Todd Carney's open letter

I think is shows the Canberra public are not so desperately pathetic in their idolisation of sports players. I like that.

Seconded.

Mick said :

You know, Andrew Johns (according to his book) had many incidents occur in Newcastle during his days, but the public stood by him and a lot of it wasn’t revealed.

Too bad that Carney hasn’t endeared himself to the Canberra public so closely.

1) Todd Carney is not (yet) in Andrew Johns’ league

2) I think is shows the Canberra public are not so desperately pathetic in their idolisation of sports players. I like that.

Contrast – there’s a difference between feeling empathy and whether or not someone should be punished. I’m sure he’s sorry now he has all this negative publicity, and may even feel a bit bad. But one of the biggest problems modern western society has is that noone thinks they need to take responsibility for their actions. C’mon, Carney clearly didn’t write that letter himself, and trying to pretend to be a victim in all this is laughable. And whether or not someone else has done something stupid in no way excuses his behaviour, as you seem to imply.

As such, I think he should face some real consequences.

KingMonty said :

Would he have been sacked from the Public Service if this occured out of work hours?

Of course he wouldn’t. Worse stuff happens every day compared to what he’s done.

It’s all about being in the spotlight, and because of his priors he gets analysed (harassed) even more.

I thought the letter was well put. I’m sick of the media beating every single little incident into some huge event.

You know, Andrew Johns (according to his book) had many incidents occur in Newcastle during his days, but the public stood by him and a lot of it wasn’t revealed.

Too bad that Carney hasn’t endeared himself to the Canberra public so closely.

I give respect to Mr Carney and his writing skills, Now if Todd could write like his dad did this letter might mean something.

Insincerity.

Smugness.

Trivialising the issues.

Thats what I got from the letter.

Contrast said :

Think about whether or not you would even dare to brave the ever judging public with an apology that you don’t mean, that you don’t find necessary, that’s been blown way out of proportion.

Just like you, huh?

KingMonty said :

Would he have been sacked from the Public Service if this occured out of work hours? I know of a lot of incidents that occur every weekend that don’t mean immediate dismissal from your employment. Again, if it wasnt for Bronx and smashing someones jaw, would this have ever got to the media. And one more serious consideration – What about the sponsors who kept the drinks flowing for Todd? They get hims smashed and then drop him like stone… There are far more serious behavioural issues that players have got away with in the past and have not been stood down for this duration. The big winner out of all of this for footy fans are the Brumbies.

Not everybody in the public circus is in the lime light (no pun intended). Imagine if a Departmental boss or the public face of a Department did the same thing? Dismissal.

No mention in the media of how the sponsors held Todd down and forced him to drink…. or of how the sponsors made him drink and drive then get into a pursuit?

Would he have been sacked from the Public Service if this occured out of work hours? I know of a lot of incidents that occur every weekend that don’t mean immediate dismissal from your employment. Again, if it wasnt for Bronx and smashing someones jaw, would this have ever got to the media. And one more serious consideration – What about the sponsors who kept the drinks flowing for Todd? They get hims smashed and then drop him like stone… There are far more serious behavioural issues that players have got away with in the past and have not been stood down for this duration. The big winner out of all of this for footy fans are the Brumbies.

On ya Carney. Good bloke.

Pandy said :

Contrast, if he was a public servant he would have been sacked for breaching several APS Code of Conducts.

I agree. And I would agree with such a consequence.
I just feel that some of the comments above didn’t really show an understanding of empathy. I could be completely wrong, They just seem to prove their points miraculously in all the other posts I’ve looked at.

I dunno, it just seems a bit cold to talk about a man’s employment and future without much regard to him as a person, but more a broken object.

Really, I don’t think his actions were acceptable.
I agree entirely in that he isn’t fit for his current role.
But I do still feel sorry for the poor guy going through all this sh*t.

Contrast, if he was a public servant he would have been sacked for breaching several APS Code of Conducts.

You all carry on as though you are an interview panel conferring about an employee’s future (or lack thereof) within a company. You act as though you know this man, when realistically I doubt you’ve been any closer than the first row, if you were lucky!

Yeah, his behaviour was unnacceptable. That’s why there’s punishment pending. That’s why the letter you are all debating exists. That’s why he has made an apology (however sincere) to the Raiders’ fans and the public in general. This is not something you see very often. You might catch a glimpse in the sports part of the news of a roughed up footy player mumbling into the microphone as though he were just punched in the face and forgot how to speak at the same time, but that’s about as good as it gets. Regardless of how corny, how insincere and how dictated, the fact still stands that he has put his pride on the shelf and put his name to this.

Who are you to judge?
How many countless stupid things have you done?!
How often have they been covered by the media?
Before you judge this man, as if you know him at all, take a look at the stupid, potentially:

-racist
-sexist
-degrading
-disrespectful
-invasive
-inappropriate
-etc.

things that you have done, even in the past year, and think about whether or not you could stand up to be recognised for them. Think about whether or not you would even dare to brave the ever judging public with an apology that you don’t mean, that you don’t find necessary, that’s been blown way out of proportion.

To truly know a man, you must walk a hundred miles in his shoes.

Carney’s an asshole, and should be banned from the game forever. The Raiders should disown him.

Mr Carney (Or someone on his behalf more likely) wrote “Look, I am not an angel – far from it. I am a 22-year-old” Incorrect. You are a KNOB, Todd. A highly [paid, irresponsible knob, old enough to know and behave better. Fcuk Off.

In the immortal words of the AAMI ad, “parlez-vous Francais, Toddy?”. Let this person go. Its as clear as daylight from his actions and now his apologia that he does not comprehend what it means to be a responsible adult. Let him drink like a fool, act like an idiot and go to any team in Australia or overseas that will have him; good riddance and best of luck to whoever takes him on next.

If my actions have caused hurt or embarrassment to my fans, family and friends as well as the Club, I am truly sorry.

It’s pretty clear from the media and talkback radio last week that Carney’s actions have indeed caused offence and embarassment. No need for the “if” in that statement, it just shows that he doesn’t truly accept that he’s done the wrong thing.

Basic rules of making an apology: keep it simple. The people who’ve been offended don’t want to hear excuses or justifications. They just want to hear “I’m sorry, and this is what I’m doing to make sure it never happens again”.

I haven’t seen the Mark loves Sharon show, but saw the characters in their previous show and el is spot on, they could have used Todd as the inspiration.

“I am extremely sorry for the incident which occurred, however I believe the details of that night have not been reported accurately. I was not running around (as some would have you believe) urinating on patrons in the bar. The person involved was drinking in our group and whilst yahooing in the toilets, things got out of hand. The line between good fun and inappropriate behaviour was crossed.”

So he says details of the night have been reported inaccurately, but he doesn’t actually explain what he actually did.

I don’t feel sorry for him.

I can’t understand how he professes to love the Club so much but fails to represent it in a professional and responsible manner off the field.
He’s an arrogant d***head who would probably jump on a plane to France tomorrow if he could wrangle an offer.
Hmm. Its a bit crap that he sits the rest of the season out; he’s handy with the ball and it’s the rest of the team and fans that will suffer.
Management should make him play out the season and then sack him.

Heh. Did anyone else immediately think of that silly ‘Mark loves Sharon’ show that’s started on Ch10 recently?

I agree with DJ, sorry Todd, not acceptable. Your apology or the initial behaviour.

Being 22, loving footy and having a good time, doesn’t excuse weeing of any kind on or near another person, barking at anything other than a dog or cat or burgler etc, if you are a dog yourself, or any of the other beautifual examples of behaviours that the ARL youth of today seem to think are OK.

These kids are payed WAY too much, get WAY too much glory, are not very smart most of the time and have WAY too much time on their hands.

Lock up your daughters I say and maybe get your sons into chess club or mountain biking.

“I do not have an alcohol problem in needing to drink all the time or anything like that; more a problem with not handling myself in a proper manner on occasion when on the drink. I am addressing this issue to avoid future incidents.”

Maybe he should have thought about that after the drink-drive conviction? Carney seems to have been lucky to have avoided assault charges over this, which I suspect would have set his career back by a lot more than the punishment the Raiders have handed down.

Sorry Todd, that was crap. No sincerity there at all… you’re the victim now eh? Fool.

I can understand those comparing his position to real life employment but don’t forget that Todd isn’t likely to have worked an honest day in his entire life. He is a thug (apparently a family trait from what comes down the country grapevine) with talent to play rugby league who can’t handle his beer. Period.

Raiders should hold him to the contract and send him to the feeder clubs to see if he can actually make a commitment to changing his ways – this lets a fresh new player to come up and maybe some of Todds positive on-field experience will rub off on the lower grades… or he will just piss on everybody just as before.

why couldn’t he have written something along the lines of “i’m a serial idiot who has a problem with alcohol, i am trying to rectify this problem but it is not an easy for me; especially due to the high visibilty of alcohol in the culture of our game. but i am trying.
I unreservedly apologise to the victims of my actions at all bar nun and to those affected by my previous actions.
I unreservedly apologise to the club and to my fellow players; my actions have let you down.
I unreservededly apologise to the fans who i have let down especially to those who have looked upto me as a role model.
I unreservedly apologise to both my personal and the clubs sponsors; my actions have let you down.
I accept that the club needs to take action over this incident and will accept their sanctions, before doing this i would however like to have the oppurtunity to present my side of the story to the club and my fellow players. I would dearly love to take part in the teams charge toward the premiership.’

but what he’s writtens rubbish, while it might have been dodge of the raiders not to consult him if this i’m the victim rubbish is what he wants to do then theres no point in listening to him.

Raiders – my advice to your management – once bitten…

If I was caught drink driving and evading authority whilst doing so – you could bet your arse I would be out of a job quick smart – and have prospects of any gubment employment smashed for life.

and whilst yahooing in the toilets, things got out of hand

or in his hand.

An admission of guilt. Hang him high.

This guy is incapable of moderating his behaviour, despite all the Raiders have done, and should be sacked. This is not an apology, this is merely a clarification to lessen the blame. It is a sad indictment of our society that he has people like Sammy supporting his this appalling behaviour.

Sammy said :

Think about this from a regular workplace point of view. An allegation is made against an employee, and then when the allegation faces scrutiny, it is withdrawn. The employee still faces severe punishment, without being given the opportunity to explain their side of the story. Doesn’t sound particularly fair.

Sammy, the allegation was obviously withdrawn as a favour by a forgiving person; not because it didn’t happen. Why else would Todd Carney have apologised to the guy?

From a regular workplace point of view? I reckon he’d be long since gone.

Banning someone from drinking does not teach responsible drinking habits – it if anything encourages binge drinking similarly to binge eating after fad starvation diets. Teach the lad about wine, some beer appreciation courses, etc so he learns how to enjoy a fine drop without getting sloshed and doing something stupid.

Peeing on a guys head is out of proportion?

Bear in mind he agreed to similar terms last year after the “on the run from the law” saga.

Agreed though they should have met with him during disciplinary proceedings.

Let’s also examine the punishment proposed by the Raiders:

* Sit out the rest of the year:

Harsh given the Raiders current form, which could see them play in the finals.

* No alcohol until 2012:

This is draconian! Holy crap, four and a half years without any alcohol. Seriously, this is ridiculous.

* Undergo counselling sessions:

Not so unreasonable. I think most players could use some.

* Complete community service:

Probably unreasonable, if this whole thing has indeed been blown out of proportion.

* Pay a $20,000 fine:

Again, pretty unreasonable.

A lot of cynics out there and not without some cause but in an attempt of displaying fairness I’m going to take this on it’s face value.

Todd’s a nob when on the piss. He’s admitted as much. Some of my best mates have been nobs when on the piss, mostly when they were around Todd’s age. I’d like to think most of them are a lot smarter than Todd and none of them were in the national spotlight and as we know being in the national spotlight does not make you any smarter. Now most young men when on the piss have at least seen someone try to recreate the “don’t cross the streams!” scene from Ghostbusters or dueled lightsabers while at the urinal. It’s not a great leap it realize that drunken willie waving is fraught with danger and even I, the most mild tempered of individuals, have threatened to deck one of my mates if he didn’t start pointing his equipment back towards the wall.

I’m not saying that he has been harshly treated or anything (I couldn’t really give a rats as i don’t like league) but lets keep the incident in perspective.

Think about this from a regular workplace point of view. An allegation is made against an employee, and then when the allegation faces scrutiny, it is withdrawn. The employee still faces severe punishment, without being given the opportunity to explain their side of the story. Doesn’t sound particularly fair.

If they have announced disciplinary measures without hearing his side of the story I think you’ll find the Raiders could be in big trouble.

Whether they were able to contact him at a suitable time will be an issue though.

Quite right, Johnboy. At least he’s not having his regular CT newspaper columns ghost-written by a well known sports journo.

I’d say Todd had some help.

But in the same situation even professional writers would be foolish not to do the same.

That Todd is quite the wordsmith – very eloquent indeed!

Note to Todd’s manager: Apologies sound more genuine if written by the accused, not his management, but nice PR job all the same.