Tweet
I know this is by Rebecca Wilson, but don't let that turn you off...
OLYMPIC silver medallist and one of Australia's leading rowers, Francis Hegarty, will spend the best part of the next two months in Europe rowing in two world cup events.
He has taken extended leave from a generous employer, moved to Melbourne with his future wife so he can train with the other three crew members in his four and not earned a single cent out of his chosen sport in the eight years he has spent at the top.
He sweats blood to row for his country, lives with a bulging disc in his back and trains 14 times a week.
Hegarty would not have it any other way. He and the rest of the Australian rowing team have spent the best part of the last four months taking part in gruelling selection trials that would make most normal people cry.
When their names were read out by national selectors last week, finding a more proud, excited bunch of athletes would have been tough.
Wearing green and gold is what they live for, the highest honour any of them they could ever imagine.
Rowing Australia will pay for their travel and accommodation, but they won't pay them a cent to compete for their country. Nobody is complaining. That's how it is in rowing and many other Olympic sports. The honour of the green and gold is akin to earning a million dollars for these athletes.
Australian rugby league star Jarryd Hayne should spend a couple of hours with Francis Hegarty. The cocky winger might learn something about humility, courage and gratitude. He might also find out how tough it is for elite athletes who did not choose professional football as a career path.
Hayne disgraced himself this week in the eyes of most normal, hardworking Australians. Hayne earned $6000 for playing last night's rugby league Test match. Apparently, that was not close to enough. He says it is actually a disgrace that the match fee is not a whole lot more.
His grievances don't end there. Hayne complained that he was only given four tickets for his family to attend the match. He had to, wait for it, put his hand in his own pocket to pay for more tickets. Hayne says that stinks and that a new collective bargaining agreement should see players like him rewarded far more generously for their efforts.
He has criticised rugby league, and David Gallop, for treating players like him without the respect they deserve. He actually did not express himself quite that clearly: "They really care about their players heaps" was the eloquent sarcasm used by Hayne.
As one bright spark blogger said this week: "He can barely string two words together. At the age of 20, that equals labourer, buddy."
This young man has had his life turned around by his sport. Remember this is the bloke who was shot at outside a Kings Cross nightclub last year.
In a world without league, our blogger was right. Hayne would be lucky to earn the average wage and might have to buy his own tickets to watch his favourite footy team run around every weekend.
Jarryd Hayne was bestowed with the game's highest honour last year. He was its best player and won many awards for his efforts. He now earns more in a single year than most people earn in five and has thousands of young kids who idolise him.
He should be grateful. Instead, he is like so many of his ilk - graceless, greedy and spoilt.
He and the rest of the players agitating for pay rises at both club and representative level are given oxygen by a small group of media commentators intent on creating a world of super rich footballers, no matter what the cost.
This small group panders to players who use scare tactics in public threats to desert the code, create imaginary offers to play rugby union in France and Japan and thumb their nose at the sport that has given them a great life.
The National Rugby League should call their bluff. Let them go to France to play in a second-rate competition in front of 5000 fans. Let's see how they fare in Japan with no English and nobody who recognises them. Even better, flick them to the AFL and see how they will struggle to play a game in the reserves.
Hayne is disappointing. It is sad that he is a so-called "role model" because he is not how we want our kids to be. The world that I grew up in worshipped at the feet of the green and gold.
The world my sons inhabit is thankfully the same.
There should be no higher honour for an athlete. I deeply suspect people like Francis Hegarty would actually pay for the right to represent Australia. But athletes like Francis have not been corrupted by professional football - a world that is fast becoming a safe haven for mercenaries and brats who have not been taught the meaning of honour.
OLYMPIC silver medallist and one of Australia's leading rowers, Francis Hegarty, will spend the best part of the next two months in Europe rowing in two world cup events.
He has taken extended leave from a generous employer, moved to Melbourne with his future wife so he can train with the other three crew members in his four and not earned a single cent out of his chosen sport in the eight years he has spent at the top.
He sweats blood to row for his country, lives with a bulging disc in his back and trains 14 times a week.
Hegarty would not have it any other way. He and the rest of the Australian rowing team have spent the best part of the last four months taking part in gruelling selection trials that would make most normal people cry.
When their names were read out by national selectors last week, finding a more proud, excited bunch of athletes would have been tough.
Wearing green and gold is what they live for, the highest honour any of them they could ever imagine.
Rowing Australia will pay for their travel and accommodation, but they won't pay them a cent to compete for their country. Nobody is complaining. That's how it is in rowing and many other Olympic sports. The honour of the green and gold is akin to earning a million dollars for these athletes.
Australian rugby league star Jarryd Hayne should spend a couple of hours with Francis Hegarty. The cocky winger might learn something about humility, courage and gratitude. He might also find out how tough it is for elite athletes who did not choose professional football as a career path.
Hayne disgraced himself this week in the eyes of most normal, hardworking Australians. Hayne earned $6000 for playing last night's rugby league Test match. Apparently, that was not close to enough. He says it is actually a disgrace that the match fee is not a whole lot more.
His grievances don't end there. Hayne complained that he was only given four tickets for his family to attend the match. He had to, wait for it, put his hand in his own pocket to pay for more tickets. Hayne says that stinks and that a new collective bargaining agreement should see players like him rewarded far more generously for their efforts.
He has criticised rugby league, and David Gallop, for treating players like him without the respect they deserve. He actually did not express himself quite that clearly: "They really care about their players heaps" was the eloquent sarcasm used by Hayne.
As one bright spark blogger said this week: "He can barely string two words together. At the age of 20, that equals labourer, buddy."
This young man has had his life turned around by his sport. Remember this is the bloke who was shot at outside a Kings Cross nightclub last year.
In a world without league, our blogger was right. Hayne would be lucky to earn the average wage and might have to buy his own tickets to watch his favourite footy team run around every weekend.
Jarryd Hayne was bestowed with the game's highest honour last year. He was its best player and won many awards for his efforts. He now earns more in a single year than most people earn in five and has thousands of young kids who idolise him.
He should be grateful. Instead, he is like so many of his ilk - graceless, greedy and spoilt.
He and the rest of the players agitating for pay rises at both club and representative level are given oxygen by a small group of media commentators intent on creating a world of super rich footballers, no matter what the cost.
This small group panders to players who use scare tactics in public threats to desert the code, create imaginary offers to play rugby union in France and Japan and thumb their nose at the sport that has given them a great life.
The National Rugby League should call their bluff. Let them go to France to play in a second-rate competition in front of 5000 fans. Let's see how they fare in Japan with no English and nobody who recognises them. Even better, flick them to the AFL and see how they will struggle to play a game in the reserves.
Hayne is disappointing. It is sad that he is a so-called "role model" because he is not how we want our kids to be. The world that I grew up in worshipped at the feet of the green and gold.
The world my sons inhabit is thankfully the same.
There should be no higher honour for an athlete. I deeply suspect people like Francis Hegarty would actually pay for the right to represent Australia. But athletes like Francis have not been corrupted by professional football - a world that is fast becoming a safe haven for mercenaries and brats who have not been taught the meaning of honour.
)
Comment