Rex
Bencher
Last week Brett Stewart was given an amazing 4 weeks suspension by the NRL for simply being "refused bar service and asked to leave the premises", under NRL pressure Watmough was apparently given a $10,000 dollars fine, we are told for a minor push away of a person who appeared to be threatening violence, and the NRL fined Manly $100,000 for allowing these two "incidents" to occur (prompting the enquiry and penalties) . Heavy penalties indeed. Unprecedented for the nature of the actions they were allegedly responding to.
Compare these unprecedented and very heavy penalties of Manly and its players with equivalent apparent total inaction in response to the more serious News Ltd Brisbane Broncos incidents, only a few NRL games earlier.
Watch the report here:
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200809/r293758_1259855.asx
Summary
1. The Brisbane Broncos players were banned from a Brisbane nightclub and faced zero tolerance at another nightclub.
2. The day after Wayne Bennett's farewell, Darren Lockyer tackled a bar manager when leaving the bar premises. Apparently he was too intoxicated to remember, initially denying any memory, and only admitting guilt after video evidence conclusively proved it.
3. The same night, other Broncos players left the premises with alcohol illegally taken from the bar. When a manager approached them to put the illegally-taken alcohol back he was pushed aside by the player(s).
4. On the weekend three Broncos players (Karmichael Hunt, Darrius Boyd and Sam Thaiday were named) were alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman in a Brisbane nightclub toilet with one of them allegedly taking mobile phone shots of the act.
Response
The NRL response was to interpret these incidents as resulting from alcohol abuse. The NRL said it was sick of the Friday Night drinking that lasts till Monday. David Gallop said "If you give the green light to lengthy drinking sessions, then the potential for a problem is far, far greater".
But David Gallop stopped short of disciplining the clubs.
He said "They have an obligation to impose discipline, to build standards"
In both instances, Gallop ignored the sexual assault allegations, under the presumption of innocence and allowing Police and Court processes to follow their course.
So will David Gallop and the NRL provide answers to the obvious inconsistencies in the other matters, as queried by fans, including:
1. Why does Gallop regard Stewart simply being refused alcohol and being asked to leave a premises, and complying without any incident, as worthy of an unprecedented four weeks suspension, whereas an alcohol affected Lockyer tackling a bar manager and apparently being so drunk that he couldn't even remember that incident is worthy of no suspension at all? And if Stewart is penalised more heavily because he was the face of rugby league for being in a commercial, then why isn't Lockyer penalised more heavily as the chosen leader and captain of Brisbane, Queensland and Australia - a far more responsible and senior position? And how is a single night of alcohol use at Manly seen by Gallop as more serious than the "Friday Night drinking that lasts till Monday" which he associated with the News Ltd Broncos incidents?
2. How can a simple Watmough push of a sponsor (resolved between those parties) be viewed by Gallop as more serious than Brisbane Broncos players pushing and ignoring a bar manager who was asking them to return alcohol they were illegally removing from that Bar manager's premises?Â
3. If the timing of Brett Stewart's incident before the season starts is seen as serious by Gallop, then why isn't the timing of the Darren Lockyer and other Broncos incidents seen as at least as serious, occurring during the NRL finals series - the very climax and highlight, and highest-rating period of the NRL premiership season?
4. Why was the Brisbane Broncos decision to not penalise Lockyer, and other Broncos players, and to allow them all to continue playing accepted by Gallop as sufficient discipline, whereas Manly's decision to do the same for apparently lesser offenses was described by Gallop as arrogant, unacceptable and was fined $100,000?
How can we fans have confidence in the NRL until such basic questions are openly and directly answered? To-date Gallop has avoided answering these questions directly or openly.
Compare these unprecedented and very heavy penalties of Manly and its players with equivalent apparent total inaction in response to the more serious News Ltd Brisbane Broncos incidents, only a few NRL games earlier.
Watch the report here:
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200809/r293758_1259855.asx
Summary
1. The Brisbane Broncos players were banned from a Brisbane nightclub and faced zero tolerance at another nightclub.
2. The day after Wayne Bennett's farewell, Darren Lockyer tackled a bar manager when leaving the bar premises. Apparently he was too intoxicated to remember, initially denying any memory, and only admitting guilt after video evidence conclusively proved it.
3. The same night, other Broncos players left the premises with alcohol illegally taken from the bar. When a manager approached them to put the illegally-taken alcohol back he was pushed aside by the player(s).
4. On the weekend three Broncos players (Karmichael Hunt, Darrius Boyd and Sam Thaiday were named) were alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman in a Brisbane nightclub toilet with one of them allegedly taking mobile phone shots of the act.
Response
The NRL response was to interpret these incidents as resulting from alcohol abuse. The NRL said it was sick of the Friday Night drinking that lasts till Monday. David Gallop said "If you give the green light to lengthy drinking sessions, then the potential for a problem is far, far greater".
But David Gallop stopped short of disciplining the clubs.
He said "They have an obligation to impose discipline, to build standards"
In both instances, Gallop ignored the sexual assault allegations, under the presumption of innocence and allowing Police and Court processes to follow their course.
So will David Gallop and the NRL provide answers to the obvious inconsistencies in the other matters, as queried by fans, including:
1. Why does Gallop regard Stewart simply being refused alcohol and being asked to leave a premises, and complying without any incident, as worthy of an unprecedented four weeks suspension, whereas an alcohol affected Lockyer tackling a bar manager and apparently being so drunk that he couldn't even remember that incident is worthy of no suspension at all? And if Stewart is penalised more heavily because he was the face of rugby league for being in a commercial, then why isn't Lockyer penalised more heavily as the chosen leader and captain of Brisbane, Queensland and Australia - a far more responsible and senior position? And how is a single night of alcohol use at Manly seen by Gallop as more serious than the "Friday Night drinking that lasts till Monday" which he associated with the News Ltd Broncos incidents?
2. How can a simple Watmough push of a sponsor (resolved between those parties) be viewed by Gallop as more serious than Brisbane Broncos players pushing and ignoring a bar manager who was asking them to return alcohol they were illegally removing from that Bar manager's premises?Â
3. If the timing of Brett Stewart's incident before the season starts is seen as serious by Gallop, then why isn't the timing of the Darren Lockyer and other Broncos incidents seen as at least as serious, occurring during the NRL finals series - the very climax and highlight, and highest-rating period of the NRL premiership season?
4. Why was the Brisbane Broncos decision to not penalise Lockyer, and other Broncos players, and to allow them all to continue playing accepted by Gallop as sufficient discipline, whereas Manly's decision to do the same for apparently lesser offenses was described by Gallop as arrogant, unacceptable and was fined $100,000?
How can we fans have confidence in the NRL until such basic questions are openly and directly answered? To-date Gallop has avoided answering these questions directly or openly.
