- Educational workshops are part of the life of AFL stars
- Designed to eradicate anti-social behaviour
AFL Players’ Association boss Paul Marsh claims players are “starting to fall asleep” in meetings and need more than mandatory education workshops to learn how to behave properly.
Marsh said there was too much content for players to absorb and the league needed to do more to “get this message through” following the sanctions imposed on GWS players for their offensive actions during an end-of-season celebration last month.
The Players Association Chief Executive reiterated his call for the AFL to agree to an MRO-style set of guidelines that would determine the extent of sanctions for off-field or abusive behaviour.
Marsh said the process which led to six GWS players being suspended and a further seven leaders being handed fines was ‘not acceptable’ due to its murky nature.
“We are clearly frustrated about this particular issue and we are trying to continue working to get to a point where we don’t think it is challenging,” he told Sen on Wednesday.
“There is a way to do this, and we have come up with a solution for the AFL on how we can put a disciplinary framework in place.
‘I think at the moment the AFL has left this very open for a long time, so we have this “unprecedented charge” where the AFL almost puts its finger up and sees which way the wind is blowing and then decides what the duration of the sanction.
“It’s not acceptable from where we sit. We need to get to a point where there is some certainty about it, and that is possible.”
AFL stars fall asleep in education meetings designed to avoid repeats of the GWS Giants’ ‘Wacky Wednesday’ scandal (pictured, Giants players after a match this year)
AFL Players’ Association Boss Paul Marsh (pictured) revealed the development as he blasted the league for its shady stance on penalties for shocking off-field behavior
Marsh pointed to the framework the AFLPA and AFL agreed during the Covid seasons to penalize players for breaches of strict quarantine guidelines as an example of where a consistent process could be applied.
When challenging his complaint about the ‘spiraling of sanctions’ for repeat offences, considering players receive extensive education on respectful and inclusive behaviour, Marsh said the league’s induction processes were still failing players.
“The AFL investigates an issue like this – they are judge, jury and executioner, they impose the sanction and there is no framework, so what could have taken up to four weeks in this matter could be 10 next year,” he said. .
‘We place young men and women into a system straight out of school, without life experience for most of them.
“What happens in our industry is that players are exposed to so much content, whether that’s from the coaches, from the PA, from the club, whoever they bring in, and sometimes that’s not so easy to understand.
“People just fall asleep during these sessions, and we need to do more to get this message through.”