W hen a contestant on The Block hits his thumb with a hammer, are we subjected to a barrage of expletives from him or his teammate? What about when a Masterchef hopeful burns the bacon; is there a cut-away to his or her family swearing like there is no tomorrow? The answer is no.
So why do we have to be subjected to swearing when we watch sports events? What value does it bring to the broadcast to see a senior AFL coach barking out a tirade of colourful adjectives and nouns that his mother would not be pleased to hear at the dinner table? Many blame the coaches as they know they are being filmed – and that is a fair point. But at what point does it become intrusive and not in the best interests of the game?
We all want our coaches to have passion. We do want to ride the rollercoaster with them as a game goes through its ups and downs. Does any real footy fan want to see the coach drop a few f-bombs after an opposition goal? If you ask a television producer, they will say we do want to see that. I am here to tell them we don’t.
The TV producers have the power, with technology, to clean this up. I don’t want my 10-year-old to think it is OK to swear when the opposition kicks a goal because he saw Nathan Buckley or Luke Beveridge do it.
Rodney Eade has taken to covering his mouth when he talks, so the cameras and lip readers can’t see what he’s saying. That is not a good look either – but I totally understand.
I don’t subscribe to the philosophy that sportspeople are role models, to be honest, because so many are flawed – Lance Armstrong, Mike Tyson etc.
And critcising coaches on match day is like shooting fish in a barrel.
Football is trying to be more inclusive, to attract a wider audience, and I think we have reached the stage where seeing, or hearing, bad behaviour is no longer entertaining or enlightening.
It is becoming a blight, not on the game, but on the broadcasters and is, in fact, harming the standing of at least one senior AFL coach. Your thoughts are welcome.
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