http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/the-mother-of-jordan-mclean-opens-up-about-the-shadow-cast-by-the-alex-mckinnon-tragedy/story-e6frf3sc-1226866701746
The mother of Jordan McLean opens up about the shadow cast by the Alex McKinnon tragedy
Josh Massoud The Daily Telegraph March 27, 2014 10:00PM
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“As a parent of a boy who plays football, every time they take the field you just hope and pray they come through without getting injured. I watched it happen on Monday night and it made me feel sick. As a parent, I know how it feels to see your son lying on the ground. My heart goes out to the McKinnon family. I empathise with them, because the only wish of every parent is that nothing like this ever happens.”
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Julie McLean’s voice is soft, yet unwavering. If there’s raw emotion tearing her apart inside, she does a remarkable job of staying composed while discussing the awful dilemma of her son, Jordan.
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Jordan McLean is now a household name, only without a face. Before the 22-year-old rocketed to notoriety in the most unwanted circumstances on Monday night, few outside the Melbourne Storm — and his home town of Young — recognised him.
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Julie feels her son’s anonymity has played a part in his treatment this week. She feels that if he were a high profile star with powerful connections and spruikers, the NRL might have acted differently. Then he might have been spared an agonising 72-hour exile, which was only relieved yesterday morning, when Melbourne successfully appealed against his pre-emptive suspension.
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As prayers for Alex McKinnon have poured in, a debate has raged around the NRL’s decision to stand McLean down from this weekend’s round prior to a judiciary hearing. There’s no argument the proceedings had to be postponed, out of respect for McKinnon’s delicate condition. The nub of contention centred on whether McLean should be permitted to continue playing in the meantime.
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Let’s defer to Julie here, given she raised the boy single-handedly and knows him better than anyone. Unlike the decision-makers at League Central, she’s also spoken directly and regularly Jordan since he made that life-changing tackle on McKinnon.
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“The last thing Jordan needed was to be isolated from his teammates at this time,” she said. “They are travelling to Perth (to play Canterbury), and he would have been stuck in Melbourne alone, pondering what was going to happen to him. He’s upset about what has happened to Alex, but he did want to play.”
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A spokesman yesterday said the rules demanded McLean be stood down, with section 112 of the NRL code preventing players who are under judiciary scrutiny to take the field until their cases are heard. Because all parties had agreed to delay the hearing, the NRL argued McLean had to be prevented from playing in the meantime.
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That argument might have held weight had the NRL not belied its agenda on Wednesday night. The Daily Telegraph has learned NRL counsel Peter Kite opposed Melbourne’s appeal to have McLean cleared for this weekend. Sources close to the proceedings have revealed part of the NRL’s submission relied on an assumption that McLean’s welfare would be better served by sitting-out. This despite the fact those closest to the player — his own club and his own mother — have stated the exact opposite.
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The decision to free McLean was left to judiciary chairman Paul Conlon, a NSW District Court judge. He took little time to reject Kite’s submissions and reverse the NRL’s original call. Conlon’s reasons were detailed in a two-page document, from which only a sentence was lifted into yesterday’s NRL statement. It read: “In my view, both the NRL and the Melbourne club should be commended for this sensible and sensitive approach to the tragic situation with which they have been confronted.”
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Those privy to the entirety of Conlon’s report say there are many other sentences that weren’t as complimentary. Such selectivity demonstrates what Julie McLean suspected from the very start: that her faceless son was a convenient fall guy for the NRL’s desire to be seen to be doing the right thing.
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Jordan McLean is no longer faceless. Regardless of what his career holds, he is destined to be permanently linked to this incident. The wording of news reports has already taken a toll on Julie, who has shuddered at accusations that her son “drove” McKinnon into the turf. Given his tackle was clearly not intentional, nor reckless, it’s a dreadful lot for him to endure. As such, he is owed a special duty of care. The NRL’s own welfare studies have repeatedly shown young players are more prone to depression when isolated in difficult circumstances. Yet in its mad rush to appease imaginary critics, the NRL sought to do just that to Jordan McLean.
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Jordan McLean is no longer faceless. He’s overcome the adversity of being dumped from Canberra’s junior representative system. He’s overcome the hardship of moving to Melbourne as a 17-year-old. Three times he’s torn hamstrings from the bone. Three times he’s recovered, making his NRL debut last May against the Roosters. It might come as a surprise to learn his biggest problem at Melbourne has been a lack of aggression.
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“He’s always been a gentle giant,” Julie revealed. “He’s never been sin-binned or set-off in his life. He’s so placid, that, if anything, Melbourne have tried to get him to be more aggressive.
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“It’s in his nature to be kind and accepting, and that’s probably helped him deal with this. When he got stood down, he took it remarkably well. Although he wanted to play, he could understand what was going on at the same time.”
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When Jordan McLean phoned yesterday morning to say he’d been cleared to play, Julie noticed a change for the better in her son’s voice. Hers, though, was much the same. Soft, yet unwavering. A mother guarded against the uncertain days, weeks, months and years ahead.
