I don't care about player behaviour.

[Catters 070911]

I have never got the fascination that the media, and many fans, have with how players conduct and carry themselves.

When I watch sport, I watch it for the contest, the feats, to see who will win or lose, to see who will overcome. Unless one party plays unfairly or cheats, I don't care how they act, since I care more about their performance than their behaviour. I pay to see a good contest, not to see boy scouts.

In tennis, people seem to have an obsession with player behaviour. They bag Kyrgios, Tomic etc for how they act, rather than how they play the game.

Personally, I think if one wants to be critical of Nick Kyrgios, it should be the fact that the guy has so much potential and talent, and yet seems to waste it, and not make the most of his god-given abilities. That should be what people are annoyed about, the waste of potential.

But people seem more upset that Kyrgios doesn't toe the line that the media and the public expect of him. They are more upset by his brashness and "too cool to care" attitude than his waste of ability.

I think many of the people who focus on behaviour in sport aren't really fans at all. Most of the "fans" condemning Kyrgios and co are probably the lot who follow tennis the two weeks it is in Melbourne, and don't care about it the rest of the year. Those who actually like the sport would focus more on performances, than behaviour.

I also think that Kyrgios is targeted by the media because he is his own man, and refuses to blow smoke up their collective asses, so they write bad articles about him in retaliation, and focus on how he acts, not how he plays.

I actually plan to focus just watching the rest of the Open, and read and watch about the matches themselves, and how people played, rather than the Tomic-Hewitt feud or how Nick Kyrgios is acting today.




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[1990crow]

I think you’ll find people would tolerate Nick and Bernie’s off field personalities and character (or lack thereof) if they were any good at tennis.
Unfortunately both are equally unprofessional as they are unwilling to put in the hard yards to get the most out of themselves. When the going gets tough on the field and off, these two simply “don’t care”.
That’s enough for the average Australian to turn off on these two players who Australian tennis should cut free.

 

[Spursfan]

I have never got the fascination that the media, and many fans, have with how players conduct and carry themselves.

When I watch sport, I watch it for the contest, the feats, to see who will win or lose, to see who will overcome. Unless one party plays unfairly or cheats, I don't care how they act, since I care more about their performance than their behaviour. I pay to see a good contest, not to see boy scouts.

In tennis, people seem to have an obsession with player behaviour. They bag Kyrgios, Tomic etc for how they act, rather than how they play the game.

Personally, I think if one wants to be critical of Nick Kyrgios, it should be the fact that the guy has so much potential and talent, and yet seems to waste it, and not make the most of his god-given abilities. That should be what people are annoyed about, the waste of potential.

But people seem more upset that Kyrgios doesn't toe the line that the media and the public expect of him. They are more upset by his brashness and "too cool to care" attitude than his waste of ability.

I think many of the people who focus on behaviour in sport aren't really fans at all. Most of the "fans" condemning Kyrgios and co are probably the lot who follow tennis the two weeks it is in Melbourne, and don't care about it the rest of the year. Those who actually like the sport would focus more on performances, than behaviour.

I also think that Kyrgios is targeted by the media because he is his own man, and refuses to blow smoke up their collective asses, so they write bad articles about him in retaliation, and focus on how he acts, not how he plays.

I actually plan to focus just watching the rest of the Open, and read and watch about the matches themselves, and how people played, rather than the Tomic-Hewitt feud or how Nick Kyrgios is acting today.




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Yeah I am not too fussed about the off court behaviour. I find it refreshing Tomic let's it rip in the pressers. People moan on about cliched responses from sportspeople (AFL players especially) and this guy tells it like it is (how it is in his own mind) and now people are up in arms about what he says.

 

[peternorth]

If someone in an individual sport doesnt care or wanna care, it's on them. I for one dont mind. Its their livelihood theyre pissing up against the wall.

In addition, there's been a lot of social media and comments stating "if i had that talent id (be winning/better etc.". Really? Like it's a definite the person would be a success?

 

[Aussie_boy]

Whilst ridiculously talented, I refuse to believe that Kyrgios got to a career high of no.13 overall without an awful lot of hard work to get there. Chances are he's now got to a level where he can make slam 4th rounds and quarters fairly regularly and is happy with the lifestyle he is now able to live.

 

[caesar88]

My favourite is when the same people who defend Kyrgios start criticising Serena Williams. Always makes for a good laugh when browsing social media and the sports news.

 

[Stax on the mill]

My favourite is when the same people who defend Kyrgios start criticising Serena Williams. Always makes for a good laugh when browsing social media and the sports news.

They both deserve a fair measure of criticism in my book. Kyrgios for his lack of on court effort on many occasions, which translates to a lack of respect and value for the paying public. Also his surly demeanour on and off court. Maybe others don’t care, but I do, because he’s Australian, and his serial s**t behaviour reflects poorly on Australia.

Williams deserves some criticism, because of sometimes arrogant behaviour, highlighted by her appalling, entitled behaviour at the U.S. Open. Also when beaten ( which doesn’t happen too often ) she always found an excuse, and rarely gave due credit to her opponent. To be fair, she has improved on that aspect in recent years. Can certainly never, ever question her on court commitment and effort. Tomic and Kyrgios could learn something there.

Call me old fashioned, but I detest s**t behaviour and poor manners , no matter how talented the player displaying those traits may be. It’s no excuse.

 

[peternorth]

They both deserve a fair measure of criticism in my book. Kyrgios for his lack of on court effort on many occasions, which translates to a lack of respect and value for the paying public. Also his surly demeanour on and off court. Maybe others don’t care, but I do, because he’s Australian, and his serial s**t behaviour reflects poorly on Australia.

Williams deserves some criticism, because of sometimes arrogant behaviour, highlighted by her appalling, entitled behaviour at the U.S. Open. Also when beaten ( which doesn’t happen too often ) she always found an excuse, and rarely gave due credit to her opponent. To be fair, she has improved on that aspect in recent years. Can certainly never, ever question her on court commitment and effort. Tomic and Kyrgios could learn something there.

Call me old fashioned, but I detest s**t behaviour and poor manners , no matter how talented the player displaying those traits may be. It’s no excuse.

I disagree, respectfully of course. It's an individual sport, just because they have a flag next to their name doesn't mean they are representing the country. You can have naturalised sportspersons who are brats too

 

[Steinfreo]

I think being an average preparer has finally caught up with Nick. He'll fade into obscurity now. So many hungry 19-20 year olds coming through, theyll all eat him up. Hell sit around that top 50 and retire in a few year from injury.

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

I disagree, respectfully of course. It's an individual sport, just because they have a flag next to their name doesn't mean they are representing the country. You can have naturalised sportspersons who are brats too

He's not representing Australia but, like it or not, his poor behaviour reflects on Australia.

 

[peternorth]

He's not representing Australia but, like it or not, his poor behaviour reflects on Australia.

We must be a s**t country then. Tomic, kyrios, philippousis, hewitt, warne, sandpaper gate, bosnich, nrl players, afl players etc.

 

[Catters 070911]

My favourite is when the same people who defend Kyrgios start criticising Serena Williams. Always makes for a good laugh when browsing social media and the sports news.

The difference is that a lot of people defend Williams' behaviour, but not Kyrgios", because Williams and her defenders play the race card and the gender card, so many won't criticise Williams for the same thing, lest they be called "racist" or "sexist".

 

[ozgamer]

Remember when Oprah Winfrey brought her TV audience here and we bent over backwards publicly like idiot servants in front of the world to put on a show for these good-for-nothing freeloaders? Remember all that tax payer money that was spent on this charade that was supposed to turn into $$$$tourist dollars$$$$. Yeah, it eventuated into sweet FA. But hey, at least the whole world likes us right?

It's this exact inferiority complex that actually reflects poorly on Australia. Caring what the rest of the world thinks of us because we have it in our heads that we need their validation to the point that if we don't get this universal approval then our lives are not worth living for is absolutely, utterly ludicrous. But hey, shitting on Kyrgios and friends make us feel better right? Straya!

 

[Catters 070911]

He's not representing Australia but, like it or not, his poor behaviour reflects on Australia.

I doubt a country which elevates a cop killer like Ned Kelly as a folk hero can have some moral stand about what is right or wrong.

 

[Catters 070911]

Did Nick or Bernie break their racquet this Australian Open in a tantrum? No, but Alexander Zverev did when he was losing to Milos Raonic?

Did Nick or Bernie throw their bag across court in a fit of rage after losing? No, but Pablo Carreno Busta did yesterday after losing to Kei Nishikori.

Has Nick or Bernie ever threatened to shove a tennis ball down an umpire's throat or threatened to kill an umpire? No, but Serena Williams has.

Has Nick or Bernie ever accused an umpire of favouring the opponent because of the colour of his skin, like Lleyton Hewitt did years ago, when he said to a linesman "Look at you, and then look at him" when he accused a black linesman of favouring his black opponent in the match, James Blake.

Has Nick or Bernie ever been disqualified and thrown out of the Australian Open? No, but John McEnroe has.

My point is, Nick and Bernie are hardly the only two players to misbehave. Where was the condemnation of any of these other people, when they committed these actions. Yet if Bernie or Nick did these things, Australians would pile on like no-one's business, yet they ignore the actions of these other players.

Nick and Bernie have not killed anyone, committed crimes or being involved in some scandal. They are not model citizens, but they are far from the evil people the media and the Australian public paint them to be.

 

[Catters 070911]

I heard something interesting said by a psychologist who was being interviewed on TV.

She said that if a child is forced into being a sole breadwinner at an early age, and doesn't have a normal childhood, then often that will manifest in later life into immaturity or child like behaviour, as the person, who is now an adult, never developed because they didn't learn the essential things you develop in childhood.

She said this in relation to Michael Jackson, who was performing at age six, and attributed his immaturity to that.

But, think about it, a lot of tennis players are forced into tennis at a young age, often as soon as they can hold a racquet, and are expected to be the sole breadwinner of the household, instead of being a child, and relying on the parent to support the family, like they should.

Also, notice something about Philippoussis, Dokic, Tomic, Kyrgios, and Hewitt. All have been accused of being bratty, and all had domineering fathers who tried to control their child's career, and often hindered others from having an influence. All of them, and Michael Jackson too, by all reports, all had s**t fathers who tried to feel special by pushing their child into performing and making money to support the whole family, at a young age.

So the loss of a normal childhood, where the child plays and learns, added to lack of healthy parental support, and being told that they are nothing unless they perform and succeed, could have stuffed up these people's mind and made them not handle situations like they should.

Look at Jelena Dokic. Recently, she revealed that she was beaten by Damir if she didn't perform, and lived in fear of him. I remember she got criticised by Australians for not disowning her father and talking about going back home with him. But she possibly was scared, and reacted accordingly.

Have we learned nothing from the Dokic episode. How do you know that these things haven't gone on with many of our tennis players?

I also think Tennis Australia have dropped the ball? Did they provide a support network for these players, a chaplain or consellor for them to talk to, in private? Have they thrown their arms around these players, and tried to get to the root of the behaviour? Have they provided mentoring and a listening ear, where they tell the player that their worth as a human being is not defined by whether they win a game of tennis or not?

We are all quick to condemn these players, but few attempt to try to understand them. Like with Dokic, there is probably much more going on then any of us know. It would be nice to give the benefit of the doubt until it can be determined if they are just entitled, or acting out because they have had a s**t upbringing, and being forced into a sport they were too young to make any choice over.

Maybe before waving the finger of judgment at these players, we as a nation, the media and Tennis Australia have to get better at how we react to these players. We don't know what lives they have faced, or what they went through. You all look at them and think that they are rich and have a charmed life, with no right to complain. We need to get better at being more understanding and sensitive to what is truly going on, instead of acting like tennis is the be-all and end-all, like their s**t fathers did.