The only thing that comes as less of a surprise than the latest transgression of Sydney Roosters NRL star Todd Carney is the news that he is likely to be given another chance by his team.
Carney was issued with a breach notice by his club after reportedly being caught in a 2:00AM drinking session with teammates Nate Myles and Frank-Paul Nuuasuala.
An athlete going out drinking late at night is in itself of course not normally considered a big deal. The Roosters' players had however put in place a self-imposed booze ban in an attempt to stop the rot that has them anchored near the foot of the table and out of finals contention.
Making matters worse, Carney is also a player who has a history of off-field incidents involving alcohol. He has reportedly been on his last chance with the Roosters, who were the club that threw him a lifeline after his previous playing contract with the Canberra Raiders was terminated and the NRL deregistered him.
So why would the Roosters consider giving Carney yet another chance?
The Daily Telegraph reports that the Roosters Chairman Nick Politis holds grave fears that Carney's life "could spiral out of control if he's cut loose from rugby league."
You have to wonder if those fears would have been quite so grave if Carney hadn't won a Dally M Medal as the NRL's best player in 2010.
That win was billed (again by the Daily Telegraph) as a "fairytale" comeback by Carney after two years in the rugby league wilderness following his deregistration.
At the time, Carney was described as a "one-time bad boy of the NRL" by the Tele, indicating that his redemption was now complete, presumably because he had realised his considerable potential as an athlete.
Bad boy, yes. One-time, not so much apparently.
The media always love a great redemption story, but to say that this one was told prematurely is a King Kong-sized understatement.
It was also a terrific example of how quickly an athlete can resurrect their public image with the right spin and, more importantly, enough talent.
And there lies the crux of the matter.
Does even the least cynical of us truly believe that Carney would still be a Rooster if he wasn't one of the biggest stars in the NRL?
Let's suppose he was a struggling first-year player and did the same thing. There is little doubt he would have been sacked by the Roosters. Most likely his axing would have been justified by public statements along the lines of his actions "not reflecting the family values of the club".
Yet interestingly it is the same "family" line that is often used to justify the retention of a star athlete in disgrace.
You hear all too often that a club refuses to turn its back on a member of its "family" in a time of need.
Yet only the most talented members of its family apparently gets this sort of treatment.
In September 2010 the Roosters sacked two Toyota Cup players for a breach of their code of conduct.
At the time the Roosters said that "the Club started the 2010 season with the mantra `New Attitude. New Beginning' and it is disappointing that this incident has occurred. Throughout the 2010 season the Sydney Roosters have lived by this mantra and will continue to enforce the code of conduct as set by the players and management."
Apparently the enforcement of that code of conduct depends on the skill level of the player involved.
Forget the "two-speed economy", this sort of "two-speed justice" is common to every sport around the world, not just the NRL.
Flawed superstars are given chance after chance, yet ultimately this sort of tolerance seals their fate. Inevitably, they continue to push the boundaries of that tolerance until they have burned the last bridge. That usually doesn't happen of course until their skill level starts to slip. Then the athlete is left wondering why they can't get away with what they used to.
So whilst The Roosters might publicly espouse that they can't sack Carney for fear of what it might do to him, if they really care about him they'll make him realise that his talent won't always save him.
Of course, even if they do have the courage to make that call, Carney probably won't learn that lesson right away. If the Roosters release him, Carney's talent is such that NRL clubs would likely line up to sign him.
Sadly, pro sporting clubs are just as slow to learn their lessons as athletes.
No comments:
Post a Comment