What Example Are Player Managers Setting? | Thebigtip

Over the past few weeks there have been some very serious allegations made against two of Australia's biggest sporing agents. Currently, AFL Player Manager Ricky Nixon is being investigated by the Victorian Police Player Manager Sam Ayoub has been arrested and charged with attempting to defraud betting agencies.

Ricky Nixon has managed some of the AFL's greatest players including Gary Ablett Snr, Wayne Carey and Ben Cousins and has been managing the lives of players on and off the field since 1994. Looking at the list of players Nixon has had a hand in supporting and managing, you should start asking questions over the advice Nixon was giving as a mentor. Gary Ablett Snr had a well documented struggle with depression and took until 2005 for the AFL to induct Ablett into the Australian Football Hall of Fame after Ablett was involved in an incident where a young girl overdosed on drugs. In 2002, North Melbourne captain Wayne Carey resigned from the North Melbourne Football Club after it was discovered at a party that Carey was having an extra-marital affair with his ex-teammate and vice captain's wife Kelli Stevens. This wasn't the first error of judgment made by Carey. In 1996 he pleaded guilty to indecent assault, there have been multiple charges of assault, he left his pregnant wife in 2004 just six weeks before the birth of his daughter and in an interview in 2006, Carey spoke of a long period of abuse with alcohol and cocaine. Ben Cousins has also not been a stranger to breaking the law and substance misuse. In 2007, Cousins was suspended indefinitely from the West Coast Eagles after a long list of misdemeanors including abandoning his car and girlfriend to escape a road side breathalyser test and being arrested for public intoxication outside of Crown Casino. Cousins has undergone rehabilitation in relation to substance abuse and in 2010 released a documentary 'Such is Life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins', where he talks about his addiction to drugs and the double life he led.

Is it just a coincidence that the three biggest names that Nixon has managed have all had personal struggles whether they be with the law, depression or substance misuse? When a player signs with an agent, it isn't just about managing their life on the field. Player Managers make substantial amounts of money off these players and the services the players get in return include safe and reasonable management of their careers. They are meant to be there to guide them through their careers, support them in making the right decisions and be allow them to the best player they can be. Personal issues do have a negative effect of the playing field and leads me to wonder just how much greater these players could have been if they weren't being managed by someone who was either complacent or oblivious to their depression and drug use. It comes back to the question of what advice Nixon was giving to these players, which is something only these players can answer but I'm of the opinion that they may as well have hired a magic 8-Ball to answer their questions and the advice would have been better for their professional careers and personal lives.

The latest Player Manager to come into the limelight is Sam Ayoub, arrested this week and charged with attempting to defraud betting agencies. This has come after a long investigation by the New South Wales Police in relation to his alleged involvement with the betting scandal that surrounds the Round 24 game between the Bulldogs and the Cowboys. Ayoub is set to face court on April 7th and if found guilty, could be looking at a decent stint in prison. Ayoub manages player Ryan Tandy who will be joining his manager in court on April 7th on his own charges. Tandy is facing multiple charges of providing false or misleading evidence in relation to the match between the Bulldogs and the Gold Coast during Round 15.  Ayoub's current list of players includes Jonathan Thurston, Robbie Farah and Jamal Idris and for their sake I hope they are seriously considering new management.

In these days of technology where almost every person has a mobile phone capable of recording audio, video and taking photos, and the era of Facebook and Twitter, the management these sporing players receive needs to be of the highest quality, not just in negotiating their contracts.  Player Managers need to be giving their players the best possible advice, looking for the early signs of depression or substance misuse, getting these players help early if needed and modeling positive and healthy behaviors. We talk about the role models AFL and NRL players are, but who are the players getting their cues from?