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Professionalism via stealth  One
of the assertions flying about the place in these fractious times is that
the Cork strike is evidence of Player Power. It probably is.
But the leap of logic which leads one to suggest that Player Power is
always and ever A Bad Thing is a leap too far.
There are times when Player Power is most definitely A Good Thing. Offaly
hurlers were totally justified to intervene in 1998 when Babs Keating’s
management was doing nothing for them.
Not only was that an instance of Player Power wielded for the greater
good, the reality is that the Offaly players would have been failing in
their duty if they had stood idly by. Johnny Pilkington spoke, the rest
of the players backed him up and Babs was gone: But Offaly lived up to
their side of the bargain and won the All-Ireland title albeit by the
scenic route.
The key thing here is that it was a justified intervention by the players.
Ditto with the Cork strike in 2002. That, too, was A Good Thing. Cork
needed the air cleared. The County Board needed their wings clipped. The
players — after generations of frustrated obedience — needed
to take a stand.
They followed their stand by winning two All-Irelands in the following
years and by establishing themselves as one of the leading teams of their
era. It is my contention that in both of the cases outlined above, the
public — including most dyed-in-the-wool GAA supporters —
applauded the Offaly and Cork players for their brave stances and their
admiration merely rose still further when they backed up their fighting
talk with winning performances.
In some quarters Player Power finds itself cited only in the pejorative.
The reality of human relationships is entirely more complex: Time and
again players get listened to, either through a quiet word in the ear
or, in the Offaly 1998 and Cork 2002 scenarios, through more belligerent
action.
But Player Power is not a one-size-fits-all garment. Neither is it a modern
phenomenon — a full 60 years ago this year the Mayo footballers
told their County Board they weren’t happy with the management of
the team.
They forced through some improvements and — shades of Offaly and
Cork many years later — carried through by landing two
All-Ireland titles inside the next four years.
Player Power is not always A Bad Thing — but it is not always A
Good Thing either.
Each time it blows into the public arena it must be judged on its merits.
And the merits of the Cork strike simply don’t add up: The Cork
players did not have sufficient grounds to prosecute their grievances
with the singular lack of flexibility they showed last week.
It wasn’t the right war lads and you didn’t go about it the
right way. And I suspect that many of the players will one day —
perhaps not too far from now — admit their regret at having taken
it so far. This fighting talk of being willing to walk away from their
Inter-county careers is designed only to win them public support.
There can be no way that all 60 players in the two squads are totally
on-message, as they say, because every single player in a panel brings
his own agenda to the table: Some want to have one last crack at the big
time in their early 30s, others are getting a run in their mid-20s after
some good club form and others still are chomping at the bit having come
out of the minor or under-21 grades.
It’s a sorry chapter in the history of the GAA.
Perhaps the events of the last few months plus the recent Special Congress
decisions will put an end to the elitist nonsense we’ve had to listen
to for far too long.
But, here, I doubt it.
I believe the GPA — either as currently constituted or in a future
incarnation or, more likely, featuring a blend of both — will not
rest until the game has become fully professional.
This is why I believe every seemingly inconspicuous ‘concession’
to the GPA will one day come back to haunt the GAA: Every leader who —
for the sake of a resolution to a niggling row or to avoid yet another
threat of strike — reaches a compromise with the GPA is ultimately
leading the GAA towards professionalism.
Bit by bit, ‘respect’ by ‘respect’, strike by
strike, ‘improved condition’ by ‘improved condition’,
threatened strike by threatened strike, the game inches closer to professionalism.
Or am I just Mister Grumpy/Pessimistic/Fatalistic/Sad/
Jealous or all of these things in one? Self-awareness is crucial in these
times.
In your gut do you think the GPA is ultimately about, or will one day
be about, professionalism?
I have a sinking feeling that one day all Inter-county players will be
paid and further removed from the clubs that begot them and take for granted
the countless things that were done for them as they made their way up
the ladder.
I fear we are looking at a future where the key issues will be shares
of television revenue, endorsements, promotions and the like.
And that’s not what the GAA should be about. So what if other sports
have gone that way? The GAA should reserve the right to regulate its own
future, not to slavishly navigate the terrain trod by other sports.
In 20, 30, 40 years will the GAA remain an Association that you can be
proud of?
I am inclining more and more to the view that it will be just another
sporting vehicle which exists primarily to disburse money, profile, exposure
and off-the-shelf credibility to individuals and corporations. The Premiership
wants to play games in Asia and the USA for God’s sake.
Not out of a pioneering spirit nor a sense of altruism of course. No,
just to keep the paw out. Was it for this the minimum players’ wage
was smashed?
We have something different. Still have it, actually, despite all that’s
gone on.
But we’re throwing it all away, in front of our eyes, on our watch.
liam@weeklycolumns.ie |
