The culture of bullying and abuse at Wests Tigers..

[jirskyr]

I don't want to dismiss the seriousness of this, but at the same time it's VERY hard to take on face value commentary made by unnamed sources.

For example - if these comments were attributable to Aaron Woods or Tedesco, people would be rightly appalled. But what if they are attributable to Farah or Akauola? Paints the same comments in very different lights. In fact it sounds a lot like the Akauola story, of injury and feeling like being ignored by the coach.

Lots of the comments don't ring true, have me head-scratching. Does the head coach have to speak to every player every week? What if the player is ISP? Why would you need to bash a coach or hurt yourself? Everyone has had bad experience with bosses, but how many people take their issues to this level?

The suicide thing is really unfortunate - it is the most serious issue facing the whole NRL and it's being used as a weapon here. Mosese was a terrible tragedy and isn't anyone's fault, you can't start pinning those incidents on people, it's just not fair. Cowboys have had even more tragedy, but does that make Cowboys an unstable or poor club?

And then if I'm not mistake, Farah is / used to be a key player representative in the RLPA? Him, Cameron Smith and Clint Newton. There is some validation in that the RLPA has apparently written the report, but like others I am troubled by the anonymity of it, the delayed release, the specific Farah angle of it. The timing especially, when many of the issues of the last 2-3 years appear on the way to being rectified, and this comes out to tear open old wounds.

 

[jirskyr]

1) Can't hide the fact that Mosese committed suicide, we will never no if the the Tigers contributed or was the root cause.

Mate you can't blame anyone for suicide, that is not fair. Same as you can't blame a specific person if they know someone who is violent, or commits serious crime. Are Adolf Hitler's parents responsible for WWII? It's an extreme example but it highlights what I mean.

 

[tigerap]

This was WT 2015, the club has changed immensely since then….Someone with an ax to grind against the club is behind this..I wonder who that could be......jeez some people just cant move on...

 

[Newtown]

Someone has an extreme vindictive, vendetta against his former club. May be the NRL should interview this player and tell him to put up or shut up.

 

[Demps]

It's 2016 - the info states that article, interview, letter, whatever was from 2015.

Yes, Fotuaiki (RIP) took his life - probably a lot more to that then we will ever know.

Sitaleki was sad 'cos of all the positional changes and has stated it caused him depression which is fair - we all handle things different.

I'm bewildered at to how this a relevant article for these journos to dig up and re-hash like it's something news breaking.

I trust that the club has things in place for the players if they need and take player welfare seriously.

 

[marzie]

Wests Tigers statement
Wests Tigers Media
>
Sun 6th November, 09:50AM
WT Statement Black
Wests Tigers would like to respond to an inaccurate and misleading article published in today’s The Sunday Telegraph.
>
While The Sunday Telegraph’s article attempts to discredit Wests Tigers the Club was actually ranked second in the NRL for its wellbeing program for the 2016 season.
>
Central to the article is a confidential report undertaken by the Rugby League Player’s Association that is now more than 12 months old.
>
The article takes aim at Wests Tigers’ treatment of players, using selected examples from unnamed players from the Club’s 2015 squad.
>
The Sunday Telegraph obtained a small portion of this confidential report and has decided to publish these unsubstantiated, and unconfirmed, claims. The excerpts published by The Sunday Telegraph are a small portion of a much larger report undertaken by the RLPA, with these reports done on every NRL Club at the completion of each season, with both of these facts conveniently left out of the article.
>
Wests Tigers are incredibly disappointed that these limited excerpts have been provided to the media, with the publishing of such a selected section of the report damaging to the Club.
>
The article attempts to show that these selected excerpts from a 2015 report is representative of the current climate at Wests Tigers, which could not be further from the truth. A 2016 report has been commissioned by Wests Tigers with 100% of the playing group agreeing that the Club’s welfare support has been a great support to them.
>
Making the publishing of these excerpts even more misleading is the fact that the Club was ranked second in the NRL for its wellbeing program for the 2016 season.
>
Wests Tigers takes the welfare of its players, coaches and staff very seriously and is working hard to ensure that the Club provides the best support in the NRL.
>
In the last year Wests Tigers has significantly bolstered its support services, with former player Paul Whatuira joining the Club as Wellbeing and Education Officer.
>
The Club also recently announced that Life Member Dene Halatau had taken on the role of Culture and Leadership Coordinator.
>
The Club has been working with Halatau for the last six months to ensure he was in a position to move seamlessly into the role once his playing career had finished and look forward to having the 249 game veteran with Wests Tigers for many years to come.
>
The Sunday Telegraph claimed that Wests Tigers announced the appointment of Halatau on Friday just hours after learning that this article would be published. The release was in fact issued on Friday due to the Club just receiving the news that it had been ranked second in the NRL for welfare in 2016, with Halatau actually starting his role last Wednesday.
>
Due to the defamatory nature of The Sunday Telegraph’s article Wests Tigers will be considering its legal options.

http://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2016/11/06/wests_tigers_stateme.html

 

[jirskyr]

Here is the text
http://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2016/11/06/wests_tigers_stateme.html

Wests Tigers would like to respond to an inaccurate and misleading article published in today’s The Sunday Telegraph.
>
While The Sunday Telegraph’s article attempts to discredit Wests Tigers the Club was actually ranked second in the NRL for its wellbeing program for the 2016 season.
>
Central to the article is a confidential report undertaken by the Rugby League Player’s Association that is now more than 12 months old.
>
The article takes aim at Wests Tigers’ treatment of players, using selected examples from unnamed players from the Club’s 2015 squad.
>
The Sunday Telegraph obtained a small portion of this confidential report and has decided to publish these unsubstantiated, and unconfirmed, claims. The excerpts published by The Sunday Telegraph are a small portion of a much larger report undertaken by the RLPA, with these reports done on every NRL Club at the completion of each season, with both of these facts conveniently left out of the article.
>
Wests Tigers are incredibly disappointed that these limited excerpts have been provided to the media, with the publishing of such a selected section of the report damaging to the Club.
>
The article attempts to show that these selected excerpts from a 2015 report is representative of the current climate at Wests Tigers, which could not be further from the truth. A 2016 report has been commissioned by Wests Tigers with 100% of the playing group agreeing that the Club’s welfare support has been a great support to them.
>
Making the publishing of these excerpts even more misleading is the fact that the Club was ranked second in the NRL for its wellbeing program for the 2016 season.
>
Wests Tigers takes the welfare of its players, coaches and staff very seriously and is working hard to ensure that the Club provides the best support in the NRL.
>
In the last year Wests Tigers has significantly bolstered its support services, with former player Paul Whatuira joining the Club as Wellbeing and Education Officer.
>
The Club also recently announced that Life Member Dene Halatau had taken on the role of Culture and Leadership Coordinator.
>
The Club has been working with Halatau for the last six months to ensure he was in a position to move seamlessly into the role once his playing career had finished and look forward to having the 249 game veteran with Wests Tigers for many years to come.
>
The Sunday Telegraph claimed that Wests Tigers announced the appointment of Halatau on Friday just hours after learning that this article would be published. The release was in fact issued on Friday due to the Club just receiving the news that it had been ranked second in the NRL for welfare in 2016, with Halatau actually starting his role last Wednesday.
>
Due to the defamatory nature of The Sunday Telegraph’s article Wests Tigers will be considering its legal options.

 

[2041]

1) Can't hide the fact that Mosese committed suicide, we will never no if the the Tigers contributed or was the root cause.

2) Can't hide the fact that WT hired a coach knowing that this coach was knocked out by his own player at Souths which may or may not have been related to some sort of mental abuse.

The above two facts and other ongoing issues warrant an investigation relevant or not. If true or partially true this club will never move forward. And with the likes of Go and co, I won't be surprised if true.. litlle like minded people on power benders… Cold blooded, greedy, selfish and evil.

Hence I welcome an investigation or critique if relevant.. Remember Rugby League is a team sport at the end of the day and meant to be entertaining..

And i bet that the fans that condone this or brush this type of behaviour off are the biggest cowards like the corporate types protected legal law. Manly things should be settled in a manly way.. Abuse is abuse whether mental or physical.. I say if you talk the talk be prepared to walk the walk.

I think it was more alcohol abuse which led to JT being assaulted

Hiding behind anonymity is manly?

I say if you talk the talk, put your name to it… Hiding isn't manly, it's cowardly

This isn't players speaking anonymously to the media. It's players speaking to their union for a report about player welfare at their club, which is subsequently leaked to the media. The whole issue of male depression and mental illness is made enormously worse by the constant exortations to "man up" and the like, so please don't fall into the same trap here.

 

[Tiger_Watto]

Wow, if Wests Tigers are currently ranked as #2 for Player Welfare, how bad is it at the other 14 Clubs?

No doubt the RLPA are conducting reports as we speak, and if not shame on the RLPA for not taking these matters seriously?!

 

[2041]

Here is the text
http://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2016/11/06/wests_tigers_stateme.html

Wests Tigers would like to respond to an inaccurate and misleading article published in today’s The Sunday Telegraph.
>
While The Sunday Telegraph’s article attempts to discredit Wests Tigers the Club was actually ranked second in the NRL for its wellbeing program for the 2016 season.
>
Central to the article is a confidential report undertaken by the Rugby League Player’s Association that is now more than 12 months old.
>
The article takes aim at Wests Tigers’ treatment of players, using selected examples from unnamed players from the Club’s 2015 squad.
>
The Sunday Telegraph obtained a small portion of this confidential report and has decided to publish these unsubstantiated, and unconfirmed, claims. The excerpts published by The Sunday Telegraph are a small portion of a much larger report undertaken by the RLPA, with these reports done on every NRL Club at the completion of each season, with both of these facts conveniently left out of the article.
>
Wests Tigers are incredibly disappointed that these limited excerpts have been provided to the media, with the publishing of such a selected section of the report damaging to the Club.
>
The article attempts to show that these selected excerpts from a 2015 report is representative of the current climate at Wests Tigers, which could not be further from the truth. A 2016 report has been commissioned by Wests Tigers with 100% of the playing group agreeing that the Club’s welfare support has been a great support to them.
>
Making the publishing of these excerpts even more misleading is the fact that the Club was ranked second in the NRL for its wellbeing program for the 2016 season.
>
Wests Tigers takes the welfare of its players, coaches and staff very seriously and is working hard to ensure that the Club provides the best support in the NRL.
>
In the last year Wests Tigers has significantly bolstered its support services, with former player Paul Whatuira joining the Club as Wellbeing and Education Officer.
>
The Club also recently announced that Life Member Dene Halatau had taken on the role of Culture and Leadership Coordinator.
>
The Club has been working with Halatau for the last six months to ensure he was in a position to move seamlessly into the role once his playing career had finished and look forward to having the 249 game veteran with Wests Tigers for many years to come.
>
The Sunday Telegraph claimed that Wests Tigers announced the appointment of Halatau on Friday just hours after learning that this article would be published. The release was in fact issued on Friday due to the Club just receiving the news that it had been ranked second in the NRL for welfare in 2016, with Halatau actually starting his role last Wednesday.
>
Due to the defamatory nature of The Sunday Telegraph’s article Wests Tigers will be considering its legal options.

Good statement. I hope they sue, though I doubt it'll happen.

 

[gallagher]

Nicely handled by the club.

 

[gallagher]

Wow, if Wests Tigers are currently ranked as #2 for Player Welfare, how bad is it at the other 14 Clubs?

No doubt the RLPA are conducting reports as we speak, and if not shame on the RLPA for not taking these matters seriously?!

They might be preparing one on souths by the
end of next year.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Due to the defamatory nature of The Sunday Telegraph’s article Wests Tigers will be considering its legal options.

So they should. It's a joke how the media can constantly publish unsubstantiated, slandering rubbish like this and are allowed to get off scot free. I hope the club goes at them with both barrels.

 

[matchball]

1) Can't hide the fact that Mosese committed suicide, we will never no if the the Tigers contributed or was the root cause.

2) Can't hide the fact that WT hired a coach knowing that this coach was knocked out by his own player at Souths which may or may not have been related to some sort of mental abuse.

The above two facts and other ongoing issues warrant an investigation relevant or not. If true or partially true this club will never move forward. And with the likes of Go and co, I won't be surprised if true.. litlle like minded people on power benders… Cold blooded, greedy, selfish and evil.

Hence I welcome an investigation or critique if relevant.. Remember Rugby League is a team sport at the end of the day and meant to be entertaining..

And i bet that the fans that condone this or brush this type of behaviour off are the biggest cowards like the corporate types protected legal law. Manly things should be settled in a manly way.. Abuse is abuse whether mental or physical.. I say if you talk the talk be prepared to walk the walk.

I think it was more alcohol abuse which led to JT being assaulted

Hiding behind anonymity is manly?

I say if you talk the talk, put your name to it… Hiding isn't manly, it's cowardly

JT was assaulted by a career thug.
Google his name and you'll see. Even in the U.S he king hit some people.
He only assaults weak people.

 

[Sabre]

Even though it's a year old it's still pretty poor that we let it get to that. We've done well to fix it since but it should never have been that bad in the first place.

I don't think there's anything wrong with players wishing to remain anonymous in that report. They could fear attaching their name to it could have consequences for their position in the team. And would they really want to be walking around at training, interacting with the staff they have spoken about? of course not. Sounds like pretty standard HR practice to me.

 

[matchball]

http://m.rlpa.com.au/multipage.php?id=2

I've searched the RLPA website and can't find a single report that's mentioned.
If it's such a hit piece, why isn't it there?

 

[Geo]

Excellent swift response from the Club..

 

[Benjirific]

I'm amazed at how easily people on here are willing to brush this under the carpet because a couple of people are employed and doing a good job. The person who has driven this culture is the coach & he's still there. Maybe we're now ranked so highly because the players who were suffering the most have departed the club? That would mean that while the issues would no longer be highlighted, the culture and structure which drives this culture would still be in place (the head coach). The Robbie situation and the Sitaleki situation were never dealt with, the players left the club because they couldn't stand the bullying. If the players still there now have never had any problems, then of course they'd be happy with the standard of welfare.

And wouldn't the positive changes that have been made been implemented by the football manager who was recently sacked in controversial circumstances?

This report has been written and is true - that can't really be argued.

I also can't understand why it matters which player was saying this to the RLPA. We are a CLUB, we're not simply three or four big name players. No wonder we can't recruit and quality players to our club!

 

[2041]

It's articles like this that really show up the Telegraph for the gutter rag it is.

There are genuine and important issues to do with male mental health, in society and in the NRL. It is concerning that a professional sports franchise in the mid 2010s could be so cavalier about its approach to the mental wellbeing of its players - who are, quite apart from being in some cases vulnerable young men to whom the club has a duty of care, also its most valuable assets.

I applaud the RLPA for apparently taking player welfare seriously enough to undertake this type of report.

However, the fact that the Telegraph is using this issue for a cheap story, purely to stir up controversy including - it seems - liberal applications of misrepresentation and spin demonstrates the depths to which the Murdoch media has sunk. Let's make no bones about it: the Telegraph couldn't give a rat's behind about player welfare. They don't care if players kill themselves, in fact they'd probably welcome it as a good way of securing eyeballs on their revolting website.

I hope the Tigers really have taken these issues in hand, and I dream of a world where the filth peddled by the likes of the Telegraph is seen for what it is.

 

[Tiger_Watto]

Shame on Robbie Farah & Sam Ayoub for allowing the Daily Telegraph to bring Mosese into their vindictive agenda against the club!