1. Political Correctness
2. People in authoritative roles being precious
3. People in authoritative roles not focussing on the issues people/ constituents are concerned with but rather focussing on looking at ways in which they will be remembered most likely in a derogatory way once they have moved into the next phase of their careers.
4. People who want to make themselves bigger than that they are governing.
5. When you alienate a section of the demographic that supports what you govern ie the rank and file traditional footy fan who has been going for decades for the support of the new fan who 10-15 years ago thought footy was bogan ball and now go due to corporate support and something to talk about on a Monday morning in the tea room over a scotch finger then these new fans believe everything they hear that the footy only began when it was known as AFL in 1990 and not sired on the footy fields of Southern Australia before the 20th century then that is a problem as well.
6. Miking up umps to make them bigger than the players whose play they should be adjucating on doesn't help. Good authority is neither seen nor heard unless they need to be.
7.When umpires adjudicate to an agenda to keep one team in a game b/c it equates to a windfall or just merely an intimidation to the ump because one bloke is a superstar of the game and the other bloke is a rookie then what example does that set to the rest of society.
8. Making people feel guilty for thinking a certain way and then expressing it in words or print is manipulation of the highest form.
The problem is deep rooted. This current administration has changed the game more than the previous admins of Wayne and Ross put together. Sure the money has grown but the essential rules and the traditions of the game are being threatened by the power mongering of a lawyer who in truth would be lucky to get a game in an Industrial Sunday League Pub side.
The fish rots at the head my friends and WAT there is your answer mate. Blame Adrian Anderson he is the main problem here and the chopping and changing of rules has destroyed a footballers natural instinct and confused the crap out of him. This is tantamount to telling a predatory big cat to not go after deer and gazelle and become herbivorous. Just unnatural and inhumane if you ask me. When fans and players are confused at the new rules and then authority mumble fumble and stumble their way through explaining these rules that were brought in, in haste without any logical reasonable and clinical research regarding anything but merely because of a perceived trend then the AFL and their rule makers are solely and squarely to blame.