Paul Kent: Penrith Panthers’ antics are damaging the NRL
The NRL remains silent on Penrith’s embarrassing antics. But the trashing of decades-old NRL traditions started just minutes after their famous grand final victory, writes Paul Kent.
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The paradox of the self-absorbed Panthers is breathtaking.
As tough and intelligent as they are on the field they moan like little children off it.
They continue to ruin their own parade with boorish (adjective: rough and bad mannered; coarse) behaviour that devalues (verb: reduce or underestimate the worth of importance of) their own performance.
It was just a week ago the Panthers were all bravado (noun: a bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate).
Physio Peter Green stepped out of line and verballed a rival Souths player, although the tip is when the Panthers checked the audio it was another on-field trainer, and the Panthers suddenly revealed themselves as thin-skinned.
Coach Ivan Cleary called it defamatory. An anonymous official threatened to sue.
Even though nothing said was defamatory (adjective: damaging the good reputation of someone), the Panthers were bullying their way through.
Since winning the grand final the intention is the same, but done in victory.
Panthers officials have remained silent on their antics except for director Greg Alexander, who appeared to condone it. At least he put a comment to it.
The NRL has also remained silent, saying nothing more than a confirmation they are investigating Jarome Luai’s racial comment on his Instagram account.
The NRL’s lack of understanding for grand final protocol was telling.
The game ended at 9.30pm Sunday night and the players instantly celebrated, as they should.
They went into the grandstand and brought family onto the field to celebrate with them, which was terrific.
They lifted the trophy at 9.50pm when the NRL finally got its act together.
Many players then sat on the grass playing in the confetti with their kids or taking photos with them on field while fans in the grandstand waited for as long as they could suffer it.
Half an hour later, and nearly an hour after the game, and with three-quarters of the crowd gone, they finally got the lap of honour underway.
Not a full lap, but a walk inside the stadium
While it is the players’ moment first and foremost, it is also a moment for fans.
Where is the NRL in this?
The lap of honour was a tradition that goes back as far as anybody alive can remember.
It’s not the Panthers’ fault because the NRL has allowed it to slowly disappear.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Panthers’ antics go uncontested.
What the club sponsors such as OAK and Allam make of their thug-life posturing has not been confirmed. Anyone feel like a strawberry milk after watching that?
And it’s kind of the point.
While the Panthers are headfirst into adopting elements of the hip-hop gangsta lifestyle the difference between them and the artists they copy is that they are part of something bigger.
They are part of a club that was there before them and will still be there after they have long retired. Part of an NRL that was there before them and will still be there long after them.
They are sportsmen who appear to show no sportsmanship.
Yet they have licence to trash the reputation that so many others have contributed towards.
If the grand final is regarded as a spectacle to introduce new fans to the game then what are they saying today?
I’ve seen enough of that.
The greater embarrassment is the Panthers are hardly original in their revolution.
A good 20 years ago the NBA was going through its own crisis when players started getting more extreme in their appearance as they adopted street thug personas.
For some, like Allen Iverson, it was who he was.
For others, it was kind of cool look that they picked up on. Sheep in NBA clothing.
Cornrows and tattoos, oversized jewellery and hip-hop culture all became the look of the day.
The NBA realised it was affecting the game’s popularity. It was a major turn off, a look that a large majority of fans, if not players, could not connect with.
It came to a head in a brawl between Detroit and Indiana that went into the grandstands. Malice at the Palace they called it.
Early the following year NBA Commissioner David Stern recognised it was a growing problem and its street reputation was affecting the league’s popularity.
Stern brought in strict new dress rules, as a starter.
Business or conservative attire to and from games and at all official NBA business, such as appearances and functions.
Players rebelled, labelling an infringement on their freedom of expression and, when that was laughed out of town, that it was racist. The last roll of the dice for the dull mind.
The NBA argued that if common workplaces could impose uniform dressing then so could the NBA and the players were forced into line.
In their way, as they always do, they dressed neatly and polished their image and found new ways to influence fashion and sell their brand.
The smart ones always find a way. The others, not so much.
Compare that to class of Parramatta skipper Simaima Taufa hours earlier in her losing NRLW grand final speech, who made all the right thank you’s and then turned toward her rivals.
“Newcastle, from where we were in season ’21 — you guys played outstanding,” she said.
“And led by Millie Boyle, Hannah Southwell and Tamika Upton, it’s a true testament to how hard you girls work and we couldn’t have played a better opponent.”
“To the girls who went before us we hope we did you proud.
“And to the next generation of girls, now you see it and you can aspire to be wearing the blue and the gold and I can’t wait to see where the game is in the future … keep inspiring the girls to be better versions of themselves.
“Thank you.”
Now that was class.
Which for the Panthers should be taken not as a noun or verb but in the adjective form: “showing stylish excellence”.
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