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

[Misanthrope]

I'm not sure this is the right way to go either TBH, that's how you get the no-questions-asked fawning the Victorian game enjoys.

I would hardly call their coverage, particularly on television, particularly professional. The AFL Footy Shown is only marginally less juvenile than its NRL equivalent.

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.

I'm afraid I can't agree with this. Maybe other Australian codes have players f**king up this often, but you don't see quite as many images of Premier League or NFL players pissing in their own mouths or humping dogs floating around.

You do get the high profile shit like rape, murder, and dog-fighting (all far worse than this, obviously) - but that's the sticking point. It's stupid shit, by and large, that is tarring this game's reputation. It's made more frustrating because it's such avoidable shit.

All these so-called 'professional' athletes need to do is stop carrying on like f**king idiots.

When players f**k up in our game, they get sacked from a club and end up at another one. Ferguson, Carney etc aren't punished when they just land a lucrative deal elsewhere. Bans need to be put in place.

You might be over giving a shit what people think, but the NRL can't afford to take such a dismissive stance of it. It's costing the code and the clubs sponsorship dollars, alienating potential fans who can't or don't want to look past the constant off-field scandal to see the game's appeal, and damaging the game's ability to market itself at home and abroad.

The NRL could say 'I don't give a f**k what people think', but it'll sink pretty fast if it does that.

 

[Desert Qlder]

On a day when an ozzie rules player is not just being investigated but is charged with RAPE, an article appears in the Fairfax press proclaiming Rugby League has the image problem.

Excuse me for being cynical, but the media cannot justify that kind of hypocrisy, let alone the subtle message of acceptance for a real crime.

Steve Mascord could have the greatest reputation in the world but in this instance he is allowing himself to be played the puppet.

 

[Knightmare]

To be honest I think part of the problem with incidents like this and Nate Myles/Monaghan is just the bizarre circus aspect of it all. Oh someone allegedly raped someone or beat someone up? Who cares, that's not very extraordinary... on the other hand this guy pissed in his mouth/gave a new meaning to doggy-style and here's the photo! Oh and this guy took a f**king shit in a f**king hallway. It might seem unfair but really that's just how it is, we all know which stories are going to garner the most interest.

Exactly. That and the very cosy deal the AFL has with the media in the code's biggest (and most influential) heartland...

 

[Cumberland Throw]

Unfortunatley only about 10% of fans Love NRL , the other 90% follow it...

AFL is probably vice versa...

If you loved the game, you would have not posted that Todd Carney shit anywhere,..

 

[Perth Red]

Exactly. That and the very cosy deal the AFL has with the media in the code's biggest (and most influential) heartland...

I'm guessing people complaining that afl indiscretions don't get the same coverage live in nsw or qland? Trust me the afl players who f**k up get the same amount of negative media in afl states. When Ben cousins saga was going on it was front page news daily in Perth. papers are full of it in melbourne, look at the bombers asada covg, it is covered in far more depth in melbourne than cronulla has been in Sydney IMO.

Carney got a couple of inches yesterday three pages back in the west Australian.

 

[eozsmiles]

I don't think he does. as others have said last year he went on a massive rage about RL saying that he wasn't going to cover it and the NRL/clubs didn't respect jurno(very funny IMO). I wouldn't lump him in with Wilson or Buzz but he doesn't deserve respect or attention.

No he didn't. He said he wasn't going to chase news because he was sick of lies and spin. So now he just writes what he sees and thinks rather than chase stories knowing he was going to get told s**t.

 

[Desert Qlder]

I'm guessing people complaining that afl indiscretions don't get the same coverage live in nsw or qland? Trust me the afl players who f**k up get the same amount of negative media in afl states. When Ben cousins saga was going on it was front page news daily in Perth. papers are full of it in melbourne, look at the bombers asada covg, it is covered in far more depth in melbourne than cronulla has been in Sydney IMO.

Carney got a couple of inches yesterday three pages back in the west Australian.

You are living in dreamland if you think both sports are covered equally.

At the end of the day, Carney may be a moron, but he is not a rapist.

 

[El Diablo]

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.

there is nothing more the NRL can do

they do far more than any other code in Australia to punish players when they f**k up

the media won't be happy until the game is dead and buried

 

[Perth Red]

Exactly. That and the very cosy deal the AFL has with the media in the code's biggest (and most influential) heartland...

All of the newspaper websites in afl cities have the daw story in their main sports page leads. How exactly are they not reporting on it? Tin foil hat time me thinks.

 

[eozsmiles]

Walked into my wife's business today and the Triple J news was on the radio. The newsreader said something like "Footballer charged with rape" and one of the women there straight away said "Is he from the Sharks or the Knights?". It was half in jest but still telling - she immediately figured it must be an NRL player rather than another code.

 

[Danish]

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

He isn't attacking the code, but he is approaching the problem in the wrong way.

Suggesting that it is leagues responsibility to change the uninformed opinions of the public is to me along the same lines as telling a girl that it's up to her to stop wearing short skirts if she wants men to respect her. It's a victim blaming mantality which favours appeasing those with hypocritical opinions simply because it's harder than actually fighting for the truth.

League is not filled with angels, but it's impact on society is overwelmingly positive. Unfortunately people like Mascord are too tired of arguing against bigots who decide anyone with a sleeve tat must be a drop kick (textbook bigoted behaviour).

If Mascord is truly a league fan why isn't he writing regular pieces on all the great work being done by league players? I guarantee there isn't a single day of the season in which a league player isn't sitting down with a sick kid for a chat, attending a coaching clinic, or making an appearance at a school/local junior club. Yet he never writes about it.

He writes that he is tired of defending the game? I say that he has never taken up arms for the code in his life

 

[Perth Red]

there is nothing more the NRL can do

they do far more than any other code in Australia to punish players when they f**k up

the media won't be happy until the game is dead and buried

Well given lui is still playing NRL, carney was given numerous opportunities to f**k up big enough to get booted, ferguson is likely to be back next year are they really that tough? We love to celebrate when a dck head gets a second shot and seems to be doing ok, unfortunately they then tend to repay the game by screwing it down the road.

 

[Perth Red]

You are living in dreamland if you think both sports are covered equally.

At the end of the day, Carney may be a moron, but he is not a rapist.

You ever thought your view may be tainted by not being in an afl city? NRL gets very little media in Perth, even when a carney incident happens, afl gets heaps and scandals are equally massively reported. As I said the cousins saga literally took full front page of the West for days.

 

[gUt]

I'm guessing people complaining that afl indiscretions don't get the same coverage live in nsw or qland? Trust me the afl players who f**k up get the same amount of negative media in afl states. When Ben cousins saga was going on it was front page news daily in Perth. papers are full of it in melbourne, look at the bombers asada covg, it is covered in far more depth in melbourne than cronulla has been in Sydney IMO.

Carney got a couple of inches yesterday three pages back in the west Australian.

Maybe, but what we don't see in those cases is snide analysis on sports magazine shows populated with nodding dogs who all agree that AFL has an image problem. Issues are treated as individual cases: sad, so-and-so was a great player, it's a shame he's fallen so far... etc

Every time a RL player f**ks up and does something wrong, it's blamed on the code and its supposed attendant culture. When an AFL player f**ks up, yeah we hear about it but it's (rightfully) never laid at the feet of the code itself. Instead we hear how the code's problems are also societal problems, and of course they are, but that truism is never allowed in RL's case.

Overlay the above with the fact that the AFL has a large say in what is allowed to be reported and how it's reported. This has even extended to what the f**king police are allowed to say when they're investigating yet another alleged AFL rapist.

Then on top of this consider how the AFL gets to go around proclaiming its supposed virtues - woman friendly, leader in anti-racism, leader in anti-drugs, leader in anti-gambling - all patent nonsense or at least no more true for them than for any other code but these impressions are promoted and allowed to linger in the minds of the mainstream public.

It's not fair, and RL does deserve the scrutiny. However RL should be able to take credit for not being consumed with spinning every one of its problems into the atmosphere and sweeping what remains under a seemingly endless rug.

It's this very willingness to address its problems out front that makes it an easy target for the parasitic scum in the media whose livelyhoods depend on painting RL as the worst thing that ever happened to Australia.

 

[Perth Red]

Maybe, but what we don't see in those cases is snide analysis on sports magazine shows populated with nodding dogs who all agree that AFL has an image problem. Issues are treated as individual cases: sad, so-and-so was a great player, it's a shame he's fallen so far... etc

Every time a RL player f**ks up and does something wrong, it's blamed on the code and its supposed attendant culture. When an AFL player f**ks up, yeah we hear about it but it's (rightfully) never laid at the feet of the code itself. Instead we hear how the code's problems are also societal problems, and of course they are, but that truism is never allowed in RL's case.

Overlay the above with the fact that the AFL has a large say in what is allowed to be reported and how it's reported. This has even extended to what the f**king police are allowed to say when they're investigating yet another alleged AFL rapist.

Then on top of this consider how the AFL gets to go around proclaiming its supposed virtues - woman friendly, leader in anti-racism, leader in anti-drugs, leader in anti-gambling - all patent nonsense or at least no more true for them than for any other code but these impressions are promoted and allowed to linger in the minds of the mainstream public.

It's not fair, and RL does deserve the scrutiny. However RL should be able to take credit for not being consumed with spinning every one of its problems into the atmosphere and sweeping what remains under a seemingly endless rug.

It's this very willingness to address its problems out front that makes it an easy target for the parasitic scum in the media whose livelyhoods depend on painting RL as the worst thing that ever happened to Australia.

Fair comments, no idea how you change it or even if you can short of the NRL taking an afl approach and insisting on more media control. I thought they were supposed to now have a big media dept that was meant to control the media more and pump out spin to change perception of the game?

 

[Desert Qlder]

You ever thought your view may be tainted by not being in an afl city?

:lol:

No you presumptuous fool because I live in Melbourne.

I know you have a few tickets on yourself, but you do not have some special view because of where you live.

 

[Perth Red]

:lol:

No you presumptuous fool because I live in Melbourne.

I know you have a few tickets on yourself, but you do not have some special view because of where you live.

Both the age and herald have both got the daw story as lead stories so what the f**k you on about saying it isn't getting covg? Do you read the melbourne papers?

 

[Desert Qlder]

Both the age and herald have both got the daw story as lead stories so what the f**k you on about saying it isn't getting covg? Do you read the melbourne papers?

I usually don't argue with idiots but I will lower myself on this occasion.

I never said it is not getting coverage. Rather, I said they are not covered equally - something so eloquently elaborated on by posters above.

Your presumptions are matched by your comprehension skills.

 

[Danish]

Walked into my wife's business today and the Triple J news was on the radio. The newsreader said something like "Footballer charged with rape" and one of the women there straight away said "Is he from the Sharks or the Knights?". It was half in jest but still telling - she immediately figured it must be an NRL player rather than another code.

Did you point out how wrong they were?

That type of shit is basically the same to me as the news announcing a robbery in redfern and someone just casually saying "bloody aboriginals". And just like that situation it is the person making the assumption that needs to change, not the person or thing they are making assumptions about

 

[El Diablo]

Both the age and herald have both got the daw story as lead stories so what the f**k you on about saying it isn't getting covg? Do you read the melbourne papers?

Carney is still the main story here now http://www.news.com.au/

Majak is nowhere to be found

Carney is being treated worse than Rolf f**king Harris