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Sports reporters and administrators are continuing to appease Twitter sentiment this week, as they stand by their condemnations of Cronulla Sharks player Toby Rudolf’s decision to say what he was genuinely thinking on live television.
However, the NRL playing group is in uproar over the formal warning being handed to the Sharks prop – following an offensive comment he made during a live television interview with the journalistic powerhouses known as Nathan Hindmarsh, Bryan Fletcher and Matty Johns.
Toby Rudolf, a 25-year-old product of South Sydney’s hard knock houso estates, is paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to run as hard as he can into other men – often resulting in collisions that cause medical complications for one of the two 110kg men involved, has surprised the pearl-clutching media class by having a rough sense of humour that is indicative of his upbringing inside the houso flats and in leagues clubs.
After being baited by the rowdy Matty Johns Show panel on Sunday, and asked how he planned to celebrate the Sharks’ win over the Dragons, Rudolf responded: “Probably about 1000 beers. Probably go to Northies, try and pull something — anything will do.
The crowd went wild with laughter, as did the programme’s prominently working class audience, who don’t spend their evenings being told what to think by Charlie Pickering.
Rudolf quickly followed up his quip by saying “No, honestly, it’s all about recovery these days. I’ll be going straight home, straight home” – comments that were also met with laughter.
The ‘sportsball’ media types who just happened to have heard about this story because it made it’s way to the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald website, continue to perpuate faux-outrage across social media – in turn forcing the hands of the NRL to discipline their player.
“It’s just inappropriate” says Clyde Hopscotch-Paisley, a 45-year-old wine reveiwer from Melbourne’s Inner-North.
“These heathens have no idea how to conduct themselves in society. They should just lace up their boots and play football, that’s what they get paid to do”
“These misogynist athletes should leave the off-field entertainment to the Australians who are gifted enough to get paid to do just that, like Rachel Griffiths”
“Or Geoffrey Rush”
