Call it the Aussie way

Australians have a soft spot for the bad boy, Justine McCullagh-Beasy reports about three sportsmen who should be condemned for their bad behaviour antics

Ever wondered why those admired by the majority of a nation have significant flaws? Shane Warne, Wayne Carey, and Gary Ablett; idols that have been involved in serious misdemeanours yet have come out practically unscathed.

Australians love a bad boy, a gifted sportsman who off the field fails to abide by the law or is disloyal to their partner. These blemishes along with a streak of arrogance enables them to be entrenched in sporting history. Call it the Aussie way.

Shane Warne is admired and praised by ninety per cent of Australia’s population for his brilliance on the Cricket pitch. He is the world’s best bowler; with 657 Test scalps there is plenty to idolise.

That said, Warne’s off-field antics leave much to be desired. Countless sex scandals should have hindered his popularity; instead Warne is hailed and chanted as he enters the any Cricket ground in the country. Warne’s lack of morals appears to have had no bearing on the public who would rather praise his bowling genius than condemn his cheating ways.

Like Warne, former Kangaroos legend Wayne Carey shocked the Australian public when revelations of an affair with the wife of team mate Anthony Stevens came to light at the beginning of the 2002 season. A two time Premiership winning Captain and four time Best and Fairest champion, Carey was dubbed “The King” for his dominance at centre half-forward. Carey’s infidelity hogged the media limelight for weeks.

The strain on Carey, Stevens and the Kangaroos was obvious. After much deliberation Carey quit the club, leaving a question mark over his footballing future and the Kangaroos with a gaping hole at centre half-forward.

When at the beginning of the 2003 season Carey decided to nominate for the drafts, there was uproar from many disappointed fans begging their clubs to pass on the superstar. He was taken by Adelaide and played for two seasons. Although his affair received more flak than Warne’s numerous sex scandals, Carey is still regarded as the best centre half-forward to ever have pulled on a pair of footy boots.

Whilst Carey was ‘King’, Gary Ablett was ‘God’. As a teenager the Geelong hero narrowly avoided jail despite charges of assault and drug possession. During his fifteen-year career, which included two years at Hawthorn, Ablett stayed on the right side of the law.

After retiring in 1997 everything fell apart for Ablett. In 2000, Ablett introduced 20-year-old Alisha Horan to heroin.

The pair, who were staying in the Park Hyatt, spent the night doing drugs before Horan overdosed. She later died. Ablett was let off with a $1500 fine. The ‘God’ of football played god with the life of an innocent fan, and lost.

On the field Ablett ruled. With 242 league games, 1021 goals to his name, the three-time winner of the Coleman medal was considered a certainty to be inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame as soon as he retired but his off-field antics caused a heated debate that lasted years. Finally, in 2005, Ablett was finally awarded a place among football’s most illustrious.

No one has ever disputed Ablett’s talent, but his criminal record didn’t sit well with most. But naturally, Australians attached themselves to the Ablett catastrophe.

As those who excite on the field and fail of it are hailed, the all-round good guy is forced to sit back and watch on as their team-mates steal the limelight. Elite sporting stars are regarded highly, sporting prowess pays dividends in this country. But unfortunately for those who abide by the law, both legally and morally, it is the bad boy who gains the attention of a nation.

Here in Australia brilliance on the field earns forgiveness off the field. Call it the Aussie way.

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