12,1,2,......
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12,1,2,......
Sorry, no matter how many times I've had a few beverages, I've never once managed to attract the attention of the coppers- including the time some drunk woman wanted to start a fight. Is it so hard to have a couple with your mates without doing so???
I agree with TIF, a few quiet moments with Brownie are in order.
It's not that Swee....the coppers just like a good bitchfight
i agree with that (swee's post, Gigs got in before I got mine up)
I have had my fair share of outings where the alcohol has flowed more then freely, and apparently I have a short temper and yet have never got into a fight or needed the police to intervene or give me a move on order.
If I was given a move on order odds are I would have listened to it.
Regardless of private citizen or not X he defied a lawfull order to move on. He is not above the powers of the law like so many young adults (18-25) seem to think
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He is a professional athlete, he gets paid enormous amounts of money to represent the team and sport, not just for the time he is on the field but for the whole year. If he doesnt want to be a public figure then he really chose a bad career path, sponsor and corporate supporters dont like to see there clubs players getting in trouble or making nuisances of themselves, they are worried about there image being tarnished as well. Yes i know this is a verry mundane incident, but he did break the law, its that simple.
I have being to Surfers Paradise plenty of times and have first hand experience of the move on laws, its not uncommon down there because a lot of fights break out constantly, possibly due to it being a holiday destination and everyone getting looser then they normally do. I cant speak about JOC's incident, but when a friend was told to 'move-on' the police were very clear about what they expect.
Wallaby whizkid in trouble again
December 22nd, 2008
A TALENTED young Wallaby from the Gold Coast has reportedly been rushed into a specialised mentoring and life-skills training program after being arrested in Surfers Paradise earlier this month.
It was reported yesterday that 18-year-old James O'Connor, above, and his manager Anthony Picone had travelled to Sydney on Friday for crisis talks with Australian Rugby Union officials, including national team coach Robbie Deans, after an incident involving police last Saturday.
The Western Force rugby union player, whose Gold Coast-based family lives at Paradise Point, was taken into custody in the early hours of the morning after reportedly disobeying a police order to 'move on' following an alleged altercation in a nightclub. He was charged with contravening a direction and later released.
Following Friday's talks, the teenager will reportedly be teamed with a mentor -- possibly an older Australian teammate -- and given life skills training.
Gold Coast local sport news
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The young Wallaby's family and manager maintained a low profile yesterday as news of his arrest broke.
The Bulletin made several attempts to contact O'Connor through his parents and his manager but calls were not returned. ARU representatives could not be contacted either.
In yesterday's report detailing the Surfers Paradise incident, O'Connor was quoted as saying he did not wish to jeopardise his fledgling career and needed to be aware of the problems of becoming a high-profile sportsman at such a young age.
Earlier this year, O'Connor was counselled by Western Force management after an alleged incident at a Perth house party.
Mr Picone said the ARU would be putting a 'support network' around the talented young footballer.
Just five weeks ago, O'Connor made headlines for all the right reasons when on a tour of Europe he became the second youngest player to represent the Wallabies.
His test performance against the Barbarians earlier this month -- during which he kicked eight points in an 18-11 win -- was widely praised.
During that tour he was also pictured in the pages of this newspaper meeting the Queen while carrying a stuffed wallaby, which the youngest player on an Australian rugby union tour must traditionally look after.
After watching his son's full test debut against the Barbarians, O'Connor's father Warren was full of pride for the Wallaby.
"He's had challenges growing up in the sports world because as a person of smaller stature you have to work twice as hard. It's been a massive emotional journey for not only him but (mum) Tina and myself because we feel all the highs and lows with him," he said.
http://www.goldcoast.com.au:80/artic...oast-news.html
I am sorry TOCC - i guess you just aren't getting the point I am trying to make.
Why does the media continue to insist to put our sportsmen and women on a pedestal? Yes they can kick/catch/throw a ball better then most and yes the best of the best get paid a hell of a lot for it. But what makes some petty indiscretion front or back page news?
Why don't we treat our sportsmen and women just like everyone else- of the 100 people that were asked to "move along" by the Gold Coast Police - why have they now singled one out for this media coverage?
Did the economy get fixed all of a sudden, all the soldiers of the world get sent home because there were no more wars left to fight. John Daly given up his 2 cameras a day phone tossing habit?
They are news items. A 18 year old kid out with his friends being asked to move along isn't a news item. It happens so often that I am sure that the local coppers wish they had better things to do.
But because this kid has signed a contract with the Wallabies and with the Western Force how does it all of a sudden become news?
Was he playing a game of Rugby Union at the time of the incident - did he trip over the sideline and fall on top of the police officers.
Was he at an official function wearing his Wallabies Tie and Blazer. Nope
so why have the media put him on a pedestal?
If he worked for Maccas filling the Chocolate Shake machine with pig fat Monday to Friday and got asked to move along by the Gold Coast Constabulary, would that have been news worthy? Of course not - so surely J'OC has the right to be treated just like any other 18 year old.
We need to stop the media treating our sports stars differently to the rest of the community. No more no less - they are just the same as everyone else.
yes, and i guess your missing my point as well
when i say high interest item i am using media 'slang', i am reffering to items/reports which make interesting news, things such as politicians, professional athletes, war and economy are all high interest items.
These are items which continually rate highly with the consumer, the ones that continually draw high attention. It is only because they draw high attention that they are continually publishing these reports. People like, you, the rest of the TWF forum and myself are the reason these articles keep getting reported, because we read them...
That is a honest answer to your question, about why the media continually post articles on sports stars..
Its interesting that you say the athletes should be treated no different to everyone else...
Well that kind of works against the powers of professional rugby, endorsements, sponsors and broadcasting rights are all built on the profile of the game, the teams and the players, they all work in unison to make the whole package work, you cant take the players out and expect the rest of it still to work, well actually it probably would it just wouldnt be worth as much.
I agree with Ex in saying why is it that an 18 year old kid getting a move on notice is of any significance, but at the same time I agree with TOCC in saying "Yes i know this is a verry mundane incident, but he did break the law, its that simple."
I don't think the point of the article was 'because he is a sportsperson, lets shame him'...to me its more a case of if you do the wrong thing you will get caught, no matter who you are. They're making a spectacle of him, because he is a role model, and the media can use that to say 'do the crime do the time' even for the most menial crimes. Mentioning that he didn't retaliate would also be part of their 'look at him' kind of thing, because he IS an 18 year old kid and he DIDN'T fight back.
We could battle over this one for the next six months and still not get any where.
I wish to offer this article - that I wrote a while back.
I think I said it better then.
If no one else were to reply - does that imply I win the argument?