Don't celebrate Kyrgios the man child

We celebrate the amazing feats of Australian sportspeople as well as any country in the world. But being good at sport does not always equate to being a good person.

As many of us wake up to the news of Nick Kyrgios reaching the semi finals of Wimbledon there is a growing sense of unease among many of us. We are celebrating a petulant man child compounded by the news of an alleged assault and upcoming court case.

There are so many examples of his on court tantrums, bad sportsmanship and crass behavior. Many people are saying it's great for tennis, tennis needs personalities, it has become to staid. In Nick's own words at a recent Wimbledon press conference he said, "all publicity is good publicity, isn't it?" But is it? Or are we all condoning really awful actions because someone is highly skilled. If this happened in your workplace I doubt they would be nominated for employee of the month.

After winning his quarter final match, and being asked about the assault allegations he downplayed any affects it had on his match.

"[It] didn't really affect me at all, to be honest with you," Kyrgios said.

This comment is simple but multi-faceted. On the one hand it demonstrates the focus on the task at hand and on the other the ability to dismiss potentially harmful, albeit alleged behaviour and assault allegations.

If we want to be better as a society and not just virtue signal, we need to live what we preach and demonstrate the values we want to see. We can't celebrate people because of their skills and put aside who they are as a person. It's the height of hypocrisy.

As a man, as a parent, as a partner I cannot celebrate someone that I wouldn't want around my family, and I won't.Good luck Nick, not so much in sport, but in growing up as a person. I truly wish that for you. You don't represent me nor your country. You represent yourself and not in a great light.

By Paul Frederickson  

Twitter: @paul_football

Viva the BazBall Revolution

While most Australian cricket fans slept, a seismic shift occurred in the world cricket order. "BazBall" arrived in the UK, and in the space of 5 short weeks has transformed not only the England Test Team, but in all likely hood, test cricket. A much needed revolution has taken place.

After being demoralised in Australia last summer, where they were derided as a "Laughing Stock" (News 27122021) England parlayed this "Year to Forget" (Crictracker 29122021) into a one nil loss in the Caribbean. Whatever! Everyone bar actual England fans probably had a laugh and were happy to know that in the race to the bottom of the traditional test nations, the 3 lions had a bigger millstone around the neck than the Windies. A very slow news period followed after that series culminating in Robert Key being named managing Director of the ECB. This was at the time, beyond underwhelming and seemed to assure most people, including myself, that England where setting the bar for appointments at record lows. How wrong I was.

In five weeks of test cricket, Keys "key" appointments of Brendon McCullum as coach and Ben Stokes as captain have seen a magical transformation in the England team.

Baz and the Skip - source Twitter.

They started by dismantling the current world champion New Zealand team with a 3-0 whitewash and then, in seemingly impossible fashion, they took a vaunted Indian Test team to the back of the woodshed and gave them a beating for the ages. 

In every test they have claimed 20 wickets and chased more than 250 in the fourth inning to win. In each game they have faced adversity. At Headingley they were 6 down for 91 in the evening session and closed at 264 for no further loss. Chasing 329, they never stopped counter attacking until they eventually won by 7 wickets. Against India last night they chased 378 in the 4th innings and never broke a sweat. Once again they won by 7 wickets and the belligerents were Root and Bairstow. One, a perennial prince and the other a career long sidepiece. Now, in combination with Ben Stokes they make one of the most imposing middle orders seen for many years in Test cricket.

While the players will receive the lions share of the credit, and rightly so, the Coach and Captain deserve special mention. Coaching matters, and and if you don't believe a cricket side needs a coach, go and watch the directionless lump under the previous management. McCullum, has concentrated from the start on simple and concise messages. He has backed his players, and they are paying him back. England, are already a leading team in both short forms of the game. Playing with this freedom, and leaning into the attacking prowess at hand, they can become the best team in test cricket. Of course, these statements are massive reaches, and perhaps make me a prisoner of the moment, but as with most affairs of the heart they are all consuming and intoxicating to the beholdent. Viva the revolution! Viva BazBall!

Netball in danger on and off the field

One of the great participation sports in this country is netball. In any city, suburb and town Australia wide the sound of whistles reverberates from the multitude of courts and teams. It is a fantastic sound, just as the sound of car horns being blown after an Aussie rules goal at a local ground is fantastic. But make no mistake, the sport's governing body is an a perilous state which imperils the sport as a whole.

At the grassroots level the sport is thriving but decisions at the highest level, particularly when it has come to its professional level, has Netball Australia facing, if not financial ruin, a difficult financial time. Financial issues mean less investment in development programs, under age programs and elite programs. It also means that less money can be spent on advertising and promoting the sport. This is essential as other sports clamber for participants at all levels, and even more than ever at the semi and professional levels.

Netball can no longer be seen on free to air television and whilst recent year's deals provided much needed funds those funds are running out.

In recent days the Daily Telegraph  reported  that Netball Australia lost $7.2 million over the last two years and has debts of approximately $4 million.

Source: https://bit.ly/3nAYS7gnd

Many believe it was the partnership break from a trans-Tasman league to a standalone Australian League that started the rot, but perhaps netball Australia bit of more than it could ever chew. With the advent of AFLW and NRLW and the continued success and career path of the A-League women's competitions there is not only a fight for professional players across the codes but the far superior financial resources that the AFL and NRL, in particular, have compared to Netball Australia.

Even at grassroots levels if you go to many of the suburban courts they are empty during most week nights and Sundays. They have yet to leverage their vast spaces and share them with other sports that could provide alternative sources of income. There is a distinct lack of advertising at most courts as well, another avenue for resources.

A return to a trans-Tasman competition, getting the sport back on to free to air television, even at a greatly reduced price, are two obvious solutions that the sport would be remiss in not pursuing.

This is a great sport that may need to lower its eyes for a few years or face extinction altogether, at least at the higher levels. In a week that we should be talking about a thrilling Grand Final between West Coast Fever and the Melbourne Vixens we are discussing a sport in serious trouble.

Let me know your thoughts.

Paul Frederickson Twitter: @paul_football

You can listen to our podcast on all podcast platforms including:

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Red cards a must for the AFL

Up front, I'm a Richmond Football Club fanatic and I don't want to make this post about the Dion Prestia hit by Tom Stewart, that is done and dusted and Stewart will rest for four weeks. But, the Stewart hit, fan uproar and subsequent suspension got me, and many others thinking about the possibility of a send off rule for the AFL.

Almost every other football code has a send off rule, be it the world game, rugby league and union as well as the NFL. So why does the AFL lag behind? Tradition is one part of the arguments but the main one I've heard and seen has been the scope for mistakes and interpretation.

All AFL matches are covered via free-to-air or subscription television and streaming providers. There are multiple camera angles, ability to replay incidents as we have with goal reviews. A red card offence could also have no time limit. If something is missed but picked up later in the match then a red card could still be given. Whilst that may not be ideal it is better than no action taken.

I don't envision the need for many send off offences over the course of a season. The clubs are very good at defining the league's interpretations and it would be in their best interest to reiterate this to their players. So let's look at some obvious examples from the past and tick them off. 

Leigh Matthews hit on Neville Bruns behind play in 1985? Yes!

Barry Hall hit on Darren Glass? Yes!

These are obvious examples and that is what I would intend for the red card. What would the red card mean? As in other sports a red card means that the player is off for the rest of the match. The offending team can not sub in another player and are down a rotation for the rest of the match. The tribunal still comes into play and any ensuing penalty that comes with the offence.

Quite often the player who has been impacted by the offence misses the rest of the match and the team that has done nothing wrong is affected for the rest of the match and at times, for the weeks ahead.If we are serious about protecting players and making offenders very aware of the repercussions then there is no alternative to a send-off rule.

I would love to know your thoughts. 

By Paul Frederickson  Twitter: paul_football

The Love Sport Podcast is available on all podcast channels including: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/love-sport-podcast-network/id1516576598

https://open.spotify.com/show/7AJS6MhXceHvz9bJMVENFY?si=ttwMKFTxRo6KgzwhAIdeLg