Proud to be a Bulldog? Not even close

BOYS will be boys. Guess what? Times have changed. And it’s time to accept it, and deal with it. “If I were at a pub at 5pm on a Monday and a roaringly drunk 20-something male, who was built like a brick sh*thouse, got completely nude I would be appalled,” women’s sport editor and Bulldogs fan Fiona Bollen writes.

The Bulldogs’ Mad Monday celebrations were wild. Picture: Christian Gilles

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BOYS will be boys. Guess what? Times have changed. And it’s time to accept it, and deal with it.

I’m wearing a few hats when it comes to looking at the Bulldogs’ Mad Monday situation.

I’m a mother of two boys.

I’m a lifelong Bulldogs fan, I’m a member. My whole family supports the club and my children have been given no choice in the matter either.

I’m the women’s sport editor at News Corp and I’ve covered rugby league for eight years.

The Bulldogs’ Mad Monday celebrations were wild. Picture: Christian Gilles

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Under each of those hats not once do I find an iota of empathy for what these boys (and their behaviour makes them boys, even though they should be men) did and the situation they find themselves in today.

My two boys haven’t quite got into rugby league yet. My eldest is close to the age where he’ll really start following the team soon. Next year might be the year and I look forward to it.

But today I am glad he hasn’t got into it.

I’m glad I don’t have to explain why the club is in the headlines and all over the news. I’m glad I don’t have to explain to him why one of the players he looks up to is nude on the front page. I would then follow that with a conversation as to why that is not acceptable behaviour.

It’s embarrassing.

In Coles this morning they were selling NRL team-branded reusable shopping bags. Along the bottom was the club’s hashtag — ‘Proud to be a Bulldog’.

The irony. Proud is not how I feel.

Bulldogs: Mad Monday pictures

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On top of all of that, for the past month we have been working hard in the build up to the start of the women’s NRL premiership this weekend.

There are so many amazing stories among these players. A lot of them have children and are juggling work and family life around this competition simply so they can pull on an NRL jersey.

They’re not doing it for the money. They are getting paid, but it’s not enough to live off and it’s only for a few months. They’re doing it because they love the game. They want to play it and they want the privilege of being able to say they’re a rugby league player.

The Harbour View Hotel was the Bulldogs’ Mad Monday venue. Picture: Toby Zerna. Picture: Toby Zerna

What a shame there probably won’t be enough space tomorrow for another one of their stories, for you to learn about who they are before they take the field this weekend.

You won’t read as much about the men’s games either. One of the most exciting first round of finals for as long as I can remember but some of those yarns will likely get squeezed out too.

The Bulldogs issued a statement saying the behaviour was “unacceptable and a poor reflection on the individuals involved and the club. The players are aware of their responsibilities and the standards required when representing the club and yesterday’s behaviour was unacceptable and a bad look for the game.”

They now have to conduct a review into it; take time that would have been spent going over a season on-field that needs plenty of analysis and instead investigate antics at an end-of-season party and determine appropriate punishments.

I’ve heard the defence: they are boys in their 20s. It’s true, it is an age when decision making isn’t a strong point. I lived on campus on university, I know how boys in their 20s can be. Nudity often went hand in hand with drinking. Yes, it happens.

But it also happened at parties on campus, in a private setting. When someone was dumb enough to do it in public or at a bar, they were kicked out. They were told they were stupid. It was unacceptable.

I also went to university in a different time. Society’s standards have changed. Some people call it being a wowser or too PC, but it’s evolution. It’s learning and growing. Understanding how your actions impact on others.

If I were at a pub at 5pm on a Monday and a roaringly drunk 20-something male, who was built like a brick shithouse, got completely nude I would be appalled. I would be intimidated. I would be nervous.

I wouldn’t want it ignored. I would want to say, ‘pull your head in mate, and your other one, and show some goddamn respect’. I probably wouldn’t because I’d also have concerns about my safety.

Quit the boys will be boys BS. How about we hold our boys to higher standards? Why don’t we tell them they can be better than that?

And then maybe I can put my hats back on and proudly watch, read about and enjoy the NRL.

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Originally published as Proud to be a Bulldog? Not even close