It is interesting to see how the tone of the Cronulla Sharks alleged drug scandal turned over the weekend.
When the Sharks board chose to sack a number of their football staff and stand down the coach, the decision was received with shock. For the players, the decision was met with anger, and that is understandable. These are the people they work with on a daily basis. They are mates. The players had every right to be angry, and that anger made its way into the fan base that picked up the players sentiments.
All of a sudden, fans turned against the Cronulla Sharks board.
At some point, this was going to be a natural reaction. Fans were going to need a bad guy and in the absence of an ASADA official getting their head on TV and leading the way, it was always going to fall on someone within the club.
In my opinion the Cronulla Sharks board did the right thing. They did the only thing they could possibly do!
When the board found out what had happened, they could not sit back and do nothing. People had to be accountable for their alleged actions.
It was a very strong moment for the Sharks board. I’m sure they didn’t take their decisions lightly. They were decisions they simply had to make though.
Keep in mind that the Sharks board is in constant contact with ASADA and the NRL. They are not making decisions without advice and consultation with both organisations.
Two months ago this same Sharks board could do no wrong. They had helped to secure the financial future of the club through the development of land the club owned, and they had helped build a football team that was going into the 2013 season with very lofty goals.
The same people are now being targeted by the clubs own fans. The fan base is angry, but they need to be angry at those responsible.
This is a horrible situation in which there are no winners. No one is going to come out of this feeling good about anything that has happened. With all that frustration, you can be sure that fans, players and officials will be looking for someone to blame.
In this instance, the Cronulla Sharks board has done everything it possibly could. Fans should stick by them.
