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Ed Said - For the good of the game

 

dadBarely had the tears of joy dried and the champagne dregs gone flat for our triumphant netball team, when New Zealand mainstream media were bleating: Why weren’t the world champions paid? This just as our cricketers earned $3 million collectively from their similarly herculean effort a week before.

The first thing is to compare apples with apples. The whole world is engulfed in professional sport. Golf and tennis players are millionaires as are motor racing drivers and footballers, snooker players and even the World Darts Championship carries prizemoney to the value of 2.5 million British pounds. 

Cricket and its many forms, is simply huge on the world stage, in several densely populated countries and, as such, commands or even demands a huge monetary input and generates audiences numbered in tens of thousands. Athletes, skateboarders, snowboarders and surfers can also make a handy living in their chosen field. 

But not all sport is equal. Netball is of huge interest also but only to the few who play it, and their close families. While Kiwi’s may have been glued to their TV in the early hours for the World Championship final, most of the world wasn’t and I’d be prepared to bet there would actually be more wives watching an All Black rugby test match than there were men watching the netball. This is not sexist, age-ist, black-ist or white-ist – it’s simply a fact. 

Susie Ferguson on Radio NZ interviewed a netball officianado and in reference to non-payment asked “Is this fair?” Dumb question. Netball is big to us but on a world scale simply doesn’t rate. Stuff reporter Mark Reason said in reference to our beating Australia “We bullied the bullys.” Another dumb remark. Nobody was bullied at any point. The game has become more physical for sure but on the world stage you give your all in an effort to become the best. Becoming the best for the moment, does that now make us the bullies? No, it means we were better prepared, perhaps fitter and tactically superior on the day and the whole scenario should be put into perspective.

The Silver Ferns have some heavyweight sponsors including Sky Sport, ANZ, MYOB and Puma among others who I would assume pay all or part of their travel, food and accommodation, uniforms and so on. That the players are not paid is because the matter has never been raised or introduced within the top echelon of international netball. The matter even went to the top with the Prime Minister urging sponsors to front up with a monetary award for the players. If there’s one thing I detest its politics in sport as politicians are ultimately pushing their own agenda. However in the wake of public uproar the sponsors did come to the party pledging a $25,000 payment to the players, but for me it shouldn’t necessarily end there.

I get annoyed with this ‘punching above our weight’ thing too. Regardless of the size of our country, if we have an international team they have to compete on the world stage – or not. Sport really is about winning, otherwise why would we keep score? 

Consider this. If we sent a team to the Olympics for four games and they came home empty handed the country would be baying that they were a waste of taxpayers’ money. Our netballers had not won this competition for 16 years! This time last year they also lost 11 international games on the trot, often against some minor opposition, and in reference to payments, a year ago they couldn't have got sponsorship for McDonalds burger vouchers let alone earn thousands. No doubting though it was a great win and we applaud them and all bask in the glory but let's keep it real. 

The irony is the furore over money was fuelled by everyone except the players. The glory of the win was reward in itself and the players all knew that and endorsed that sentiment. 

Rob

 
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