I think the penalty is a tad harsh but under the circumstances the game had to be seen to be proactive in the protection of its most vital assets - the players. A lenient sentence would have given the knockers more ammo to fire at the sport. Unfortunately, a player has been severley injured on television and you could hear the knives being sharpened almost immediately.
Case in point, on the Today show the other morning, the editor in chief of that trashy gossip rag the Womans Weekly was given 5 minutes air time to rant about the evils of the game. Even though she admitted to not watching or knowing very little about the sport! She condescendingly chastised parents who allow their children to play this "brutal" sport and said the only skill is about being able to take a hard hit. She argued with and talked down to Ben Fordam who tried to defend the game before stating that the injury to Alex was solely the fault of the NRL.
Her name is Helen McCabe and she is an overly opinionated feminazi pigdog from way back…who just happens to be a rampant AFL supporter. All the comments she made were overly exaggerated ignorant dribble, however, they are echoed by many who know nothing of the sport. The problem is that this moron has clout in the media and is appearing on television, radio and you can almost gaurantee print as well to continue her attacks.
7 weeks seems harsh for the act alone, but taking into consideration the outcome, there is some justification for it. I will stop short of calling it a political decision....but only just.
