirking and acting the buffoon. Talented footy players but not much in between the ears some of them.

Do you even like rugby league?

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Bad behaviour is not accepted at all. If anything, the nrl cracks down on its players more than any other sport in the country. Afl players have tested positive for drugs, been charged with rape, sex with schoolgirls, assault, drink driving etc and keep their jobs with barely a word in the press. Does it have an image problem?

I agree the NRL is better at it now. It's sections of players letting everyone down. I'm sure there are plenty of players saying 'great, here we go again' with Todd.

I agree AFL is tawdry too. I'm glad NRL deals with their shit. But I also don't want to see cretins plaing no matter how talented they might be.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Do you even like rugby league?

The old 'you're a league hater if you criticise it' chestnut.

Yep. Brother in law played grade. I go to nearly every Souths game and try to go to neutral games. Spend thousands on merchandise each year. Watch every game every weekend. Scour the big league, collect footy cards.

You're a low merkin mate.

There's a million pages talking about piss poor crowds. Ever thought others maybe thinking the same thing and staying away too? So how do we as a code fix it up?

 

[CC_Roosters]

Oh dear mascots has lost his way. He use to be such a good rugby league journalist with excellent knowledge and research input in his articles. Now he is just a negative headline junkie like the rest.

 

[Glen]

Mascord can't play the "I'm not covering League anymore" card again to get attention so he had to try something else

 

[typicalfan]

The boys clubs that exist in Rugby league also exist in the media and other professions. How many DT writers are ex leaguies or built their career in league?

How do guys like Ray Hadley get a go at nine? Great mates with Gyngel and Rabs. It is tough when personalities that have fallen into some traps who have a holier than thou attitude toward the game.Guys like Carney are a blight on the game but these things won't change overnight, it is a cultural, generational thing.

 

[Danish]

I'm not sure what people expect the NRL to do to clean up their image.

Players don't f**k up in league any more than they do in the other codes. When players f**k up in our game, they get sacked. What else exactly is supposed to be done?

The NRL has an undeserved reputation for which it gets beat up by people who don't actually know a thing about the game. Press most of the people who hang shit on you about supporting league for any details and they go to water because they don't actually have any facts to back up their opinion.

In other walks of life when a certain group is denegrated by the masses based on stereotyping and innuendo, the masses would be rightfully labelled bigotted idiots. When it comes to sport, however, the bigots are actually PROUD of their opinions and believe that by simply holding a negative opinion on a sport that they are in the right and it is up to others to appease them. Its not just a league thing either, its all sports. How many people do we all know who will deride a sportsman for getting drunk on one hand, while furiously stroking the penis of a the latest muso for actor for being a "playboy"?

Thankfully for the code, despite the tut tutting of the media and public at large, there is still very obivously a silent group who love sport and are happy to support it in record numbers. Whatever negative opinion people who don't watch the sport to begin with hold, the money just keeps on pouring in.

Frankly, I'm over giving a shit what wankers who've never liked league think of league.

 

[LazyDreamer]

As far as the image of the sport goes, do people think these players getting full sleeve tats, leg tats (with the obligatory socks-down look to show off calf tats) & those ridiculous neck tats - often by the time they're 20 or so - is a good look for the game? Or does it cement league as a game for bogans & thugs in the eyes of the non-league-following public?

 

[Mr Angry]

AFL player arrested on three counts of rape, little more than a single report.
NRL player pisses in his mouth, CODE IN CRISIS once again.

Indeed.

 

[The Voice of Reason!]

Mascord's article is spot on.

 

[Lambretta]

Well said Misanthrope

I have defended Carney as I believed he had the right to plead his case, but on balance he probably deserved the sack as we reserve the right to be angered by his actions and lack of thought

The media who are charged with reporting on our fame also reserve the right to be upset if they see something they don't like. The defence of "someone else did something worse" doesn't wash.

Just because an AFL player was accused of rape or a TV personality was convicted of sexual assault from incidents that occurred thirty years ago doesn't mean what Todd Carney did was not stupid and it certainly doesn't mean that people outside the fame won't think Rugby League is played by and watched by idiots.

We have a perception issue and whilst much of it is undeserved it doesn't mean there aren't truths there.

I have defended Rugby League on countless occasions in the past and I will continue to do so into the future. But I won't pretend we don't have problems and I will applaud others who consider these problems in a balanced and sensible manner.

 

[H.H]

I'm not sure what people expect the NRL to do to clean up their image.

Players don't f**k up in league any more than they do in the other codes. When players f**k up in our game, they get sacked. What else exactly is supposed to be done?

The NRL has an undeserved reputation for which it gets beat up by people who don't actually know a thing about the game. Press most of the people who hang shit on you about supporting league for any details and they go to water because they don't actually have any facts to back up their opinion.

In other walks of life when a certain group is denegrated by the masses based on stereotyping and innuendo, the masses would be rightfully labelled bigotted idiots. When it comes to sport, however, the bigots are actually PROUD of their opinions and believe that by simply holding a negative opinion on a sport that they are in the right and it is up to others to appease them. Its not just a league thing either, its all sports. How many people do we all know who will deride a sportsman for getting drunk on one hand, while furiously stroking the penis of a the latest muso for actor for being a "playboy"?

Thankfully for the code, despite the tut tutting of the media and public at large, there is still very obivously a silent group who love sport and are happy to support it in record numbers. Whatever negative opinion people who don't watch the sport to begin with hold, the money just keeps on pouring in.

Frankly, I'm over giving a shit what wankers who've never liked league think of league.

Best post in this thread so far.

 

[RHCP]

Perfect example of the double standard. Channel 7 put the latest AFL alleged rapist out on Facebook as "terrible news from the AFL this afternoon", as though it were a natural disaster or an accident.

Fox sports put their play of the week thing out, the AFL alleged rapist's picture next to Carney. AFL boy's picture is him playing. Carney's picture is him splashing water on his face. You laugh but then you remember perception is everything. The media treats RL like a circus and the Carneys and Monaghans give them plenty to work with.

That's the exact same post that actually prompted me, the Channel Seven one. As if Majak Daw and the AFL are the victim here. The different reactions are baffling.

Rugby league media thrive on drama. The Footy Show put out the best piece on anything they've ever done with their depression piece with Reni and Preston and it barely rated a mention.

Sometimes I feel like they hunt League because we built such a reputation that it's easier to blow out of proportion for them than the other codes.

 

[Lambretta]

Danish. I get your opinion of not worrying too much of the opinions of people that don't like the game to begin with

However, Steve Mascord can hardly be thought of as such
He is a highly respected League journalist that obviously loves the code

This isn't about telling the haters to piss off, this is about ensuring we don't turn away those that love us already or converting those that don't have a strong opinion against us

I seriously doubt that Todd Carneys actions will result in a bunch of people who've never watched Rugby League before tuning in next weekend

 

[Canard]

Well said Misanthrope

I have defended Carney as I believed he had the right to plead his case, but on balance he probably deserved the sack as we reserve the right to be angered by his actions and lack of thought

The media who are charged with reporting on our fame also reserve the right to be upset if they see something they don't like. The defence of "someone else did something worse" doesn't wash.

Just because an AFL player was accused of rape or a TV personality was convicted of sexual assault from incidents that occurred thirty years ago doesn't mean what Todd Carney did was not stupid and it certainly doesn't mean that people outside the fame won't think Rugby League is played by and watched by idiots.

We have a perception issue and whilst much of it is undeserved it doesn't mean there aren't truths there.

I have defended Rugby League on countless occasions in the past and I will continue to do so into the future. But I won't pretend we don't have problems and I will applaud others who consider these problems in a balanced and sensible manner.

Great post, reflects my view to be honest.

 

[Apey]

So, knowing this: the onus should be on the players to not give the media these opportunities. It's not like this shit happens accidentally. They're trying to do this dumb shit.

I agree with your point but my point was that a lot of these image problems are coming from incidents where the main victim is actually the image itself. To your average punter stories of pissing in your mouth and shitting in the hallway are much more newsworthy yet are ultimately fairly harmless.

Obviously we also have our fair share of problems that go beyond this. However from a moral perspective and hypothetically speaking I'd much rather hear about another NRL player being a dumbass and writing his name in poo on someone's doorstep or something than an NRL player involved in domestic violence, sexual assault, etc. Of course in a perfect world we wouldn't want to hear about either.

I agree with Lambretta's post too, by the by.

 

[WaznTheGreat]

A good old fashion buzz cut will clean up the image

 

[Dogs Of War]

Danish. I get your opinion of not worrying too much of the opinions of people that don't like the game to begin with

However, Steve Mascord can hardly be thought of as such
He is a highly respected League journalist that obviously loves the code

This isn't about telling the haters to piss off, this is about ensuring we don't turn away those that love us already or converting those that don't have a strong opinion against us

I seriously doubt that Todd Carneys actions will result in a bunch of people who've never watched Rugby League before tuning in next weekend

If you have been following mascord you would realise that his articles contain an underlying tone of frustration aimed at the code. Not sure what pushed him over the edge but that tone has really existed in all his stuff this year.

 

[Knightmare]

I agree with him so far as the fact that in order for Rugby League to thrive and grow, it needs to rid itself of the assumption that it can still rely on the modern equivalent of the 70's working class to maintain a supporter base (see 'The Footy Show').

However, beyond that this is a silly piece with naive presumptions put forward, ignorant of the complete picture and then the arrogance/ immaturity to defend this limited view with "If you disagree with me you're an idiot!" Nya nya nya nya.

The worst of it? This is not just an ignorant article of a passionate (but ill-informed) follower. This is a deliberately ignorant article from someone who almost certainly knows everything we know regarding off-field player behaviour across our 4 biggest codes. Why not pay a little closer attention to what happens off-field in the "female friendly" AFL for instance...

 

[Perth Red]

Ask yourself this, why do you very very rarely see an NRL star employed to promote a major brand? Cameron smith is capt of club, state and country. He should be on billboards and on TV ads wherever you look. Characters like JT and slater should be household names in this country and others, reality is they would be unknowns outside of a couple of states or RL fan circles. Our game is sneered at as thugby played by meatheads with no concept of civilised behaviour.

Of course we know this is rubbish and 80% of players are decent blokes with a majority of them doing wonderful things away from the game to use their status to help charities or people in need. I don't know there is an answer but in all honesty if I was a CEO of a blue chip company looking for a sport to associate my company with NRL would be pretty low down the list at the moment.