Josh Reynold’s case shows how NRL’s no-fault stand down policy can’t be black and white
Todd Greenberg must have thought he had found an effective way of dealing with rugby league’s scandals when he introduced the NRL’s no-fault stand down policy. Josh Reynolds showed nothing is that simple, writes MIKE COLMAN.
Opinion
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I once interviewed the-then CEO of the NRL David Gallop in his Sydney office.
He told me he had an unofficial grading system for rugby league scandals.
On the bottom of the scale were things like players turning up to training drunk or going out hitting the pokies the night before a big game. He called these “the soap opera of rugby league”.
Next were the oddities – the example he used was an allegedly terminally ill young man who said he wanted to leave millions of dollars in his will to the Cronulla Sharks. The man was later found to be perfectly healthy, worth around 200 bucks and about to face fraud charges on another matter. Gallop classed these kinds of occurrences as “shemozzles”.
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And finally there were the serious ones: players being accused of sexual assault or domestic violence; illicit drug use or clubs keeping two sets of books to rort the salary cap. These he called “red alerts”.
It is hard to know in which category Gallop would place the current case involving allegations against West Tigers’ player Josh Reynolds.
I’m guessing all three.
Happily for Gallop it’s not his problem. After stepping down after seven years as CEO of the FFA he’s looking for a less stressful occupation than running a major sport. Like lion taming or bomb disposal.
Todd Greenberg, his most recent successor at the NRL, must have thought that he and then-ARL chairman Peter Beattie had found an effective way of dealing with at least one cause of “red alerts” when they introduced their no-fault stand down policy this time last year.
The Josh Reynolds case has shown just how naive they were.
While in some situations standing down a player awaiting criminal charges could be the right move, allegations about the past behaviour of Reynolds’ accuser – including from her own mother – have highlighted just how careful the NRL must be before suspending a player before he has his day in court.
And how the public shouldn’t be too hasty to jump to conclusions.
When video of Reynolds speaking harshly to his sometime girlfriend Arabella Del Busso surfaced on the internet and he was charged with her assault, it’s fair to say that not many people took his side.
Just another player behaving badly was the general view; another grub with too much money and too much time.
Subsequent events, including submissions from several men alleging they were “played” by Del Busso, have painted Reynolds in another light.
In fact, given the fact that he has never been a particularly popular player with fans other than those of the club he plays for, it could be said that rather than destroying his reputation the whole “shemozzle” has enhanced it.
If Reynolds’ version of events is to be believed he was actually acting quite honourably while being dragged further into an alleged “catfish” scam.
While it is still too early to make any determination about the outcome of the court case scheduled for April, it would appear the NRL has done the right thing by allowing Reynolds to keep playing until the matter has been heard.
But it is also correct to say that this has been one of the greatest examples of “the soap opera of rugby league” that we’ve ever tuned into.
Originally published as Josh Reynold’s case shows how NRL’s no-fault stand down policy can’t be black and white