Friday dilemma: thin ice or fair crack at a dope?

PsychoHyena says:

12:52pm | 16/03/12

got it in one.

Very Funny says:

02:37pm | 16/03/12

Mr Bradbury has been the butt of jokes for many a year. It’s about time he got one back!

DOB says:

04:14pm | 16/03/12

Uh, Merlyn, it was to a group that included many of Cousin’s friends and former teammates, a number of whom were also mates of chris Mainwaring’s, at a time when Ben Cousins is reportedly back in rehab, in a city where Ben Cousins is remembered as a great young kid who had great charm and appeared everywhere (especially radio and charity gigs) in his very early years, and who subsequently went badly - and sadly - off the rails (people from outside Perth would probably not know about- or appreciate - the promise and heart Cousins showed in so many ways as a youngster, which is what still drives his popularity in this part of the world, which must appear mysterious to those who only know Cousins as the senior WCE star). Its the equivalent of turning up at an irish function and telling irish jokes - only worse. As Swingdog said, good joke, bad location.

Robert Smissen of country SA says:

11:15pm | 16/03/12

Making jokes about a Bogan footballer not appropriate? ? ? Next you’ll say that making jokes about pollies is not on. Toughen up princess! !

acotrel says:

06:52am | 17/03/12

The joke was pretty arrogant.  ‘There but for the grace of God .... ’ !
What happened with Bradbury on the ice, can happen in motorcycle road racing in an instant - a win is a win ! If you are on the receiving end, the joke is on everybody else who landed on their bums on the deck.

Wynston Cruso says:

01:05pm | 16/03/12

6. Ben Cousins is a douche and deserves ridicule.

He needn’t have apologised. It’s healthy to make fun of failed, drug addict sports stars, and funny to boot.

Bomb78 says:

03:21pm | 16/03/12

And the West Coast Eagles either a) knew about the problems in Ben Cousins life, and did their best to keep it quiet, or b) they didn’t know, in which case they must have been trying very hard NOT to know. Cousins’ can’t blame anyone but himself for the mess his life is, but the Weagles could have done better by him.
Great joke, it’s a pity there are so many people that get easily offended these days.

Pie in the Sky says:

02:31pm | 16/03/12

I’m not just scared Tommy.

I’m Shitscared.

AdamC says:

11:57am | 16/03/12

Yeah, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. I thought the joke was quite funny.

Tom says:

03:54pm | 16/03/12

I reckon Ben would laugh at that one.

Hamish says:

01:22pm | 16/03/12

Not really. WCE had a dominant midfield, but their depth and class in other areas was limited. It was an interesting period in the AFL with the Swannies winning a flag without a lot of stars but great discipline and an extremely effective defensive game plan.

You did also just miss out in 2005 by a couple of points.

TimR says:

12:30pm | 16/03/12

Pretty sure that would be Bob Carr

Chris L says:

01:38pm | 16/03/12

Great comeback TimR. There’s no getting past the old “No, you are!” return.

Zoe says:

02:07pm | 16/03/12

Wouldn’t it be Tony Abbott?  Slipped through after Turnbull and Hockey took each other out?

Bruce says:

03:49pm | 16/03/12

Na ! Doin’ a Juliar for me !  There will be no “fill in blank” under a “fill in blank” I lead. This is now a classic corporate response.

Rose says:

03:50pm | 16/03/12

So you’re suggesting that Cousins became a drug addict purely for self-promotion?
The problem I now have s not with the joke, that should have just slipped through unnoticed, it’s with all the superior beings who think that they are so superior to Cousin’s or seem to think that because of his illness he is somehow less a person.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone!! Just remember your superiority complex may come and bite you on the arse someday, as no family is immune to the struggles of either mental illness or drug addiction.

stephen says:

04:48pm | 16/03/12

Cousins is too good a footballer to concoct an elaborate drama that is really played out against his health.
He needs a network of friends around him, and from the code, not bikies or girls who lean against walls, smoking.

You can see that he has quality.
I don’t think he knows it himself.

Fiddler says:

04:49pm | 16/03/12

Ok. I am not a drug addict. Being a drug addict is not a disease. You put yourself there. I am saying that his “Such is life” video was nothing but self promotion.

There, it’s out there

Rose says:

06:17pm | 17/03/12

There are many reasons people become drug addicts, choice is never one of them! Drug addiction is treated in a medical sense and, while disease is probably not the most accurate description, it’s the best word we have to describe it.
I think his video was done with the best of intentions, that he really meant that he was trying to get back on track. He has been publicly vilified by people like you for so long he absolutely had the right to try and explain his side of the story.
The fact that a man with the talent and potential that Cousins has can fall to addiction is a sober lesson for us all. No one is immune, in the right (wrong) circumstances we are all vulnerable to mental illness and addiction.

Bernie says:

01:06pm | 16/03/12

Yep. Buy him some alcohol. Good idea.

Craig of North Brisbane says:

02:14pm | 16/03/12

Pretty sure Ben would prefer some hard drugs to a beer.

VVS says:

04:31pm | 16/03/12

It’s a cracker of a joke delivered in the perfect setting. Right in the faces of those close to it.

The most memorable ones are - Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes anyone?

Little Joe says:

02:48pm | 16/03/12

@ Kassandra ..... I am with you on this one!!!

“You remember Steven Bradbury. He’s the short track speed skater who won gold when all his opponents fell over at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics 10 years and a few weeks ago.” I have read some garbage on “The Punch” but this line would have to top them.

Sharwood is a typical sports journalist who would have probably struggled running up 10 flights of stairs in the peak of his athletic condition. Doesn’t understand the early mornings, long draining practice sessions, weights sessions, controlled diet, endurance training ..... all done over a prolonged, unrelenting, time frame with little or no money.

Just making it to the Olympic Games is an achievement ....... he made it to the final!!!! While Anthony Sharwood admires his participation ribbons in the U10 100m Heats, Steven Bradbury won a gold medal at the Olympic Games!!!

Paul says:

02:35pm | 16/03/12

I thought it was funny. I always felt the over-reaction was from people who didn’t really get the joke. 
I thought the Ben Cousins ice joke was good too - pretty game though telling it to a bunch of WC Eagles members…

Cynicised says:

08:01pm | 16/03/12

I remember at the time saying that humor is amoral, funny is funny. The problem is that some things are so close to the bone for the majority of people the humour is lost because your audience finds it to be in very poor taste. The problem with the Chaser’s sketch was a lack of self -censorship. Not every gag they came up with had to be used. Their hubris did them in n that occasion.

As for Bradbury’s joke, hell yes it was funny, but definitely the wrong audience. 

By the way, I do wish Ben well in his rehab. Addiction is hard to break- (geez, there’s another ice gag there just begging! Lol!)

Dazza says:

02:12pm | 16/03/12

What you mean like being part of the relay team to win the first ever Australian Winter Olympics medal and a former World Champion in his chosen sport?? Not to mention most top level skaters nowadays use skates he has designed…Yeah nothing ever since!

Big Jay says:

03:15pm | 16/03/12

@Anjuli - He won a gold medal and has gone down in Australian sporting folklore (rightly or wrongly)...Who cares if he’s done nothing ever since? How many gold medals have you won? Been on TV much?

Rick of the Dustbowl says:

03:04pm | 16/03/12

He should have told the one about how great it would be to be Ben….......only one more sleep till Christmas!

Lachlan says:

11:03am | 17/03/12

Ben has been given chance after chance. Chances no-one else would get. Why? because he can kick a football.

You know what, bugger him if he can’t take a joke. If he were anyone else he would be dead, or in prison now. His salary could have paid for dozens of rehabilitation treatments for people who might actually mean something in this world. Not just another spoiled footballer.

Pugilist says:

03:45pm | 16/03/12

This is the thing about Bradbury’s legacy. The naysayers alway think he just fell in to an Olympic final and then the rest of the field fell over and he was handed the gold medal on a plate. It ignores the training, dedication, committment and desire that he obviously had. It’s not like a running race where people fall over rarely. Ice skaters have much more of a chance of falling as such the race is more of a lottery. Yes, he was a way back, but he did make an OLYMPIC FINAL.
Bradbury has always taken the circumstances of his gold medal with grace, good-humour and humbleness.
It’s a pity the people at the Eagle’s function took offence. Their skin is thinner than the skin on my nethers.
Maybe they bristled because they sat around on their hands for so long while Cousin’s was obviously self-destructing.
If they had shown as much care about Cousin’s at the time as they did about the joke then maybe it wouldn’t have even been an issue in the first place.

Anthony Sherratt says:

08:30pm | 16/03/12

But it wouldn’t have received any coverage if they hadn’t made a fuss over it. And if a brand can be bought down by a single joke then I would suggest it isn’t very strong in the first place.

Sarah says:

04:07pm | 17/03/12

In the article I read the media were the only ones making a fuss over it. Worsfold just shrugged it off. And of course one joke wouldn’t bring down the brand, the Eagles are thriving again only a few years on from the whole ordeal. The point is that they are trying very hard to separate themselves from that image. The joke caught the media’s attention and now the issue is back in the spotlight for a short time. While it won’t bring down the brand, it certainly doesn’t help it, which was what Bradbury was essentially being paid to do. I know if I paid someone to speak to or for my business I’d want them to inspire, not draw unnecessary attention to our mistakes or generate negative publicity. That’s just common sense. The article focused on whether the joke was appropriate due to its content, when the main reason it was inappropriate was due to its context.

Popp Suckett says:

05:16pm | 17/03/12

Ralph is my favourite muppett

Rose says:

11:57am | 17/03/12

No, you are wrong. The Chaser gag was inappropriate , in extremely poor taste and was not even funny.
As for telling jokes about Cousins, it just means you have a limited sense of humour and are unable to find humour without putting some one else down. It says way more about you than it does about Ben Cousins!

Chris L says:

05:19pm | 17/03/12

Are you the final word on what is humour, Rose? I’d like to be sure, because I know a few other pompous narcissists who would challenge you for the title.

Armpit says:

06:52pm | 18/03/12

I agree the Chaser joke wasn’t funny, but didn’t make fun of sick kiddies, rather the notion that giving them an expensive gift somehow makes up for the fact they will die.
I felt the Chaser boys wimped out on that one and shouldn’t have apologised.

It’s quite ironic since there is a program called Reno 911! on GO! late at night which would have these middle class hand wringers in fits.

Best part about it is the show is hilarious.