Opinion: Here comes rugby league, afloat in its bubble, engorged with its self-importance, looking after its own, breaking ranks with Australia and the world, writes Malcolm Knox | SMHsport
League has been governed and interpreted by smart people. John Quayle, David Gallop, plenty of board members and executives down the years: ignore the occasional boofhead, look at the majority of smart cookies. Most league coaches and many of their assistants are super-intelligent individuals.
Each day, you hope to discover that rugby league is not actually like this, that it still has the brain you thought it had. Your hopes are raised when you see headlines of stories warning the NRL not to damage its reputation or act irresponsibly, but it turns out that the game's only concern is that the competition has an equitable number of rounds or that the measures to control a viral outbreak among players and staff can be controlled. About the real issue, there is no discussion.
And then you look to the outside world to speak truth to league. Governments and health authorities are entering a particularly difficult time. They seem to have done a good job containing the virus, but this only taxes people’s patience more. Unrest is growing every day. The corona-sceptics are on the march. It was all exaggerated. People are getting restless and need persuasion, more than ever, to work together.
So here comes rugby league, afloat in its bubble, engorged with its self-importance, looking after its own, breaking ranks with Australia and the world. When families can’t see each other for Easter, rugby league is celebrating the Easter miracle of once again making itself the news. It’s genius PR, if the aim is to keep people talking about you. And if you think PR is a signifier of IQ, it just shows how smart league is.
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