Is the WAG the new sports ambassador?

Recently I have been getting wonderful advice off of a highly respected (and at times fondly despised) Sydney journalist, who has constantly reminded me one piece of key advice, “Do not get involved with a sportsman. Ever.”

As a female sports writer/reporter this is standard piece of guidance and a vital one; being involved with any athlete is detrimental to my already ‘high risk’ image.

Ironically my last relationship, which lasted for over four years, was with yep, you guessed it – a rugby player.

Yes it’s natural to have a have a common ground with an athlete and they have good bodies, however I make sure my blinkers are always on.

I’ve made a lot of the sacrifices these past years to pursue my work, hence why I’m wary of being dismissed the next time a sports editor or television exec takes a geez at my online profile.

In case you missed it, on the front page of a Sydney newspaper this weekend was an image introducing a ‘new’ footballer’s wife column.

Sigh.

NRL genius Benji Marshall’s new wife Zoe has been given her own column, where she delves into deep issues like Botox and interviews other WAGs on how they met their famous footy boyfriends.

Maybe they too in time will have a column if they play their Dally M gown card right.

Here, where the notion of me being palmed off if I ever get seen with an athlete, it is rewarded to other women.

Lara Bingle, Kyly Boldy, and Rebbeca Judd to name a few have all gone on to make a name for themselves off their high profile sporting partners.

Last week Michael Clarke’s wife Kyly was named an ambassador for Rebel Sport. Not off her own bat (sorry), but because according to Rebel Sport’s managing director Erica Berchtold, “It’s about time we had a female ambassador associated with sport”.

Oh the lunacy! Stuff Elysse Perry! What’s she done other than help secure the ICC Women’s World Cup and win Aussie a few football games?

Now I understand this is where I come across as jealous bitch, except jealous isn’t the word, it’s more frustration.

It’s the whole reward and recognition scheme one gets for whom one is dating that shits me.

I heard a player manager tell stories of women ringing him in order to get dates with some of his players for no other reason than to ‘boost their profile’.

Another CEO told me flat out upon meeting me, “Stay as far away from athletes as you can, worst look for you.” Again I nodded knowingly.

Is this a rant? Indeed. Do I want decent paid work off my authenticity as a sports reporter instead of others reaping accolades from whomever their boyfriend is? Yes.

Right. So who’s hiring then?

Different strokes, hating folks

Inkdividuality. 

What is this fascination with sports stars having tattoos?

Last time I checked it never hindered the playing performance of LeBron James or Ben Barba, yet for reasons unknown, it’s still an ongoing  topic of discussion.

Public opinion of Australian athletes and their chosen ink is as much a permanent fixture on social media as a footy player’s latest hand tattoo.

This week an England University Principal Lecturer compared tattoo’s to the defining form of personal expression in the digital age.

Dr Lee Barron from Northumbria in Newcastle, interviewed 25 tattooed students, 80% of whom were women, as part of his study on signs and communication.

“People get a tattoo to communicate some aspect of their life. They are highly personal and highly communicative,” he said.

“They are not random designs, they are signifiers. The issue is they have a meaning.”

From the mundane structure of what time they train, eat, get hammered on the physio table, along with conforming to uniforms or worse, if an individual athlete, having to wear their sponsors apparel every day, expressing ones individuality can be limiting.

Cue the buzzing from a tattoo parlour or the clippers of your nearest hipster hairdresser.

Mr Barron goes on to say “Tattooing is the ultimate expression of individuality but of course, you can’t always control how people read the symbols.”

Barron hits the nail on the head; blokes covered in ink are generally passed off as being dumb or no hopers.

I can see the point that perhaps their future career choices may somewhat be impacted, (I can’t say I’ve seen any bankers with neck tatts), but judging them on this basis is pure ignorance.

To reiterate, I’m blonde with boobs yet I’m as far from a bimbo or gold-digger as my appearance would stereotypically suggest.

Ink is no longer a symbol of teenage defiance, from Serbian tennis player Janko Tipsaravic on court at Grand Slams to English cricketer Jade Dernbach, “individuality” has now become the norm.

We have also been amused by Wallabies and Melbourne Rebels fullback James O’Connor who has managed to put a positive spin on his much talked about semi-pony tail with him shaving his head today in order to raise awareness for Autism.

Since his Super Rugby debut as a then 17-year old, O’Conner has held the public’s fascination with his stand out choice of hairstyle, stemming form his original comparison to pantry dropper teen sensation Justin Bieber.

Canberra Raiders fullback Josh Dugan in contrast was ripped to shreds in the press because he chose to commemorate childhood hero Ray Lewis’s portrait on his thigh.

I’m not going to pretend I care for Lewis, but the fact Dugan was so inspired by Lewis to spend the afternoon getting carved up cites this country kid’s got some tick in his heart.

Dugan, who’s spent just as much time on the sidelines injured as on the filed, cites Lewis’s constant determination an inspiration.

“No matter the setback, he’s always been able to overcome it. That’s the style of character he is and that’s the style of player I’d like to be” said Dugan.

Call me bias; I’m up to eight tattoos, varying from self motivating quotes, The Beatles Hey Jude and even a token Kings Cross permanent memory.

Come fifty years time when I’m sitting in a retirement home downing my lunch through a straw, I’m adamant I won’t regret them.

I’m sure I’m not alone.

NRL news, not so new

This is only the beginning. NRL’s new CEO David Smith at today’s press conference.

De ja vu anyone? A scandal before round one has even begun?

But of course.

A prominent former NRL player yesterday spoke with me about the pressure on players and medical staff to “push the envelope” with their training regimes and treatment of  injuries.

When asked whether the use of PEDs was common practice in rugby league, the player, who asked to remain anonymous, responded: “Man, this is all old news.”

“Around high pressure games and with big name players, I know there has been some forms of borderline techniques used that you wouldn’t generally suggest to your average player in the middle of the season,” he said.

“In high pressure situations (like the finals) the injuries are addressed differently. The player obviously wants to play but the person making the injection always makes the call and that’s usually the doctor,” he said.

As a sports journalist, you’d  be forgiven for forgiving the NRL because, gosh, they really do give us some good stuff to talk about. Bit of group sex here, a toilet tryst there and, throw in a Kings Cross shooting and we almost have our back pages sorted for the season.

Only a few weeks out from the season-opener, NRL, the game loved by millions has been dragged well and truly into the mud of what began as an AFL-only drug scandal. However, before fans rush to judgment, at least one former player has asked they walk a mile in the competitors’ footy boots.

“If a player is being told, ‘If we do this we can get you to play sooner rather than later’, you won’t find any single player asking ‘Is it legal?’ or ‘Can I see the ingredients?’ –  they just want to play and they are going to say ‘yes’ always,” said the player.

Asked if coaches turn a blind eye to practices that might sail close to the wind in terms of legality, the player said:  “I think, for most doctors, if they can get that player right, the coach will then see them as a good doc to have on staff.

“You’ve got to remember that not all coaches are educated on what the doc is doing – that’s why they have the doc; they don’t need to be thinking about how a player is being treated, they have a team to train.

“For example, if the physio is not getting players ready in time and they still have niggling injuries, the coach isn’t going to want to re-sign them.

“Whereas, if you have a bloke that’s getting the boys on the paddock as quickly as possible and pulling up well after games, then that doctor is doing a great job,” said the former player.

Peptides. Supplements. Pig’s blood. Makes you “more better” in the lingo of current players.

If you play professional rugby league, however, you shouldn’t be doing it. Sadly, that has now been shown to be a fantasy, part of a make-believe world where match-fixing only happens in cricket.

“The physios and doctors are probably under more pressure than the players,” said the former player, who asked what any other average 22-year-old would do? No skills other than football – the choice is between a grand final or starting a trade.

“At the end of the day, if someone is told they are going to be out four weeks injured, yet the team could make the grand final in three weeks, what is a player to do? I’d do it. It’s your one shot. What are you supposed to do?”