Sports greatest riddle - what is a dickhead

[dogwatch]

Yep, cause Trump has murdered millions in the past year.

I wasn't suggesting for an instant that Trump is a mass murderer or as evil as either Hitler or Stalin.
My comment referred to the idea that winning is its own endorsement. Given time and historical perspective we often make a different assessment.

 

[Mr. Walker]

I wasn't suggesting for an instant that Trump is a mass murderer or as evil as either Hitler or Stalin.
My comment referred to the idea that winning is its own endorsement. Given time and historical perspective we often make a different assessment.

So you are saying that having named Adolf Hitler as their Man of the Year in 1938, Time Magazine might make a different assessment now?

 

[dogwatch]

So you are saying that having named Adolf Hitler as their Man of the Year in 1938, Time Magazine might make a different assessment now?

Perhaps not. Time has had a lot of dubious people feature as Person of the Year over the last 90 years. Their defence has usually been that these were the newsmakers, not necessarily the good guys. As further proof (and for totalitarian balance), Joseph Stalin was named MotY in 1939 ... and again in 1942. It's always US-centric though, so you have to take that into account.

Our own man in the news, Jake Stringer, would therefore be unlikely to make the shortlist for 2017. However if it was Dickhead of the Year ... naah, probably not even then.

 

[fronkalicious]

Apologies in advance for the length of the post.

I've worked in professional sport for over 17 years. In which time, Ive become a devotee of the "No Dickheads" policy.

As with most things, the devil with this, is in the detail. What divides most people (and confuses bad clubs), is what exactly defines a "dickhead".

For me, there are 2 types. One is altogether acceptable, and in a lot of cases, can actually enhance the culture and performance of a team. The other is a cancer, that if left, can destroy the entire fabric of a club.

Exhibit A is Kurtley Beale (excuse the cross code reference). Kurtley loves a beer, and his behaviour on the piss is always questionable. He's had multiple run ins with police, and other behavioural issues that involve him drinking. But when it comes to footy, he trains like a demon. He's committed to the sport, is a genuinely good guy at heart, and insanely popular with his peers. Dickhead Type 1.

Exhibit B is a player who's behaviour pro-actively has a negative impact on the rest of the group. A player whose choices seriously (and I mean seriously) impact his capacity to train and prepare in any way close to a professional athlete. A player who encourages his team mates to join him in his after hours pursuits. A player who wont conform to leadership directives (both playing and coaching) despite persistent warnings. A player who consistently puts himself above the group. Dickhead type 2.

So the outsider sees Kurtley Beale in the papers semi-regularly, in some kind of piss related trouble, and our boy Jake, never in the news for anything other than football, and cant quite fathom how one survives, and the other is shown the door. I get it. On the surface it doesn't make sense, but to those on the inside, it means everything.

I'm not going to be explicit about exactly what Jake has done. But I am 100% thrilled that he's no longer part of the club I love. I'm incredibly proud of the stand that Beveridge, McCartney, Gordon, Bonti and the leadership group have taken. I'm completely convinced that these are the brave decisions that great clubs make.

He leaves the club with MASSIVE debts owed, both literally and figuratively. With fractured relationships with players, coaches and officials, for the contempt in which he held our club this year.

Jake's had a tough run (much of his own doing) and is clearly dealing with some significant, and very serious addiction issues. None of which can be undersold. I genuinely hope he gets on top of his problems and enjoys the rest of his life.

He's not the devil. Just a massive "Dickhead", and one that is no longer wanted at the Western Bulldogs.

So every time he kicks a goal or does something great next year, don't cower or resent whats happened here. The very best sports teams and clubs are built on a fabric and an emotion that you cant see on your TV screens on Saturday afternoon. Surely the last 2 flag winners have shown us that more than ever. And Jake was a major part of tearing that down in 2017. Its not something that I'll forgive him for, and I'm incredibly glad he's gone.

Bump for Stringer chat. Note the bold.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Some people want specific details before they'll be convinced (or not). I'm not one of them, I've heard enough. I'm also glad our leadership team took direct action and didn't waver. They really should have done it sooner but I'm sure they gave him every chance to turn things around. For those saying they should have done "more", there is only so much an employer can do to change an employee's attitude and behaviour. It's not a school. They didn't badmouth Jake and helped him find another home, which was not easy, as information would have been available.

 

[Reptilia]

Bump for Stringer chat. Note the bold.

Is something happening in regards to that at the moment ?

 

[Testekill]

Is something happening in regards to that at the moment ?

It was pretty well known that Stringer is a massive gambler and was no longer in control of his money as Abby was put in charge of the family finances.

 

[NBates]

Love LOVE Ricky Gervais

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Unorth]

The cagey posts about stringer (or any such matter, like the great Carlisle debacle never forget) are a little annoying. But I get not wanting to get in trouble by putting out direct statements online.

But you can disregard all the secrecy and still know enough when it came to stringer. Literally one club was interested in the end, with one more being a possibility. A young proven goal kicker with immense talent that was AA a couple of years ago, the entire afl world knew we wouldn't have him back and wouldn't cost a fortune because of that, yet in the end the interest was minimal. So we wanted to stay well away, and almost every other club in the league wanted to stay away. While the juicy details would be interesting, really, how his exit from the team played out tells us everything we need to know.

 

[ScragCity]

The package