chris mainwaring

[Ken Gargett]

this one for aussies who follow afl.

always a tragedy when someone passes, especially at a young age, though to be honest, there is so much suffering and tragedy out there that is not self-inflicted that i'm not likely to waste too much sympathy for someone that did it to himself, granted accidently, and especially when he had such a good life (for those outside aust, a famous former aussie rules player, 41, and now commentator or news reader or something, overdosed on the weekend).

but did anyone else see what must be one of the most extraordinary statements ever made.

along the lines, sadly i didn't keep it but this is as close as i recall, that this was even more of a tragedy because he had been doing such a good job as a mentor for ben cousins to help him stay off drugs since his return from rehab in the states. does anyone else find this just mindboggling? the bloke who was helping cousins stay drug free just overdosed. and the afl turn ostrich again.

[El Presidente]

It is a real battle Ken.

I have a 13 year old son who is an excellent Rugby player who hopes one day to play for the Queensland Reds.

In the past 6 months he has been confronted with sporting stars in this country being found out to have been taking cocaine while playing at the highest level. These guys are heroes and star players...the best there are in this country.

We had a great discussion while fishing last week during which he asked the question I had most feared. "Why is it that if drugs are so bad for you, Andrew Johns and Ben Cousins who were the best players in the country for a long time ..... and had been taking drugs for years?

I could only reply that drugs like the devil always have their day of calling. In the case of the two sporting stars it has ruined much of their careers and credibility.

Still, he knows that the Government television programs showing dischevelled drug addicts in parks and hospitals is actually a long way from the total truth. I wonder when he is handed an ecstasy tablet or a line of coke when he is 17/18/19 if he doesn't think back to Andrew Johns and Ben Cousins and wonder....."hell....it really didn't hurt their performances".

This is the damage that drugs in sport does. It sends out confusing signals to the young and impressionable. A two year ban is the only deterrant.

[zuma]

Nicely put... a point that many sporting officials may not be taking into consideration...

[Smooth]

I agree Ken, that statement made absolutely no sense to me at all! Good luck to Cousins with his 'rehab' if Mainwaring has been his guiding light of common sense and strength... It is almost akin to having your kids minded by Michael jackson while you're on holidays.

Rob, my teenage years were in the back end of the '19naughties' (1990's) when ecstasy, ketamine, meth, speed; anything and everything was available everywhere (just as it is now).

If you bring your son up like my parents did myself then he will have the strength and confidence (some say im an arrogant prick nowdays ) to say no and mean it, regardless of what so called role models have made look acceptable.

Alot of my friends thought I was mad spending $100+ on a saturday night on booze, when for $25-30 an ecstacy tablet would 'last' all night with no hangover, but it never worried me... Sadly though this, and as you mentioned the poor efforts of some of the teenage sporting idols is enough to suck ALOT of them in to a very dangerous lifestyle...

[Ken Gargett]

» It is a real battle Ken.

»

» I have a 13 year old son who is an excellent Rugby player who hopes one

» day to play for the Queensland Reds.

»

» In the past 6 months he has been confronted with sporting stars in this

» country being found out to have been taking cocaine while playing at the

» highest level. These guys are heroes and star players...the best there are

» in this country.

»

» We had a great discussion while fishing last week during which he asked

» the question I had most feared. "Why is it that if drugs are so bad for

» you, Andrew Johns and Ben Cousins who were the best players in the country

» for a long time ..... and had been taking drugs for years?

»

» I could only reply that drugs like the devil always have their day of

» calling. In the case of the two sporting stars it has ruined much of their

» careers and credibility.

»

» Still, he knows that the Government television programs showing

» dischevelled drug addicts in parks and hospitals is actually a long way

» from the total truth. I wonder when he is handed an ecstasy tablet or a

» line of coke when he is 17/18/19 if he doesn't think back to Andrew Johns

» and Ben Cousins and wonder....."hell....it really didn't hurt their

» performances".

»

» This is the damage that drugs in sport does. It sends out confusing

» signals to the young and impressionable. A two year ban is the only» deterrant.

two year ban for a first offence and out for a second. none of this 3 offences coddling crap but keep it all secret and then a bit of counselling.

the problem is that the teams and the admin can't afford to have their stars dumped so the warn them and protect them and claim civil rights not to have names published and endless other crap. if the admin is spineless, which they all are, the govt should step in and control it and test a squillion times and publish. the admin of all codes can't afford to have theirs look bad (tho the boat may have sailed on that with the lot of them) as they are in competition for the young kids to get them to play their footy. and clubs can't afford to lose sponsors and fans. so everyone turns a blind eye and bugger the poor kids who won't be stars but sees arseholes like cousins and wendell and johns and so on treated like heroes.

but we have a sports minister (and with the greatest respect to george who is actually the only pollie i like, as a bloke, not a pollie) who does not know a golf club from a frisbee so one wonders.