Jack Riewoldt urged to give up media ban before it derails Richmond’s seasonHerald-Sun
March 06, 2014 10:00PMJACK Riewoldt has never murdered anyone, been involved in a sordid late-night saga, or even fraternised with dangerous bikies.
As he stormed out of Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre with TV cameras trailing him on Thursday, it was hard not to think he had perpetrated some great evil.
The reason, of course, was that silly media ban which has had the exact opposite effect Riewoldt might have hoped.
It has focused every bit of attention on Riewoldt at a time when he hoped to spread it on teammates like Troy Chaplin, who famously replaced him in the leadership group.
The decision to dub what should be just keeping a low profile as a “media ban” was a poor decision before Thursday.
Teammate after teammate in recent days has been quizzed on Riewoldt’s media ban and its effect on the team.
But as Riewoldt allowed footage of him shooting half-court shots to publicise charity Save the Children, it was a total train wreck.
Riewoldt entered MSAC with scowl affixed, hit his second half-court shot ahead of a quarter-time appearance on Sunday for the Melbourne Tigers, and then became aware reporters were keen to quiz him.
In a flash he had ripped off his Melbourne Tigers jumper and very nearly ran out of the venue to avoid those impertinent questions.
The huge pity is that Riewoldt is — or has been — a ripping guy, generous to a fault and prepared to do anything for his mates.
He is genuinely hurt by the attention his demotion from the leadership group has garnered, but the message has utterly been lost.
Instead of the focus being on Riewoldt giving up a Sunday to promote charity at basketball, it was his media ban.
It was his second charity engagement of the week — he took part in a promotion for the Alana and Madeline Foundation on Wednesday.
But while he has a “media ban” in place, rather than just being seen to pour his energies into football, all of that is seen to be white noise.
When Riewoldt fronts up for the club’s final hit-out against Essendon at Punt Road, his media ban will again dominate proceedings.
That game is the first serious clash at the venue since 1964, with 2100 fans to cram into the famous venue.
The Tigers star says he won’t do media because he can’t control how he is perceived, but what a million footballers before him have realised is you have to take the good with the bad.
The media coverage can bite you on the bum, but if you show your positive side for long enough it nearly always wins out.
Ask Riewoldt’s charity-shot offsider yesterday in Andrew Gaze, who must have conducted tens of thousands of interviews as an ambassador for the game he loves.
The same media — the Herald Sun which was criticised for insensitivity towards players this weekend — devoted exactly 1861 words to an exceptional Sam Edmund feature highlighting Riewoldt’s positive side.
Riewoldt is a solid human being who should be commended for devoting his time to charities like Save the Children.
But the problem is the more walkouts and media storms he creates, the more people will choose to ignore that selfless side.
His only real problem is his occasionally poor on-field body language.
If he feels strongly he should stop his The Footy Show appearances, put the kibosh on feature articles, and decide on selective media appearances after post-game wins.
He should quit the silly media ban, focus on being the teammate his club needs him to be, and the whole thing will blow over by June.
The alternative is hijacking Richmond’s season, all for the sake of a cause that few are really sure about anyway.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/jack-riewoldt-urged-to-give-up-media-ban-before-it-derails-richmonds-season/story-fndv8t7m-1226847390281
