Gary Ablett - Hall of fame

[cub]

I think it is time - With the controversy at the time of his retirment it was not right - but the champion FOOTBALLER he was demands he be there. And us as Tiger supporters should know this second to Geelong supporters as he played some absolute rip snorters against us. I would dare say when the tough ars had a head of steam up a few people may have taken a side or half step to avoid ending up smashed. Easily up there with the best I have seen.

[Moi]

Stupid having a hall of fame and not having the best player of all time IMO in it.
Anyone know if John Nicholls is in it?  Be a bit of a contradiction to have him in it and not Ablett.
Both unsavouroury characters off field IMO.  However, the award is for best footballers, not their character.
Great decision 

[WilliamPowell]

Stupid having a hall of fame and not having the best player of all time IMO in it.
Anyone know if John Nicholls is in it?  Be a bit of a contradiction to have him in it and not Ablett.

Yes Moi I believe Nicholls is in the HOF and that's why this argument they've been using about character outside football is flawed in my view. 

As Barry Round has said in this mornings papers - all the HOF memebers cannot all be clan skins.

[Moi]

lmao@John Nicholls being escorted to games by Pentridge guards 

[mightytiges]

As it's a football honour then Ablett should be in the hall of Fame. He was just an absolute freak on the footy field. Gave us Tiger supporters nightmares though. What was it 90 goals from just 9 matches or something?  .

Just as an aside does anyone know if OJ Simpson is in the NFL Hall of Fame?

[julzqld]

Apparently Edddie isn't so keen.

McGuire's Ablett blast
05 June 2005   Sunday Herald Sun
Jon Ralph

COLLINGWOOD president Eddie McGuire yesterday attacked the AFL Hall of Fame selection committee for its failure to investigate whether Gary Ablett still had a drug problem.

McGuire said, if the criteria regarding character and integrity were to be applied, Ablett should not qualify for entry into the Hall of Fame.

Ablett will be inducted on Monday, despite his absence, after being ignored for four years because of his involvement in the death of Alisha Horan, who died of a drug overdose in 2000.

McGuire renewed his attack on his inclusion, saying there could not be a worse time to celebrate Ablett's achievements.

"We are putting into the Hall of Fame someone who has been heavily involved in drugs and no one has done any investigation, from what I can hear, into whether Gary still has a drug problem or not," he told radio 3AW.

"That is the duty of care I was talking about (this week). You can't just say time heals and all that sort of stuff. It hasn't healed.

"It is the most inappropriate time in the history of football to put a bloke who has been involved in a drug-related death of a girl into the Hall of Fame."

Ablett was fined $1500 in 2002 after being found guilty of using and possessing heroin and ecstasy on the night Horan died, but was not charged over her death.

McGuire said Ablett should be forced to make an apology to Horan's family to show his remorse

[WilliamPowell]

There was an excellent letter published in the letters section of the HUN on this topic.

It was on page 20 in Friday's ediiton= 3rd June 2005:

part of the letter said:

"An adult in his company died of a drug overdose. But she was not a child. She must have been aware of the dangers of taking drugs. While I feel for anyone who has lost a loved one, when are people going to understand and accept that they are responsible for their own actions?"

"This one incident has been denying Ablett his rightful palce in the Hall of fame all these years."

"But before all you glasshouse residents pick up your stones, hiw about a history lesson. Is there any integrity, sportsmanship and character in breaking someone's jaw on the field? And what if it was behind play, a king hit to a smaller player?"

"The perpetrator of this act just happens to be a current legend of the Hall of Fame"

"How about people just put down thier stones, accept the induction, let a grieving father move on and help restore the AFL Hall of Fame's value and status in the football world"

NB: As mentioned above the full letter can be found on page 20 of the HUN's Your Say section dated 3/6/05

=====================

I think the fellow who wrote this has made a very very good case.

I wonder what Eddie and the others reply to is would be?

The facts are the AFL Hall of Fame is not made up of saints or angels - it is made up of footballers. It is time to move on - and gee I feel for the others who are going to be inducted tomorrow - yeah there are supposed to be other people who are going to be inducted but you wouldn't know it would ya

[Moi]

Really just politicising and ruining what should be a thrill for anyone nominated.  Gary Ablett no exception.
Someone else said the other day on the radio, if Gary Ablett were to come onto The Footy Show and give an exclusive interview, Eddie would probably change tack and say he was the great bloke alive.  The cynic in me says probably a spot on statement.

[the_boy_jake]

This is football FFS, not the UN high commission. Kicking some cowhide between big sticks, and he was good at it.

I can't believe that such an arbitrary honour in such an arbitrary pursuit attracted so much attention this week. I'm obviously not on the same wavelength as mosst footy fans, but I really could not give a fv<k.

[WilliamPowell]

I noted with interest this quote from Leigh Matthews in today's Age. Full credit to the bloke for not taking the high moral ground 

Yesterday, Leigh Matthews, an original hall of fame legend in 1996, threw his support behind Ablett's induction and used the biggest blot on his own career to support the argument.

"On a personal note, there's one bloke in the hall of fame who's been in the court on an assault charge . . . things happen, so I can't be a hypocrite here," said Matthews in reference to his on-field clash with Geelong's Neville Bruns in 1985, which left the Cat with a
Broken jaw and Matthews the centre of an off-field controversy.

"The criteria sounds good when you talk about integrity and character, but you can be the best bloke in the world and if you don't play footy really well, you're not going into the hall of fame - and I don't think you can reverse it."

From the following link:
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2005/06/07/1117910247479.html

[mightytiges]

said Matthews in reference to his on-field clash with Geelong's Neville Bruns in 1985, which left the Cat with a
Broken jaw and Matthews the centre of an off-field controversy.

Just a few years after that incident there was a rumour going around that Matthews was told to retire at the end of that year (85) because other sides would have him in their sights if he played on following year due to what he did to Bruns.