What good comes of exposing players personal lives?

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mozgrame

Engorged member
Good write up. Thought I'd share it...

Dan Nicholls
– May 24, 2016

Just this week we have seen two very personal dramas broadcast very publicly as the personal lives of both Kieran Foran and Ben Barba have been splashed across the front and back pages of the large news publications.

Ignoring the irony of a rugby league ‘writer’ (note, not a journalist) bagging a paid journalist, I honestly cannot see any good in either story.

Neither Barba nor Foran broke any laws, and neither issue would have hit the papers should it had involved either you or me.

For those who missed it, and once again ignoring the irony of further publicising the comments for those who haven’t yet seen them, Foran was splashed across the papers, again, after a large betting loss.

Barba was supposedly involved in an altercation at Cronulla hotel with teammates and went home for a few days.

I fully admit to have losing a few dollars on the TAB. Given I bet in $2 and $5 lots, and my career losses wouldn’t be a hundredth of what Foran supposedly lost in one night, but I’m also not on $800,000 a season.

Foran is reportedly going through some personal issues right now and is obviously looking for a distraction.

What is so scandalous about a grown man betting, legally, with his own hard-earned money, that is needs to be printed and sent around the country?

Surely Foran, who is obviously struggling, did not need to see a reminder of his losses in print or retweeted online.

Hand on heart, who here hasn’t had a beer or a punt when dealing with something on a personal level?

We seem to forget that rugby league players are human and suffer the same problems we normal people do in our day-to-day lives.

But I ask you, what was wrong with what Kieran Foran did?

How does the public knowing he’s had a big night on the betting help him in any way?

The same for Ben Barba, who himself has fought to overcome his on off-field troubles, regarding his being involved with a supposed bust up with teammates?

If every single bust up between teammates hit the papers they’d be 500 pages thick. When you have twenty or so young men dealing with stress and such high stakes, spending so much time together, of course you’re going to get the odd argument.

Barba’s decline from Dally M medallist to broken man was a very public one. To his credit he put his head down, worked hard and is now playing incredibly well for the table-topping Sharks.

So let’s take a minor incident, blow it out of proportion, and risk undoing all the hard work?

It is ridiculous that journalists find a need to almost revel in the misfortune of others when there is so much going on in the game.

Latrell Mitchell and Ash Taylor look like the next superstars of the game, Valentine Holmes is scoring ridiculous tries for fun, and Johnathan Thurston continues to lay down a genuine case for being the greatest player of the modern era.

Where are the two-page “exclusives” about those players and their exploits?

Are we, as fans, that desperate to drag players down that we’re keen to read about players’ personal struggles and the minor incidents that go along with them?

There will be suggestions that the player’s struggles hitting the headlines may be wake up calls and help the players improve.

Once again, if every innocent, harmless, yet bad choice made by a rugby league player hit the news, the bulletins would be two hours long.

http://www.zerotackle.com/what-good...ers-personal-lives-21987/#8vu26Q2kPeguR8wJ.97
 
Privacy is quickly leaving us these days and if you're famous, yep good luck with that!
Lack of privacy is one of my bugbears but as I thought more about these two I wondered if, in both cases, it may have some intervention affect. In the case of Barba, maybe the shame of the violence toward his partner (with no Greenberg to cover up) may actually stop him. What else will?
Similarly with Foran, it's one thing to lose large slabs of money gambling but while it's not known, there's nothing to shame him into realising the depth of his problem and the nightmare road he is on.
Just a thought.
I'm pretty sure if I was the partner (or former partner) of either, I'd be wanting some kind of intervention.
 
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Hypocritical tripe :mad:

This reporter makes his money exactly the same way that the ones who write about the anti social celebrities do.:cool:

Why did he not use this chance to write about the amazing tries... :rolleyes:
Why did he reiterate the Foran gambling and Barba altercation :rolleyes:

The Foran gambling allegedly happened two hours out of rehab.
Now that is a life lesson to be learnt by those who expect rehab to be a quick fix.

Barba is also an example to those who thoughtlessly reproduce and don't appreciate the stress of parenting, regardless of what level of income they may be on. Another whose rehabilitation was not completed in order to get him back onto the sporting field.

Showing up the weaknesses in a Celebrity, often helps others who are struggling to seek professional help.:nod:
 
"Neither Barba nor Foran broke any laws, and neither issue would have hit the papers should it had involved either you or me."

For those who missed it, and once again ignoring the irony of further publicising the comments for those who haven’t yet seen them, Foran was splashed across the papers, again, after a large betting loss.

He has obviously been known to have a big punt for some years, and it hasn't hit the papers. It hit the papers this time (you dope) because it occurred just hours after getting temporary release from a mental institution, and just weeks after being hospitalised for ? reasons, and because the alleged $$'s were a years wages. That would be news in Tokelau.

Barba, I agree with. Family matters are and should be private. The bust up with team mates in a public area though is open slather.
 
the point of the article is spot on though.

"..personal struggles and the minor incidents that go along with them?"

Both these guys seem to lack the maturity to be family men. :(

I disagree that gambling/drinking away the family's money is a minor issue.

Their chosen coping mechanism for their stress,is not conducive to a happy life for anyone in their care @:cool:
 
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The article is a might naive. If someone famous s..ts the wrong way, it will be front page news. That's what journos do. Look for every nitty gritty about our tall poppies and bring them down. Its a living.
 
The thread title says what good comes from.....

News is not about creating good.
 
"..personal struggles and the minor incidents that go along with them?"

Both these guys seem to lack the maturity to be being family men. :(

I disagree that gambling/drinking away the family's money is a minor issue.

Their chosen coping mechanism for their stress,is not conducive to a happy life for anyone in their care @:cool:

I understand all the social media thing, the tall poppy thing, finding dirt on people in the spotlight etc etc, it is the way of today....but ok then, if you think this is your business, that you need to know this, that you have a right to know this, and if being fair people should know when us regulars aren't making the best decisions in our lives for our family and self well being, then good on you. I don't know your age, but perhaps this is what you grew up with and all you know?

The below isn't aimed at you happily manly,
I did it for a long time too when i was in my 20's, I found dirt and loved hearing dirt on others because it made me feel better that my life wasn't the only one that sucked and i could put others down. I've seen it with many younger people at my workplace of over 5k staff. Tip, get happy or do things for yourself to get happy, and you know what, this and the fact that people are different is not relevant to me.

Rant over :)
 
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I'm sort of in two minds on this one.

Agree that nothing 'good' really comes of it (although the point made earlier about bringing awareness to an issue or helping someone wake up to themselves is a good one).

But on the other hand, at least part of the reason these guys make the money they do and can live the lifestyles they do is because they're in the public eye. Foran, for example, would get more personal sponsorships and endorsements than other players because he's been seen as a clean-cut, family man type. If that's not the truth, then maybe he shouldn't be getting paid as if it were.

It's a bit like Lara Bingle sooking about paparazzi now that she's popped out a kid. Sweetheart, you only have the money you do and the film star husband you do because your publicists spent years ringing the paparazzi to tell them when you'd be getting naked on your balcony. If you wanted the quiet life perhaps you should've thought of that earlier.
 
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I understand all the social media thing, the tall poppy thing, finding dirt on people in the spotlight etc etc, it is the way of today....but ok then, if you think this is your business, that you need to know this, that you have a right to know this, and if being fair people should know when us regulars aren't making the best decisions in our lives for our family and self well being, then good on you. I don't know your age, but perhaps this is what you grew up with and all you know?

The below isn't aimed at you happily manly,
I did it for a long time too when i was in my 20's, I found dirt and loved hearing dirt on others because it made me feel better that my life wasn't the only one that sucked and i could put others down. I've seen it with many younger people at my workplace of over 5k staff. Tip, get happy or do things for yourself to get happy, and you know what, this and the fact that people are different is not relevant to me.

Rant over :)
I'm happily sixty years old and have seen all levels of society's ills exposed, examined and disregarded for that long.:)

It's the human condition to be interested in social issues. People's behaviour makes our society what it is.

The exposes on League Players, is no different to exposes on politicians, business leaders and everyday people who excel or fail.

Normal people do get lambasted by the tabloid media, but the interest in them is minimal to that of celebrities, so is buried away from the headlines. It doesn't sell papers :cool:

Whereas the lives of the ruling class, or now mere celebrities,has always been news. The stuff of all great literature is the human condition of success and failure @:cool:

But it's easy to ignore the tabloids if it irritates you. :nod:

I find the themes they address a fascinating aspect of the social trends.

The 180 degree reversals of social mores in the space of just a few decades, never ceases to amaze me.@:cool:

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It's really no different to the trash you see in those magazines at the check outs of the supermarkets.

You earn the big bucks these days , you become a celebrity , and your life is no longer yours.

Like it or not such is modern society.
 
This writer is trying to take the high ground but contributing to drawing attention to the fact that Foz had gambling issues and Barba social and family ones, all the while bagging other reporters for doing so.o_O
 
But remember, that although his gambling and his marriage break up were known to people in the press, none felt it relevant until..

The NZ rugby League and Parramatta Captain was rushed to hospital for a suspected overdose. That is newsworthy.

His actions past that point have only added to a very real story. Allegations of dodgy deals, paternity rumours, whisked of to rehab, gambling a years wages in hours after release.

This is not about digging up dirt, or tall poppy syndrome, these are genuine news stories. Whether the writing of the story serves some greater good is not the role of the newsman, that is the role of censors.

The story may be a tragedy, but it is a story.
 
I don't really give a hoot, nor do most who hear these stories....why try explain a situation & justify them as do Gooders....personally only interested in what happens on the field....
The one & only thing that pi##es me off personally with these stories....
If it's an NRL player it's dragged through the mud & front page news....when it's AFL, soccer or Rugby union, it's all swept under the carpet & top secret.
Prefer to hear none of the dirt but if it's going to be highlighted, which it will...lets paint these other sports also...no wonder rugby league is dwindling...the ONLY sport where the public see ALL the dirty laundery.
 

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