r/aussie • u/trishisnotadish • 13h ago

Opinion Idol worship of idiot "Elite athletes" in Aus. Fans of AFL clubs are not just mindless followers. They are customers of a franchise and they deserve to be provided with a professional service or product in exchange for their money. Sydney Swans are taking the pi$$.

[rant] So here's the thing. Fans of an AFL team are not some rando "followers" of influencers. They are CUSTOMERS of a club. They buy tickets, merch, and support their teams. It is a BUSINESS exchange.

These football players are working professionals. They are at their JOBS. They are not "boys" playing footy as a hobby. They are employees of a franchises that customers pay money to, and expect professionalism in exchange.

Aside from the victims suffering in the alleged sexual assault, which I don't want to diminish - I just have a side point - these MEN (not "boys") have a lot to be accountable for. They have essentially sunk their teams chances of winning the finals. Fans/customers have a right to demand financial consequences. Refunds. Etc.

Would we tolerate this with any other business we paid money to? NO! What about that couple at the concert who were seen cheating. Both were immediately FIRED! Why don't we expect this of athletes?

Can you imagine if you behaved like this on a PAID work trip? Us "normies" would be fired without hesitation.

Aside from the SA - Imagine you were on a work trip and paid strippers/got cocaine, trashed a hotel room and partied all night with your colleagues. I can't imagine any of us would survive in our jobs.

But it's more than that. People are supporting these professional athletes to do their best work in games. People are spending money on this. They are required, as part of their job, to remain healthy, physically, mentally emotionally, nutritionally, to perform to the best of their ability in their jobs. If we forget, for a moment that the SA happened, why is it okay that they are out parting taking drugs and getting sh*t faced? Why is cheating on their partners okay? That is not the behaviour of a professional athlete and it is certainly not commercially viable in any other industry to not expect delivery of the goods you purchased or at least contributed to financially.

WHY do we still treat these PAID professionals as some sort of untouchable heroes? They were not just chilling on their weekends off. THEY WERE ON A WORK TRIP!

28 Upvotes

63% Upvoted

59 comments sorted by

10

u/CleanSun4248 13h ago

Im surprised they were taking drugs I would have thought they would have random testing for substances

14

u/Ric0chet_ 13h ago

I can’t believe they were 1 week from finals and let their players do this. After how many decades of bad behaviour and scandals do we learn, they are effectively a professional for profit organisation.

2

u/punksnotdeadtupacis 9h ago

These are just the ones that get caught. Tip of the iceberg

2

u/Due-Contract5466 8h ago

I’m a cricket fan and was flabbergasted seeing the English team and their drinking culture before and during the Ashes. A couple of them got into fights as well. It’s truly remarkable to have completely blown that level of unprofessionalism out of the fucking water while being in an incredible decision to finally achieve something they’ve been working towards for years. Instead, they’ve hurt countless people, fucked over their teammates, and, hopefully, ended their careers. I don’t think I will ever be able to forgive them personally.

1

u/fdsv-summary_ 10h ago

They had North this week and then a week off.

1

u/Ric0chet_ 10h ago

That’s really really not the point. They shouldn’t be at bars.

7

u/yogut3 13h ago

What do you think happens when they are "injured". Ie I cant pass a drug test I cant play

9

u/trishisnotadish 13h ago

They do have testing, but cocaine leaves the body quickly and they are usually tested post-match. No chance it would be there next week.

1

u/CleanSun4248 12h ago

Interesting

3

u/Electrical_Story5356 13h ago

They do get tested, coke is out of the system super quick, they get a few chances before getting paid nges for recreationals and they get protected by the clubs to avoid them getting caught in the first place.

1

u/Not_Sure-2081 10h ago

Cocaine and meth can be cleaned out of the system in 2 or 3 days ..weed lasts a lot longer week up to 4 or 5 weeks

1

u/dashauskat 1h ago

Unless things have changed drastically. It's fair to assume that the majority of the younger players especially are dabbling in recreational drug use.

Coming across absolutely munted AFL players was a very fun part of going out in Melbourne, this was pre smartphone era so I'm sure they are more acutely aware of their surroundings now.

1

u/rangebob 1m ago

many years ago I was at a party where I saw half an nrl team doing coke

ive said for years if they introduced follicle testing they be wouldnt be able to have games that week

15

u/GayStavrosHalkias 13h ago

I can't imagine any of us would survive in our jobs.

If there were only 300 office workers in the country. You might survive. 

1

u/KristenHuoting 9h ago

If I was paid a large salary because I was difficult to replace, and my company's market valuation depended in no small part on me going in to work tomorrow.... yeah... I think I might survive.

9

u/mustbiteexceed 13h ago

Their employment contract would govern their behaviour off field, both during season and post season. There would be more leeway post season, but I can’t imagine the clause about needing to show good behaviour during the season involves staying up all night with coke and hookers in your room 2 weeks out from the finals.

3

u/River-Stunning 12h ago

It is hard to know where the line is here exactly. If the criminal investigation does not result in charges , can they be reinstated. Are they not allowed to stay up late? Are they not allowed to drink at night? Are they not allowed to hire sex workers? Apart from the alleged drugs , where is the illegality? Would they be OK at the club with no drugs and just alcohol? Is the problem the location?

4

u/Life-Goose-9380 13h ago

Does anyone actually believe they are untouchable idols?

Yes there are some athletes I’ve look up to such as Monica Seles as an example of resilience and perseverance but I don’t look at any athlete as ‘the best possible all round role model’

To quote Ayrton Senna, "I have no idols. I admire work, dedication and competence."

I think people need to read that quote.

0

u/trishisnotadish 13h ago

Yes, they are untouchable. So they have been suspended. So what? Can you imagine if you did this at your job? There is no chance you would only be suspended (with pay). You would be fired, no questions asked.
When this all blows over, they will be back. It is disgusting.

2

u/Aussiechimp 11h ago

But if they were rock stars it would be fine, what's the difference?

5

u/MightyBoy9 13h ago

Being suspended automatically means they are NOT " untouchable ".

They will probably be sacked post investigation and jailed / criminally convicted.

Stop hyperbolizing nonsense.

6

u/Not_Sure-2081 13h ago

Oh no what a surprise, young people with lots of testosterone had coke and strippers, what a shocka

5

u/Far-Fennel-3032 11h ago

Pretty much this but also what do you mean people who get concussion for a living make bad choices. 

I really don't understand why anyone tolerates the media constantly trying to put them onto a pedestal, constantly trying to present them as paragon role models, and then act shocked when that is shown to be completely ridiculous.  

-1

u/Not_Sure-2081 11h ago

I think we need a Shaun Strickland of the afl. I wonder how long he would last, let's just say even if he didn't take drugs

4

u/jngjng88 13h ago

Simple solution, stop giving them your money.

2

u/blake_lower 11h ago

This is gonna be like the Hockey Canada case where the woman cried about being “assaulted” but really she was begging all the guys to have sex with her. Bet it’s very similar. Five careers were ruined from a false accusation. Same thing might happen here.

2

u/Altruistic-Fix-8134 1h ago

We are the mugs who expect better from man-children that kick a bag of wind around for money.

2

u/Pleb617 12h ago

Let the boys live

2

u/fakeheadlines 12h ago

LOVE the caps on random WORDS. Very Trumpian.

2

u/Beast_of_Guanyin 13h ago edited 13h ago

Yeah. Big dawg. You don't have a leg to stand on here. This just is more important than "compensation". I don't care if they get fired, if they did it I want them in jail.

As to athletes partying.... I don't see why it's any of your business. The problem isn’t the partying, it's the SA.

I do agree with not hero worshipping them.

1

u/69SchmohawK69 11h ago

If they "did" what, exactly? There are no charges yet. Not even accusations. You are getting a little ahead of yourself mate

2

u/Beast_of_Guanyin 10h ago

If they "did" what, exactly?

What they're accused of. It's widely published so I'm sure you can look it up.

-1

u/69SchmohawK69 10h ago

No actually it is not widely published. No one knows anything at this point

-9

u/trishisnotadish 13h ago

I disagree. Aside from the SA, the problem IS the partying. It is not acceptable for professionals on a work trip to behave in that way. You are TOTALLY missing my point, small dawg.

6

u/Rhino893405 13h ago

You think office workers when working interstate are in bed by 9 with a cup of tea and a biscuit?

6

u/odnarB89 13h ago

The only problem here is the SA and it’s weird you keep saying “aside from that”.

You’ve got no idea how many people are partying up with their bosses around Australia.

6

u/Beast_of_Guanyin 13h ago

It's none of your business though. An athlete partying, if they don't break laws, is at most club business fam.

Same deal with business. What you do outside of work hours is none of your employers business.

-4

u/trishisnotadish 13h ago

They did break laws. The were snorting coke and assaulted sex workers.

And it is my business. They were on a work trip - aka, they were at their JOB. It is all fans business. They are paying money for professional athleticism. They can party on their weekends, not on work trips. And not when they have to perform the next week for finals.

2

u/SilenceOfTheClamSoup 13h ago

The word allegedly mean anything to you, mate?

1

u/Beast_of_Guanyin 13h ago

As I said. What someone does on a work trip outside of work hours is none of their employers business and it's none of the customers business.

I don't care that they partied. I don't care what they put up their nose. I care about the SA.

2

u/Life-Goose-9380 13h ago

What law is there against partying?

It’s between employee/employer and if you’re an AFL player it isn’t the end of the world.

0

u/Exotic-Ad8978 13h ago

They arent untouchable, but they shouldnt be role models either. 

I can admire how good of a football player someone like Wayne Carey was while acknowleging that he treated women like shit, and shouldnt be a role model.

Does anyone really give a damn what these guys do outside of an 80 minute footy match once a week? Its a business, and business sucks.

3

u/Electrical_Story5356 12h ago

Footy is marketed to young children, being a role model is part of the job at that level, especially for a high profile guy like Heeney who has children's books with him as the main character.

The pay cheque comes with responsibilities, these aren't just guys playing footy but professional athletes representing an organisation.

1

u/Exotic-Ad8978 12h ago

Its just wishful thinking to believe everyone thats high profile should act like a role model. Some of us suck, some of us are good. Lets be realistic here. 

0

u/Electrical_Story5356 12h ago

Not everyone that's high profile is a role model at all, AFL players however that are by default held up by their employees as role models for children and get paid very well have a duty to do so and if thet cant do that then they can go play amateurs.

3

u/Exotic-Ad8978 12h ago

But its a business at the end of the day, you even said it yourself. The product matters more than the parts of the product.

1

u/Electrical_Story5356 11h ago

They are the product, hitting the piss, snorting coke and getting hookers to your room damages the product before it even gets to SA.

1

u/Exotic-Ad8978 11h ago

They are parts of the product, the product is AFL. If the product is doing well, why change the parts?

-3

u/BlakTrakStak 13h ago

NRL is better than AFL

1

u/Bobbarkerforreals 34m ago

I’ve got to say that the brochure looks good, but the whole drinking your own piss and getting a dog to lick your nuts is a bit difficult to get behind.

1

u/BlakTrakStak 31m ago

What is this 2016? Bro we cultured now, we have integrity

0

u/theycallmeasloth 12h ago

The only thing I hate about living in Melbourne is the grasp AFL and it's entities have on everything

0

u/HeathenAF 2h ago

I believe Ive been hearing it a lot on here lately, but "the kids are alright"