hey, please answer my poll

[harmony]

Hey,
I don't post on this site, so i don't know how much respond i will get to this.
I was directed to this site because i am doing a project about individuals in a power house. One of the people i have to investigate is Joseph Gutnick, and i know its been a while since anything major happened in his depratment, but i would appriciate it greatly if you could just answer my quick poll.
As you know, Joseph is an individual mainly due to his religion and his strong sense of Judaism; so my question to you is:
Do you think that Joseph Gutnick's religion/religious beliefes have had an influence on his role within the Melbourne Football Club or the AFL?

Also if you have any comment you are welcome to write them down.

Thanks very much,
Harmony

 

[GOALden Hawk]

I said no as the events that have taken place over the past 6 months would have occurred regardless of Joe's religion or not.

However, a key point to note is Gutnick's religion was the sole reason some player of Jewish descent was not drafted (it was Ezra Poyas I think, and Richmond drafted him instead).

 

[The Hitman]

Nothing has indicated to me his religion has influenced the situation at the MFC. It is his attitude towards those who were pro merger...not his Judaism.

 

[CJH]

I had to answer yes!

A few reasons:

• Being both a Rabbi and a conservative Othordox Jew, he would have a very strong set of core values and morals. As with business, this would have no choice but to guide his thinking as President of the Melbourne Football Club.
• Due to his observance of the Sabbath, he is unable to perform any presidential match day duties if Melbourne play on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
• Being a Rabbi can sometimes represent a conflict of interest with the Melbourne Football Club. An unsubstantiated report from the 1999 National Draft suggests that Melbourne passed over selecting Ezra Poyas (also Jewish) as this may have put Joe in an untenable position where is was requiring one of his "employees" to break the Sabbath.

 

[Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk]

well i am not religious or nothing and probably don't understand it but i just don't know how he could put his religion before football on so many occasions. This is pretty disrespectful i guess but I mean u r either the president of a football club or u can go be the bloody president of the church if that is your number 1 priority!

 

[dee_girl9]

Originally posted by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk
well i am not religious or nothing and probably don't understand it but i just don't know how he could put his religion before football on so many occasions. This is pretty disrespectful i guess but I mean u r either the president of a football club or u can go be the bloody president of the church if that is your number 1 priority!

but on the other hand, it is more disrespectful (through his eyes anyway) to put football b4 religion. And it is not just football that joseph sacrifices with his religion. it is all his other business interests as well.......

His religion has reflected in his influences of the melbourne football club in a couple of ways. Apparently the decision to draft Ezra Poyas was one (but i have my doubts about it) that Joseph decided on....... and the other main one is that melbourne have a substantial number of Sunday games this year. this is so joseph can attend them.

there is one thing i will tell u about the business dealings of joseph gutnick...... he likes to have his fingers in every available pie.. he does this with his other businesses, and has tried to with the football club. part of his demise could be attributed to this. If he had his way, im sure he would have picked the side every week, and told neale and co who he wanted on the list and what not. so yeah hope that has helped.....

 

[Mr Ripper]

Huwwo, Dee! Still loitering here, huh?

 

[Voice of Reason]

harmony

I voted yes because Joseph clearly cannot participate fully in MFC events taking place on Friday night or Saturday.

When the Poyas drafting happened (to Geelong I think?), there was a lot of press. You should research this, but I think that JG denied any direct involvement in the decision - he said that the football department separately decided to pick someone else. However, he did say that he could not be a party to having a Jewish player (such as Poyas) playing on the Sabbath. In fact I think he said he felt so strongly that he would resign as President. Please check this - I may not have remembered this all correctly.

The cynics among us (including me) believe that there are other motivations besides religion that drive JG, such as
a) power and
b) the desire to demonstrate a commitment to corporate governance that reflects well on his business & PR image (eg "owning up" and taking action re salary cap breaches).

 

[lioness]

A VERY interesting issue indeed!!!! I voted yes, most of the reasons I did so have been mentioned many times by others, so I won't parrot them off again. But yeah, I will say, as soon as I saw the poll, I thought 'yes' because of his non-participation on Saturdays, that is a VERY big influence on his role as President. And like I said, the rest of the reasons are all up there, I did just wanna mention my immediate 'yes' reaction.

 

[harmony]

Thank you guys very much for all your help.
Of course this is only a small indication of what AFL supporters think, your opinion has helped me very much with my research.
Thanks again!

Harmony!

 

[CJH]

I think you are right in every detail there Voice of Reason apart from where Poyas was drafted to! He was picked up by Richmond!

 

[harmony]

Thanks everybody for your help, it assisted me in the project and i'll be sure to thank you in my project