As news broke yesterday regarding the provisional suspension of Cronulla head coach Shane Flanagan and the $1m fine handed down by the NRL, I, along with many other Sharks fans were disappointed yet relieved that a small slice of this seemingly everlasting drug scandal had come to a conclusion.
This was a large step in ending this painfully long scandal that has not only tarnished Cronullas name but has dragged the NRL through the mud as well.
Despite there being many loyal Shane Flanagan supporters, it didn’t take long for someone to have a crack at Flanagan and the person to do so was Daily Telegraph journalist Rebecca Wilson.
Wilson has been covering the ASADA story since it made headlines and her apparently, one-sided, dog with a bone mentality, comes as no surprise to any Sharks fan.
Following a day in which Sharks fans had to come to terms with the temporary loss of their head coach, the last thing they needed was a Wilson article that in my view, spoke more opinion than fact.
Instead of simply doing what we all want and sticking to the facts, Wilson went on, not only to have an attack at Coach Flanagan but also at the Cronulla fans.
It all started with Wilson claiming “Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan is a man disgraced.”
Wilson’s emotive, headline grabbing use of the word disgraced, is a far from accurate description of Shane Flanagan.
Wilson then went on to make the most outrageous of statements.
“I believe his coaching days should be over”
Well! Thankfully Wilson is not in a position to make that call.
Wilson should have done the decent thing after making such an attack on Coach Flanagan, and explained her reasons for holding this opinion.
Flanagan has been handed down his punishment by CEO Dave Smith and the NRL after what Smith continues to explain as a “thorough investigation”
A 12 month ban, which could be reduced to 9 months doesn’t indicate to me the NRL thinks Flanagan’s coaching days should be over. So why does Wilson believe so? Or is this just another one of Wilson's anti Crounlla attacks?
Just when I thought this piece couldn’t get any more lopsided, Wilson went on to attack the group of people that certainly don’t need any more negativity, the Cronulla fans.
Wilson said “I have worked on this story for eight months. During that time, the team working with me has been pilloried, threatened and abused by some involved with the scandal and the fans who purport to believe nothing was amiss at their club”
I’m not going to comment on the allegations of threats and abuse from those involved with the scandal because I simply don’t know if they are factual. However I am going to comment on the “fans who purport to believe nothing was amiss at their club” part of Wilson’s statement.
This is just simply wrong.
Cronulla fans would be the first to agree that any wrong doing in the 2011 year needs to be dealt with in the appropriate ways. Whether that is through player suspension, fines or any other means of punishment.
If Wilson wonders why her time covering this ASADA story has been so difficult, then maybe she should take a long look back at the articles she has produced this year.
Her 2013 ASADA articles seem to have a total, anti Cronulla theme rather than a balanced reporting of events.
For example her article regarding the apparent plans to relocate the Sharks “into the burgeoning league heartland of southern or central Queensland”
After the fines the NRL handed down to the Sharks yesterday I don’t believe the NRL ever had concrete plans to relocate the Sharks, as a fine of this size will not sink the club or force them into relocation as Wilson’s article suggests.
Again, another example of Wilson writing down her thoughts and simply pressing post.
Wilson’s articles had a common theme throughout the 2013 year and anyone could be mistaken for thinking that Wilson has an axe to grind.
This couldn’t have been made clearer in Wilson’s article that had the headline “New Cronulla Sharks boss has his head stuck in the sand”
Wilson set the tone early in the article by saying “I believe Keogh, like many followers of either Essendon or Cronulla, are in denial.”
Harsh words coming from someone who isn’t Damien Keogh or a supporter of either of these embattled clubs.
Wilson went on to say “This is not the figment of my imagination. It is real very, very real and it’s coming to Cronulla within weeks.”
Well it’s either a figment of her imagination or she has a poor knowledge on what ‘within weeks’ means.
Wilson posted this article on July 6th 2013 and yesterday , December 17th 2013 ,was the first day for any punishments to be handed down to the club.
That is a total of 164 days and approximately 23.4 weeks from the time Wilson claimed that the Big Bad Wolf was on his way to get the Sharks, to the time something actually happened.
In the end Rebecca Wilsons eight month, win at all cost, crusade against the Sharks Coach, players and fans will all be to no avail. Wilson needs to understand that the Cronulla club is bigger than present events just as journalism is bigger than Rebecca Wilson.
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