Watts and Carney - What to do?

(Pic courtesy of www.abc.net.au)

The latest black mark on the NRL Community is that Anthony Watts allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend on Saturday Night. The word is that Watts was out with everyone's favourite party animal, Todd Carney, after their demolition at the hands of the Broncos. Now this begs the question, should the players have even been out and drinking (if you believe the newspapers) after the loss when they should have been recovering physically from the game?

I'm sure I don't need to cover off the history of Todd Carney but the crucial piece of information that you need to know for the purposes of this article is that he is currently attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to assist with an alcohol issue. If Todd indeed has alcohol addiction issues, then obviously him allegedly being on the drink is a serious problem. I, for one, don't believe that he is addiction issues with alcohol but rather an issue with self-control and moderation. Alcohol Addiction is a very broad term and I believe the problem lies more with - in other words, Alcohol Abuse more so than Alcohol Dependence.

Either way, it's clear the bloke needs a hand with the situation. If the AA has taught him to drink in moderation and that's what he was doing, no problem as far as I'm concerned. Who should be drawn and quartered for enjoying 2 or 3 drinks after work on a Saturday night? On the other hand, if the AA was for Todd to avoid all alcohol, then obviously that failed. I don't really care either way personally, I think Todd's been caught up in this only because of his past, not because of any actual criminal wrong-doing Saturday night. But hey, that won't stop the media unleashing on the poor bugger about it. Each time the media mention his name outside of his football performances, it seems to be the sole mission of the author to further discredit the bloke. Give him a break.

Back to the topic of Watts - NRL players need to learn that any criminal indiscretions not only bring shame to themselves but also the NRL community as a whole. While this shouldn't be the case, it is the reality of the situation. I'm 25, I don't mind a drink and try to avoid trouble where possible. If I were to get into an altercation, the likelihood of my employer finding out would probably be minimal. But that's because I don't have a cast of thousands waiting with camera at the ready to snap my every move. NRL players need to realise that this is the unfortunate reality of their profession where, quite frankly, they are getting paid more than most for doing something they love. At the end of the day, these blokes need to realise that this is a sacrifice that they need to take in order to live the dream. Their NRL career won't be there in 20 years but the pub will be.

As a final comment, for those who are screaming for both to get the sack, whatever happened to the old adage - "Innocent until proven guilty"? If Carney does have a no-alcohol clause and he was drinking, then the sacking will probably go ahead. Ultimately, that is best left to be a matter between the Roosters and Carney.