But they'd lost it already...

You know a sports story is big news when Lateline devotes 27 of its precious 30 minutes to it. Tonight it was the 'quitter' Sally Robbins in the women's rowing eight. 24 hours after the fact and the media have done it to death, so there's not much point in debating the ins and outs of it now - why not read the dozen pages that Rupert's tabloids will no doubt devote to it in the morning.

The Daily Telegraph went in hard this morning, with this line summing up the editorial position (if a bunch of sports journos drinking ouzo in Athens can be called an 'editorial position'):

It appears as though Robbins has committed the greatest crime there is in honest sport.

She quit.


Lateline also mentioned that Robbins' actions had been described as, wait for it, un-Austalian, but there was no luck tracking it down on the DT website.

BUT, according to a later story...

Coates believes it is un-Australian for athletes to publicly criticise teammates and he expects fellow crew member Julia Wilson – who was vocal in her criticism of Robbins – to apologise.


It's confusing. If quitting is un-Australian, and criticising someone for quitting is un-Australian, then what would be the appropriately patriotic thing to do?? Take your clothes off and pose for Ralph, I guess.

UPDATE - Thursday, 26/8, 12:35am - Yep, as reported on Lateline...
Stuart McLean from Sydney's 'Daily Telegraph' described her as an un-Australian quitter.

Comments

Anonymous said…
well done ari . Why don,t they leave the girl alone. I am sure she is miserable and didn,t quit on purpose Sara
24 August 2004 at 00:52
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