Anyone seen Nick Place article in the Age.
I have two words for Nathan Broad: I'm angryNick Place
The Age
1 November 2017A bunch of us gathered last Sunday to watch the grand final replay again. Look, we're Tigers. The concept of how many times can you watch a game has not yet occurred to us, and may not for a while yet.
But there was a difference last Sunday. Every time a certain Tiger went for the ball, my wife cursed quietly, under her breath.
It hadn't been hard to narrow down who the sexting Tiger was, even before it was made public. In these days of social media, you can effortlessly keep track of which members of your team have steady girlfriends or wives, who hangs out with who, who's on holiday where, and everything else you require to cross-reference and eliminate suspects.
Nathan Broad had posted photos of himself with The Boys, always The Boys, in Flemington and Hong Kong, but then had gone quiet, even though he was in other photos from Bali, where he seemed to have been on holidays with Brandon Ellis.
And so, we watched the TV replay and my wife, a mad Tiger, found her distaste for Broad's actions with a phone camera overwhelming her joy for any of his heroics on grand final day.
Me? I'm angry.
I'm incredibly angry if it's true, as per the reports, that Broad had a previous relationship with this woman, she specifically asked him to delete the photo, and that she has suffered the deep anguish reported because he betrayed her trust. I don't think missing three games – roughly the same as a mild hamstring strain – cuts it as a punishment.
I'm angry that our beautiful Tiger paradise has had Nathan Broad pee in the swimming pool. Angry that all the other premiership players have spent weeks now carrying the suspicion that they were the hole disrespecting a woman who trusted them.
I'm angry because the AFL deserves credit for how hard it has worked to promote respect for women. As the removal of two senior executives from head office earlier this year shows, there appears to be a long way to go. But the league has been trying for a long time now, employing an "integrity team" and staff who regularly try to guide impressionable, very young men across all 18 teams how to deal respectfully and appropriately with fans and fame.
I'm angry for Brendon Gale and Peggy O'Neal, who have done so much to finally make Richmond a successful, powerful, fun club to barrack for again. I feel deeply for O'Neal, who has been forced to change gear from enjoying her moment of universal respect as the AFL's first female president, to having to sit alongside Nathan Broad in the glare of a hostile media and feel the heat of disgust from women fans across Australia.
Last, but by no means least, I'm angry for the woman at the heart of all this who is so obviously and genuinely stricken by what's happened. I hope she can move past it, and remains anonymous.
Today I received an email from the club, with the subject: "Happy one month anniversary, Tiger army." Exactly a month after 22 players climbed into the hearts of us Tiger fans forever, cherished heroes one and all, the number just dropped to 21.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/i-have-two-words-for-nathan-broad-im-angry-20171031-gzbqg2.html
