Witch-hunt mentality
Suddenly, sport loves a victim, a culprit and a head on a plate
CHRISTIAN Petracca played out of his skin for Melbourne last Sunday and the plan was to write a column that compared him with Paddy McCartin. Petracca is a come-watch-me kind of guy. And McCartin? Well, hasn’t St Kilda made a mistake. While celebrating Petracca, it would be a pounding for McCartin.
I warned St Kilda coach Alan Richardson last Monday after AFL360 that there would be a column today on McCartin versus Petracca.
He didn’t say it, but I could tell Richardson was annoyed.
He loves Paddy and despises the criticism of him. The St Kilda coach sees Paddy differently to most of us. He sees a person first and a footballer second. He sees a young man battling type 1 diabetes and busting his bum to play footy.
We like lists and rankings. Who’s best? Who’s in the Top 50? Did Melbourne get it right with Jack Watts over Nic Naitanui? Would St Kilda want its time again with McCartin and Petracca?
We’re all guilty of it without a moment’s thought for a player’s wellbeing.
This week, Matthew Lloyd said McCartin had to lose weight. Matthew Richardson, who is the ultimate players’ commentator, was asked on 3AW whether McCartin had three weeks to turn it on or lose his spot. Richo said “yes”.
It prompted discussion. Is he too fat? Is he a bust? Why didn’t they take Petracca? And social media joined the debate.
Football is 24/7 evaluation, salivation and condemnation.
Boundaries in sport are being rewritten by the season. On Thursday night, they were rewritten by the hour.
If there has been a more heartbreaking night of sports announcements, I can’t think of one. Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith and Darren Lehmann were broken men. It was hard to watch.
A father’s hand on his son’s shoulder ... let’s hope we never have to see the likes of it again.
The cricketers were paying for their sins and, in a wider discussion, people wanted the media to pay for their sins. The world is changing. It seems we all want a head on a platter. That, or total humiliation.
Far less important, but when Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury tweeted he was rapt to have the AFL back, it became a “social media” story because he was accused
Boundaries in sport are being rewritten by the season. On Thursday night, they were rewritten by the hour. It was hard to watch.
of disrespecting AFLW. It was an absolute non-story. But Pendlebury’s head was on the platter.
On Thursday night in a different state, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was harangued by a Crows a supporter after the game. What possesses a 65-year-old to abuse an AFL coach as he walks from the box to the ground?
And now we wait for Dave Warner? He’s judged already. He’s the real villain. If he doesn’t cry when he speaks today, he’ll be accused of being heartless and remorseless.
In the AFL this week, Carlton took the mickey out of former coach Mick Malthouse. The instigator was comedian Andy Lee. Lee said he spoke to Malthouse beforehand and everything was hunky dory. Malthouse was less than impressed when he spoke to the Herald Sun this week. But what the hell, it’s only Mick.
The irony. We are urged not to make fun of people with mental health issues, but it’s OK for comedians to ridicule them. It’s that what experts say contributes to mental health problems.
The mental health space engulfed the Adelaide Crows during the week.
The infamous camp and the “disturbing” impact on some players created a crisis. Oldschool football heads met newage concerns and the fallout has raised questions about the benefits of trying to challenge — or is that break — the mental state of a footballer?
Clearly, there are victims here and when there are victims, people want culprits. More heads on a platter.
Today, Collingwood plays Greater Western Sydney and the focus will be on the future of coach Nathan Buckley and maybe even Eddie McGuire if there’s a bad loss. If Pendlebury plays a bad game, will the furnace envelop the skipper?
Probably, because football wants victims.
Because Petracca’s light is shining brightly, does that mean McCartin should be the victim?
St Kilda drafted McCartin knowing Nick Riewoldt was soon to retire, knowing he was a diabetic and, as we speak, it knows he’s a slow burn to Petracca’s explosion.