New Zealand cricket boss Justin Vaughan has lashed out at the behaviour of drunken All Blacks fans at last weekend's game in Melbourne.
He says he was embarrassed by the behaviour of drunk, aggressive, and obnoxious All Black supporters*.
But if you're the CEO of a sporting body and you decide to have a crack at supporters of a rival sport, it's probably a good idea to come to the debate with your hands clean.
Unfortunately, cricket has long struggled with the behaviour of drunken yobs. That behaviour has frequently manifested itself in the throwing by spectators of bottles and other debris at opposition players, the hurling of abuse from the sidelines, and all sorts of other unpleasant behaviour late in the day of many tests and one-dayer. Nor are the the players themselves blameless, and many have been known to behave disgracefully under the influence of alcohol, including one current member of the Black Caps team.
Moreover, let us not forget the role of alcohol companies in supporting and sponsoring cricket. Their money keeps the sport going.
The behaviour Vaughan complains of is not a rugby thing: it is societal. All of our major sporting codes, including cricket, have played a major role in fostering the culture of drinking among sportspeople and fans. Unless NZ Cricket is prepared to turn its back on alcohol sponsorship, clamp down on drinking at venues, and impose zero-tolerance of yobbish behaviour at cricket matches, Vaughan should probably keep his mouth closed.
* As an aside, I've often been embarrassed by the on-field performances of our cricket players. It's not easy being a Black Caps supporter.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
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I think Steve Tew was onto it when he blamed youth binge drinking and P.
ReplyDeleteBecause we all know young P smoking binge drinkers make up the majority of the crowd who can afford to pay $150 for a ticket to an All Black game.
Young people and P are to blame, even when they are not there.
I think we can blame most things on P. I'm convinced most Cabinet meetings take place under a meth haze.
ReplyDeleteTew's also right that the drinking of young people nowadays is nothing like what his generation indulged in. The drinking that goes on in rugby circles is nowhere near as heavy as it was 20 years ago when I first started playing.