Rugby league responds: I’m not racist

marley says:

02:53pm | 15/06/10

It’s not what Greg Inglis thinks about his aboriginality, it’s what Andrew Johns thought and said about it that mattered.  And the attitudes of a member of the coaching staff towards other races is in fact the business not only of Timana Tahu, but of everyone else involved with the team and indeed with the game.

Graham S says:

01:55pm | 15/06/10

Greg, I wouldn’t be lumping in “Australians in general’ over the inability of the dinosaurs running and involved in NRL in addressing racism. You should have a look at what the AFL addressed nearly 20 YEARS ago when racism became an issue involving Michael Long & Nicky Winmar, two of this codes greatest indigenous players who took a stance like Tahu over inappropriate comments that had dogged the sport for years. Racism is no longer an issue in the AFL and is considered a serious offence and incurs substantial fines and penalties. If Tahu and Johns were involved with the AFL and these alleged comments became known, Johns would be out the door so fast it wouldn’t matter. The trouble with the NRL it is a throwback to the 1950’s in all its attitudes whether its this, drinking, assaults, player off field behavior or general demeanor . It’s not fickle and for the NRL to ignore the comments is further proof of them being so divorced from modern attitudes it borders on pathetic. Ask any indigenous or non European AFL player how they are treated and respected by all followers of the game. The AFL plays the NRL on a break when it comes to stamping out this form of behavior

Alice says:

04:01pm | 15/06/10

I would like to comment about race, because there is nothing to feel embarrassed about.  We are all different shapes, sizes and colours.  There is nothing to feel ashamed about for feeling bonded to one’s race.  Mine happens to be white.

For ease of description, I will refer to white people as “white” and brown people as “brown”. 

Following a state of origin series won by Queensland, I watched a rather curious onfield trophy presentation.  The full team gathered for the usual group photo, and I was surprised to see the brown players separate from the white players.  They took the trophy a little distance away in order to be photographed separately.  I’m thinking, is this racism?  Why would they do that?  Isn’t that a discourtesy?  I felt a little bit offended about that.

This scene would never be the other way around, because we would hear loud, horrid shouts of “racism”.  There would be public outcry. But for my white race this didn’t seem to matter.   

That experience left me wondering about double standards, and why discrimination is permitted towards some but not others.

This story has nothing to do with the Johns publicity.  It’s a courteous reminder that discrimination is not always perpetrated in a one-way direction.  “Racism” is not restricted to any particular skin colour.

Old Salt says:

08:38pm | 15/06/10

Graham S, i wouldn’t be holding up the AFL as the shining light for behaviour - Ben Cousins? Drug policy that only gets made public after three strikes? Brenden Fevola? How is there attitude? I’m not defending NRL but merely pointing out you need a better example then AFL.

L. says:

02:48pm | 15/06/10

“Little to no global exposure, a string of violence, corruption, rapes, assults, drugs, racism that doesnt go away.”

And AFL doesn’t havethese things..??..really..??..you sure..??

Gavin says:

04:08pm | 15/06/10

Don’t forget New Zealand, Freddie!!
League survives because it is such a great spectacle on TV. The huge body collisions make great viewing that the other codes can’t match.
AFL die hards can blow all day about how good it is out at the ground, but when it comes to TV, league is awsome.
When they finally get their act together with the independant commision and get rid of the dinosaurs, they will challenge for the No1 spot australia wide. The changes should have been made in the 90’s when league had the tina turner adds and was the dominant sport accross the country.

Dark Rider says:

07:18pm | 15/06/10

Gavin, clearly you are in some sort of parallel universe, but I can assure you that in the real world league has never been “the dominant sport across the country”. Personally, I find league about as interesting as watching paint dry, and it seems the crowd attendances indicate the majority of people agree with me. I find AFL boring now that it has been sanitised too, but they can still get more people to one game than the whole of league put together.

Greek Snake says:

12:32pm | 16/06/10

The race argument needs to end. Players will use whatever they can to get a mental edge over someone in competitive sport. You either rule players can’t sledge at all, or everything is allowed. None of this “anything but racist comments” bullshit. If I can exploit someones weakness over his insecurities about his race, I sure as hell will to gain competitive advantage.

I don’t care if he’s a boong, a wog, nigger, a gook or a curry, if these names offend you, harden up! Fancy playing one of the roughest sports in the country and not being able to take a little name calling…

On the “which is the better sport” debate… they are both terrible sports. It is this pathetic Australian tendency to proclaim being the best at something that forces people to either of these lame sports. Of course Australia is the best at AFL, no body else will play the damn game. Of course we are great at rugby, what are there 3 other countries that play it?

Fact is though, Australians watch AFL far more than any of the rugby spin offs.

Notice at the world cup, in the world sport, Australia doesn’t even compete. I’m amazed we even qualified. I look forward to a quick exit from the competition, to minimise embarrassment.

antiperspirant says:

02:04pm | 15/06/10

Haven’t you seen Mr Lockyer on the drink caught on cctv?

He is not really a clean skin.

Look I agree there are a lot of good people in the league’s ranks but all they are is footballers. We keep rewarding performance, take Johns, over any criteria. They are not suited to be role models. They play sport. That is all.

Here is a heavy drinking, drug taker being asked to be a face to the game and a mentor to the games stars both old and new.

Sends a kind of funny message.

And never forget that is was well known in Newcastle and throughout the league he was into to some questionable activities while playing.

Nothing was done of course (similar to West Coast in the AFL) as long as he played well it was all good.

The ugly truth hurts when it comes out but then we can have the good rehab stories to make it all right and give him a coaching gig etc etc etc.

He is a lout and shouldn’t be allowed near anything connected to the game.

You reap what you sow.

Derek Smalls says:

02:57pm | 15/06/10

Andy is right: what can you expect from a code that encourages its players to ignore education?
Leaguies go from being schoolyard stars to being professionals with no step and no life experience in-between.
Then if they dare to explore other opportunities in life - and what 20-something does not want to? - they are branded traitors, creating an inbred, inward-looking culture.
Rugby League is an idiocracy.

Tim says:

03:54pm | 15/06/10

Are you really that stupid.
Do you think the university “degrees” that American football players get are even worth the paper they are written on?
And don’t kid yourself into thinking that these “amateur” university leagues are anything of the sort.

marley says:

07:14pm | 15/06/10

@Tim - well, they’re worth more than a year 9 drop-out diploma.

Dark Rider says:

07:21pm | 15/06/10

Dream on Andy. Guys with football potential go to university on a “football scholarship” which means that so long as they play up to expectations, they will also get a degree, which as Tim points out, is not worth the paper upon which it is written.

BTS says:

05:59am | 16/06/10

Who says it’s football that keeps them in university and not the other way around?

On what ‘actual’ basis do you say that they aren’t doing the same subjects and studying/passing just like all the other students?

Andy says:

08:36am | 16/06/10

Tim, why does it need to be an insult, why do you have to call people stupid, can’t you just disagree?

The idea that those on sports scholarships don’t actually earn their degrees is a childish knee-jerk one that ignores the actual reality.

Really, it’s not about the degree though, it’s about the sport having a semi-professional league where young players are taught and mentored in an environment where they can learn how to be PROFESSIONAL sportsmen without the pressure of a professional league.

Most college sports players in the US choose not to go on to a professional sports career, they use those years at university to investigate other life options. I think that is the most telling statistic.

The US system is about choices, and as long as we have people in Australia like Tim and Dark Rider with their 1970s attitudes we will rob our young sportsmen of the choices they deserve.

Tim says:

12:51pm | 16/06/10

Andy,
i called you stupid simply because you are completely ignorant if you think that the majority of professional football players drop out of high school in this country. It simply doesn’t happen.

And most US college footballers choose not to go onto a professional career?
That’s hilarious.
They don’t choose anything of the sort. It is forced on them when they don’t get picked up by a professional team. They are used and then spat out when they don’t make it.

I agree that there could be better training given to our footballers but to hold up the US system as an ideal is beyond a joke.

Andy says:

04:03pm | 16/06/10

Tim, you throw around words like ‘stupid’ and ‘ignorant’ but from everything I have seen you look like the ignorant one. You might make a better case if you look up some facts before you post.

I find it very hard to believe that a majority of NRL players have a HSC (or other state’s equivalent) but am happy to be proved wrong on that.

The facts regarding college sports in the US are that between 20% and 25% of US college sportsmen (don’t have figures for women) choose to attempt a career in professional sports, only 1% (of the total amount of sportsmen) succeed. So that leaves 75% who choose a different path than professional sports and less than a quarter that are in any way “chewed up and spat out when they don’t make it”.

Tim, your comments may be passionate but they are wrong.

The US system may not be perfect, but it sure is a hundred times better than the system we currently use.

nic says:

03:06pm | 15/06/10

If there is a prize for most ridiculous comment of the year, I think this one should get a nomination. Gold medal stupidity on so many levels.

Drewboy says:

03:07pm | 15/06/10

Really Darren Really?

That kind of comment is just stupid.

Stefano says:

03:36pm | 15/06/10

I would think so.

Fred says:

03:02pm | 15/06/10

Skippy, clearly you have and never will be part of a minority.  If you were, you would understand the gravity of comments like this.  For you, somebody said something and someone got offended.  To the person offended, you have no idea what they’ve gone through in their life.  You try putting up with comments like that directed at you or your family every day of your life and try not reacting.

Oh and yeah, Indigenous people get sooo much more than you ‘white aussies’.  That’s exactly why there are statistics showing much shorter life expectancies, much higher risk to almost every life threatening disease or condition, lower literacy rates, there’s a huge list. 

Attitudes like yours only get in the way of progress, they don’t help at all.

John says:

03:25pm | 15/06/10

What’s your point?  Johns is in the wrong, but that’s OK because sometimes blackfellas are in the wrong too?  Pretty strange logic.

RobJ says:

03:53pm | 15/06/10

“Seriously Timana Tahu you need to get a grip, talk about storm in a tea cup! I am so sick to death of people playing the race card”

Not as sick as I am of racists and other ignorant idiots!

Let me guess, you’re white? Have you ever been called ‘nigger’, have you been discriminated against relentlessly by stupid racists? Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes….

“they get a hell of a lot more than us white Aussies.”

Ah, I guessed right.. Hell of a lot more? Like a massive disparity in life expectancy?

James1 says:

10:26am | 16/06/10

If we all know how much more Aborigines get, please tell us what these things are Skippy.

My understanding is that a white dole bludger gets the same as an Aboriginal dole bludger, which in both cases is too much (but that is another story for another day).

SM says:

03:18pm | 15/06/10

couldn’t agree more ABC.  It’s astonishing that League as a code still continues to employ throwbacks like Johns and all those who’ve come to his defense.  They should be using this as an opportunity to make an example of him, and Channel 9 should be using it as an opportunity to get rid of the poorerst commentator the game has seen in many years

Tim says:

04:54pm | 15/06/10

So he can call an opposition player any name he wants except a reference to the colour of his skin?
Can’t you see how silly that is?
Where can one find a definition of this line that you think he overstepped?

Al says:

04:58pm | 15/06/10

What a moronic throwback you are, ABC—just starting to grasp that the word “black” is racist but still unable to work out that the other word Johns used degrades women.

BTS says:

07:51pm | 15/06/10

Al,

Does personal abuse make you feel better or is it compensate your belief that your argument isn’t strong enough?

ABC says:

09:21am | 16/06/10

Al, I am a woman , and it is a word I hate.  I know Johns is an idiot.  But if you think Rugby League or indeed any sport is going to purge itself to the extent that all derogatory terms are going to be expunged then you are a little off base.  My point was, that irrespective of the implications towards women, there were no women present, however there were indigenous players present, and that should have played first and foremost in his mind.  What was objected to was the term “black”.  He could have equally have said all the other things I mentioned and none of those players would have batted an eyelid.  That goes to a number of other attitudes towards women that rugby league have yet to deal with.  However, in the context of who John’s was actually addressing the use of the term “black” was far more insensitive than the use of the word “c..t”.

Adam Diver says:

03:17pm | 15/06/10

If John’s said he was a big c__t, or an ugly c__t or a dumb c__t it would not of mattered at all. But he chose an adjective that describes the colour of his skin and the world loses it.

It is not as though he was giving Greg a back-handed compliment for being such a great player.

Tom says:

06:32pm | 15/06/10

http://thingsboganslike.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/38-political-correctness-gone-mad/

So let me get this straight - Johns called Inglis a black c*** ‘because he is so damn good’? It still raises the question as to why he referred to Inglis in such a pejorative manner, why couldn’t he have just called him by something like, ummm….his name?

I think it is perhaps somewhat unfair Johns will cop the brunt of all of this, he would be far from the only person involved in league that has used that term, but if the upshot of Tahu’s actions are that people realise it is an unacceptable comment, then it will be a positive result. Johns probably doesn’t realise the depth of offence it caused; it may well have been a simply off the cuff remark. However, if more people realise the depth of offence such comments cause other people, perhaps it will mean people will think twice before making such comments in the future. Australia has a pretty chequered history of race relations, a fact which will not and should not be forgotten. It is not PC out of control, just a recognition of this fact.

marley says:

07:22pm | 15/06/10

Then why refer to him as a “black” whatever?  He should have attacked him as just a “whatever.”  The minute you throw skin color into the epithet, you’re being racist.

I’m no upholder of the “politically correct.”  Neither do I agree with some bone-headed ex-footie star thinking of people in terms of the color of their skin. 

And I hope you don’t regard this as a torrent of abuse, just an alternate opinion.

Dan says:

04:21am | 16/06/10

Please, this has nothing to do with PC.

If you are playing touch football, and you are telling your teammates that you have got the “black guy”, that is not racist, as you are simply referring to his race in a matter-of-fact way. It’s like if I was describing my new girlfriend to someone who asked what she looked like, and I said she’s ‘tall and black.’ That would be no different to if I said she was ‘short and blonde.’

But calling someone a ‘black c..t’ is abusive and is far different. If you want to single Inglis out for being a great player, fine, but to call him what Johns called him? Plus,  Timana Tahu took it as form of abuse, so he certainly did not believe that the way Inglis was being singled out was appropiate in the slightest.

John, whether he was deliberate or not, was being racist, and as such, he deserves to be condemned.

Adam Diver says:

07:57am | 16/06/10

@ marley:

“I have got the whatever guy” isnt really very descriptive in a fast paced match.

“The minute you throw skin color into the epithet, you’re being racist.” - This is completely wrong. People have misconstrued the definition of racism, if its not derogatory, I think using the term “racist” with all its negative connotations is pretty harsh.

Lets not even mention that black is not a race.

Tom says:

08:28am | 16/06/10

Yes Adam Diver, referring to someone’s skin colour isn’t inherently racist. But referring to them as a black c*** certainly is.

Steve M says:

03:40pm | 16/06/10

Why is it racist to simply to mention the colour of someone’s skin? I know it was a different time, but i when i was raised, everyone was some kind of c#%t. Whether it be a black c#%t, a white c%$T, a fat c#$T or a skinny c%$t. It wasnt meant to be racist, simply descriptive. I suspect being around the same age, Andrew Johns was using it in a similar manner. Not that it is right. Times have changed and we need to change with them. But the point is simply that there is every chance that what he said was not said in malice, but just a poor choice of words. I mean look at how much work the bloke does with Aboriginies in the game. It is possible to be stupid without there being a racist undertone. Adam, i could not agree more with your post. Well said.

marley says:

08:38pm | 15/06/10

Tell that to Andrew Johns. I don’t think he’s quite got the message.

Ken says:

09:20pm | 15/06/10

I find it funny that the “race card” gets boring for non-ethnic people, as if we are just supposed to forget about racial insults and cop them on the chin?  I’m sorry, but if this allows you to sleep at night, then good for you, but as an Indigenous person, I refuse to let something like this go because it bores you.  If you lived my life, and put up with the racial insults that get thrown at you from day to day, then you wouldn’t be so keen to move on with the subject because it wastes so much of your precious time.  People like Andrew Johns need to be given the harshest lesson to show how far we’ve come as a nation and how far back comments like that put us.  Its no wonder we are perceived as a racist country when people like you are so willing to sweep this under the rug.

S.L says:

10:12am | 16/06/10

Ken the race issue isn’t boring but Indigenous players using it as an excuse are.
Ok I’m White Anglo and I’ve copped insulting comments about my race in this country just like you have (but apparently knocking whites isn’t racist). As I said before if you missed it Johns’ comment was inappropriate,

Fred says:

04:48pm | 16/06/10

Ken, could not have said it better myself.
S.L. I have heard this line of argument before “I’m White Anglo and I’ve copped insulting comments about my race” I completely believe you in this statement but I am sorry, there is no way you could comprehend what Ken has gone through and is trying to say, your comments prove that.

Hot Tub Political Macine says:

02:01am | 16/06/10

Calling rugby league blokey defames blokey-ness.

Don’t get me wrong I’m what you would call red-blooded, but rugby league is a picture of masculinity gone horribly wrong.

Greg says:

09:23pm | 15/06/10

You’re confusing racism with a marketing weapon to put bums on seats at what really was an All Star Game.  Calling someone a black c**t is not akin to selecting a team based on indigenous players to play against a team based on players from New Zealand and Australia, these two teams did not signify the division between races that racism defines, it wasn’t “black” versus “white”.  Who is using the family’s brain cell tonight Biff?

S.L says:

07:07am | 16/06/10

@Todd. Mr Morgan is spot on with his comments but its not too far to say all 1st grade NRL knuckle draggers live in a bubble as there are alot more things happen off the field that are swept under the carpet by the vested interests than are reported in the media. 
Lionels comments hold more weight for me as he did not go into the racism issue.

Tim says:

09:47am | 16/06/10

More important,
did Tahu even give Johns a chance? Did he tell him at any time he was offended by the comments?
Why didn’t he pull Johns aside and say “look mate, i’m offended by your language”. Why didn’t he go to the coach and tell him to have a word with Johns?

Leaving camp and making a circus of this issue is a joke.

BK says:

09:58am | 16/06/10

If he wanted to stand up to Johns, he should have said something to his face. He chose to walk out of a team that just happens to have little chance of winning anyway.

Kate says:

10:53am | 16/06/10

You guys all speak such sense - well said. He is just trying to make a statement, NSW deserve better!

Dan says:

11:17am | 16/06/10

You three are absurd.

Amber says that he could have waited until after the game to make his stand. So, playing a Rugby match wins over sticking to one’s principles? Should he have scheduled a date in his calender for when he should make a stand? You mention his teammates. Well, even if they are unable to imagine why he would make a stand, it’s not really about them. It’s about his principles and his disgust at the racist comment made by one of the greatest League players of all time. Playing a State of Origin game is not the most important thing in the world.

Oh, and if they can not win a game without him, they do not deserve to win.

Tim says “Leaving camp and making a circus of this issue is a joke.”

So he is the one who made it a circus did he? Yeh, people in the public eye should be allowed to make racist comments without it getting out. Maybe Tahu wanted to make a stand. Maybe he felt that the only way to rid League of its racism was to go public. The joke is not that he left camp and ‘made a circus’ of it, but that you think that a Rugby League match is more important than stamping out racism.

BK says “He chose to walk out of a team that just happens to have little chance of winning anyway.” Do you think that NSW’s chances of winning were really at the forefront of his mind? Are you really that cynical? But, hey, if they had little chance of winning anyway, then Amber shouldn’t be particularly concerned.

So long Joey says:

12:22pm | 16/06/10

All of these guys seem to get along famously,you would think that at some stage of the relationship’s they could have talked this out,I also think a persons upbringing directly relates to their prejudice’s,including family,  peers and education,Johns is Dull but not entirely to blame,the problem is will he ever know the damage he has done or the reason,Tahu should embrace him as an ignorant man,who simply does not have the capacity to understand and probably never will,the name calling means nothing,the prejudice does and is really based on ignorance not hate

Ant Sharwood says:

04:47pm | 16/06/10

FJ, I’m confused. The whole point of this piece is to point out that rugby league, or the NRL, is not to blame for idiots. It has tried hard to change its culture and is still doing so. As things stand now, the idiots have only themselves to blame. That’s why I thought it was silly to see a suit apologise “on behalf of the game”. And that’s why I wrote this piece. And I wrote at as something resembling satire becasue Lord knows there are enough sanctimonious people in the world. Over and out.