Tuesday 3 July 2007

Ben is back?


So, the media have announced in quite a big way that Ben Cousins is clean and back on the field. Good news for him I suppose. But, more importantly now for Ben is the need to resurrect his career as an ALWAYS "clean" player. Both he and his PR people have a big job ahead of them to restore his "icon" status amongst fans and followers of the AFL.

Whether he likes it or not, Ben Cousins is a role model for many young football followers and, with this in mind, his family, friends, the team, and the WCE PR "handlers" were most likely aware of his drug problems well before they became public - they should have done all they could to avoid this becoming public (maybe they did, but such is the downside of addiction - only the addict can face their problems once their life has fallen apart).

What's most "offensive" to the public in all of this is that his addiction was always referred to as a "problem" that he was trying to overcome, inspiring sympathy in fans and the general public. As everyone knows, cocaine is a ridiculous drug that makes people talk non-stop rubbish and behave in the most egotistical of ways - as Robin Williams once said "cocaine is God's way of saying you have too much money."

Hopefully Ben can now rebuild his career, and the lesson he has learned can remind other AFL footballers of their duty to fans and the opportunities they have in their careers come once in a lifetime, and that second chances are rare.

Only time will tell if Ben can truly resurrect his career as an icon of AFL football.

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