Alcohol in Sport
There has always been an association between alcohol and sport as far back as I can remember. When I was a child growing up in Detroit, Michigan in the United States, all the professional sporting teams were sponsored by brewing companies. The Detroit Tigers baseball team trumpeted the virtues of Carling Black Label beer promoted by a smiling “Mabel” the beer waitress/hostess. The Detroit Lions Gridiron team flew the flag of the then local Stroh’s Brewing Corporation. The renowned Detroit Red Wings ice hockey team was sponsored by Stroh’s as well. When they played either of the two Canadian teams, Montreal or Toronto, on “Hockey Night in Canada” it was the Molson Brewing company which featured prominently.The relationship between alcohol sponsorship and sport in Australia is very similar to the historical situation I’ve described in the U.S. The names of many of the most prominent alcohol brands in Australia are associated with sports sponsorship. Bundaberg Rum is the major sponsor of the Australian Rugby Union series including the Tri-Nations. Foster’s Brewing is one of the major sponsors of this year’s Cricket Australia tours. Toohey’s sponsors many of the junior rugby league competitions in southern New South Wales, while Four X and Victoria Bitter have naming rights in other codes. Toohey’s is also a major sponsor of the Wallabies.
The association between alcohol sponsorship and sport fits like hand in glove. Demographic statistics tell us that Australians aged 20-29 are the most likely of all age groups to drink at levels that are risky, or a high risk of harm in the short term (AIHW, 2005). This age group is also the population most likely to participate in sport or physical recreation - (75% of 15-34 year olds according to the ABS, 2007). So there is a natural affinity between Australians in the age group most likely to consume the greatest amount of alcohol, and participate in sport and alcohol sponsorships! It makes perfect sense. What has started to make less sense in recent years has been the negative images and portrayals of the elite athletes whose alcohol fuelled behaviors have tainted their personal reputations, their sporting codes and their respective clubs.
What has changed over the years is the ability of the media to obtain firsthand accounts of any behaviour that is ill warranted and/or controversial. In the past reporting on such behaviour was the sole responsibility of the journalists who travelled with the team and covered their exploits. This exclusive relationship resulted more than likely in the under-reporting or non-reporting of the unsavoury incidents perpetrated by the athletes. In today’s “look at me” world, a number of multimedia devices enable journalists and the general public to act as the eyes and ears of the public at large in reporting the misbehaviours of alcohol affected athletes!
Another factor contributing to the growing public disquiet around athletes and drunken behaviour is the amount of money many elite athletes are paid. The average Australian can no longer accept the behaviour exhibited by athletes who are paid in the hundreds of thousands of dollars! Finally, the public perception that somehow these athletes are not accountable for their actions due to the lack of consequences, or minimal consequences has reached breaking point.
There have been a series of incidents which have fuelled the public’s backlash. In Rugby League in the recent past the Canterbury Bulldogs players were accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a hotel resort. A police investigation followed but there were no arrests. Two West’s Tigers players, Craig Field and Kevin McGuiness were suspended after their drinking led to the consumption of cocaine. The Newcastle Knights were allegedly involved in a scandal involving several payers who were drunk and one of the group sexually assaulted a young woman.
This year Greg Bird, star halfback for the Cronulla Sharks, assaulted his girlfriend with a broken glass while he was drunk. Another Cronulla player was videotaped in a drunken stupor at a shopping mall unable to maintain his balance, falling to the pavement with a female companion. Three players from the Brisbane Broncos were accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a young woman in the toilet of a Brisbane hotel. No charges were filed. Bronco’s captain, Darren Lockyer was shown misbehaving while under the influence of alcohol at a Brisbane hotel. Lockyer had denied the incident occurred initially.
The coach of the Sydney Roosters, Brad Fittler had gone to the room of a young woman dressed only in his underwear while drunk. Fittler said he had mistaken the woman’s room for his own! Finally, Rooster forward Nate Miles, while drunk defecated in the hallway of a hotel after trying to gain entry to a room inhabited by a family of four!
There is an attitude and culture surrounding elite athletes and their drinking that needs to be addressed. It is not confined to one code, and although Rugby League is featured prominently in this commentary, similar incidents have been exposed in the Australian Football League and cricket. In addition to the public backlash and outrage, major sponsors have started to threaten to withdraw their patronage. In one case, LG terminated their sponsorship of the Cronulla Sharks after the disclosure of the sex scandal surrounding former Cronulla player and media commentator, Matthew Johns.
It will not be until the owners, administrators and coaches of these elite athletes realise they are in the most at risk demographic for alcohol misuse that things will change. There needs to be a concerted effort to change the attitude and culture towards alcohol in sport, which has prevailed for far too long. If not, to take off the Victoria Bitter commercial, “Sport is feeling a long, long thirst that they can feel coming now! It’s the thirst caused by the lack of sponsorship dollars!”
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2007, Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation, ABS, Canberra.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2005, 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey : First Results, AIHW, Canberra.
James A Pitts, MA
Chief Executive Officer
Odyssey House