Reaction to Keisuke Honda’s recent comments highlighted a dearth of male role models – in stark contrast to women’s sport
Australians love to anoint a sporting hero. Australians value the grafter. We are obsessed with the consummate professional that gets the best out of themselves and their career. From that viewpoint, one can understand how the often-disproportionate outrage towards the likes of Nick Kyrgios manifests itself in the national discourse. Further to that is the total apathy with which the public reacts to the seemingly endless list of scandals involving NRL and AFL players, who can ill-afford a misstep in this age of intense scrutiny.
Do we even have a male Australian sporting hero anymore? The reaction to Keisuke Honda’s comments in a couple of recent media appearances suggests we do not. Melbourne Victory’s Japanese marquee signing made some mundane comments about continuing to attack whilst being 4-0 up, entertaining fans, training hard and doing extra sessions on days off. One would have thought we would be accustomed to the cliched speak of the increasingly media savvy modern day sportsperson. But instead it was a breath of fresh air for many people that have been disenfranchised by the numerous indiscretions of sportsmen in this era.
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