Rumour Bailey Smith mental health

sprockets

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Brad Goodman

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WTF? Have I missed something in the media?

I thought the announcement was that he was away from the club because of personal issues. Which could be family or anything surely?

I know he has spoken about his past struggles with his mental health, but when did it become fact that this is the case now?
 
1-4 year players have been back at the dogs for 3 weeks, he hasn’t been there, or at least seen anyway. So in theory since then he has been recovering, but I saw him on a friends insta story at circus? Nightclub in Melbourne last week or so. That’s pretty disappointing IMO.
It’s crazy that Bailey Smith pre draft had never drank at all and was so committed to getting the best out of himself. Then he enters a footy environment that is rich with a partying culture and now he supposedly parties hard.

I hope he is actually happy but it is sad what AFL footy can do to some people (not just drinking and drugs, but also gambling)
 

Golden_6

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WTF? Have I missed something in the media?

I thought the announcement was that he was away from the club because of personal issues. Which could be family or anything surely?

I know he has spoken about his past struggles with his mental health, but when did it become fact that this is the case now?
Mental health hasn’t been mentioned at all. It could be, it could not. People are putting 1 and 1 together and getting 4.

Media are pissants.
 
It’s crazy that Bailey Smith pre draft had never drank at all and was so committed to getting the best out of himself. Then he enters a footy environment that is rich with a partying culture and now he supposedly parties hard.

I hope he is actually happy but it is sad what AFL footy can do to some people (not just drinking and drugs, but also gambling)
What a weird ******* comment

Plenty of kids haven't drank, gambled or taken drugs until they leave school, join the work force or go to uni.


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GWT6

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What a weird ******* comment

Plenty of kids haven't drank, gambled or taken drugs until they leave school, join the work force or go to uni.


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The AFL has a massive drug and gambling culture, more so than the average workplace, likely due to the money they are on, average age and free time.
I know of a player who was given his first pills by his captain on the end-of-season trip. If he didn't get into the gear he would have been on the outside (not that he was complaining)
 
The AFL has a massive drug and gambling culture, more so than the average workplace, likely due to the money they are on, average age and free time.
I know of a player who was given his first pills by his captain on the end-of-season trip. If he didn't get into the gear he would have been on the outside (not that he was complaining)
Sounds like most work places I know
 
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The AFL has a massive drug and gambling culture, more so than the average workplace, likely due to the money they are on, average age and free time.
I know of a player who was given his first pills by his captain on the end-of-season trip. If he didn't get into the gear he would have been on the outside (not that he was complaining)
Which club?
 
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The AFL has a massive drug and gambling culture, more so than the average workplace, likely due to the money they are on, average age and free time.
I know of a player who was given his first pills by his captain on the end-of-season trip. If he didn't get into the gear he would have been on the outside (not that he was complaining)


You'll find if a player refuses the offer in these circumstances they aren't shunned like many would believe. There is often a respect for sticking to core values and not succumbing to peer pressure. If the refusing party is still fun to be around, enjoys a beer and doesn't act high and mighty then the dynamic has no reason to change.
 

offtherails9

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What a weird ******* comment

Plenty of kids haven't drank, gambled or taken drugs until they leave school, join the work force or go to uni.


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I don't think it's necessarily a weird comment at all. You wouldn't find many blokes on lists who haven't touched at least one beer before they're drafted. Most young people in a football environment see that drinking is something closely associated with footy and want that to be a part of their experience. I couldn't think of many footballers I know that wouldn't have had a beer before 18, whether they're the ones I know who made top level, state league or d grade amateurs.

Maybe abstaining from alcohol or not being allowed to drink has lead to him drinking at more dangerous levels now.

Anyway, back on topic. His absence wasn't from a family issue as much as the Dogs supporters on here will want you to believe.
 
Apr 27, 2008
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It’s crazy that Bailey Smith pre draft had never drank at all and was so committed to getting the best out of himself. Then he enters a footy environment that is rich with a partying culture and now he supposedly parties hard.

I hope he is actually happy but it is sad what AFL footy can do to some people (not just drinking and drugs, but also gambling)
Nah mate this is hardly an AFL thing. I had a few mates that were very straight and narrow in high school and made me look wild, but a week in to their uni stage of life they were proper party boys and I was the sheltered one. It was a complete reinvention of themselves.

These are mates from different crowds and age groups but I knew them before and during uni and they became different people.

I don't know what kind of thing it is, but it isn't just an AFL thing.

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Apr 27, 2008
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What's up with every zoomer thinking they have depression/anxiety?
Nothing like hearing a young person talk about how they hard anxiety following or preceding an event were anxiety would be a normal feeling about it.

That's not a thing, a condition, a struggle, an ailment. It's human nature.

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webbo_83

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Bailey Smith said he intended to not touch grog until his footy career was over. At the same time he was also a bit of a God botherer (I couldn't think of a better way to describe it - I am very, very respectful of religion and think it's place as a community builder and enhancer is undervalued by society in 2021).

I think asking questions about how he's become a party animal only a few years later is not unreasonable. Does this speak to his obsessive nature? I'd suggest it does, and further, I'd suggest that the Dogs drafted him wholly in the knowledge that his predispositions would mean that he'd be a challenge to manage for the entirety of his career.
 

GWT6

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You'll find if a player refuses the offer in these circumstances they aren't shunned like many would believe. There is often a respect for sticking to core values and not succumbing to peer pressure. If the refusing party is still fun to be around, enjoys a beer and doesn't act high and mighty then the dynamic has no reason to change.
"If you say no to drugs, people will respect your choice and admire you", haha, is this some bad 80's anti-drug ad?
 
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"If you say no to drugs, people will respect your choice and admire you", haha, is this some bad 80's anti-drug ad?

Life isn't a bright and sunny public service announcement. Nor are all drug users stereotypical 80's movie high school jocks who will cast you aside for a differing opinion.

I've had plenty of wonderful in-depth conversations with friends who partake about their reasons why, what they get from it and if they see it having an expiry date.

It doesn't stop me attending events where this all goes on, nor does any judgement get cast from either side. At the end of the day it's just personal choice. Just be happy with the personal decisions you've made.
 
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