Media Tactics Weak As Pearce (2016)

It’s abundantly clear that Mitchell Pearce cannot handle the drink. On Australia Day he was caught on video simulating a sex act with dog. He was wearing pants and no sex took place. That is the only upside to this story, especially given his inebriated state and mindset.

Some will argue, if it was any ‘Johnny Come Lately’, no one would give a toss. While that may be correct, it still doesn’t justify the actions.

Others will say it was a moment of stupidity and nothing more. While that may be correct, it still doesn’t justify the actions.

Fact is, a drunken Mitchell Pearce is an absolute moron. Sober, he’s not a bad bloke.

Many have described Todd Carney in a very similar manner.

The NRL missed the opportunity to properly assist Carney. Now Mitchell Pearce has given them a chance to do things right.

Pearce should be sat out of the game for the entire season, given a minder and made, via counselling and rehabilitation, to stop drinking entirely. He can take it up again when he retires. His club can take the cost of all this out of his wages.

He should be fined and the money should be split between the White Ribbon Organisation and the RSPCA. He should also be made to go and spend time mending the bridges he has burnt through his moronic acts.

The other pathetic aspect to this story is the over-hyped emphasis placed on it via Channel Nine’s A Current Affair and leading newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

The self-proclaimed “Home of Rugby League” is flogging this story for all it can. It all began with Channel 7’s Josh Massoud using the old trick of not explaining what Pearce did to the dog to really emphasise an horribly depraved act Pearce committed on the dog, when in actual fact, it was not as bad.

Massoud refused to explain what happened. He could have said, “Pearce simulated a sex act with the dog,” but instead opted to hype the story further.

Channel Nine took the ball and ran with it, in their ever-obvious showing of oneupmanship with Channel 7, by having the nation’s “best interviewer”, Tracey Someone, not interview anyone and drag the story out over three nights (and on the fourth day they placed a poll on their website).

As for The Daily Telegraph, they are literally taking the Pearce. Having Rebecca Wilson, who has reportedly been guilty of drink-driving in the past, an act which places people’s lives in danger, has written a piece being critical of Mitchell Pearce, with the byline, “He needs to see what real life is like,” as if she actually knows.

Mitchell has only disgraced himself. No one else. He hasn’t endangered anyone’s life. He hasn’t committed a crime even. He’s just acted like a drunken simpleton. We cannot call this game a professional sport with stupid rubbish like this going on.

 
But the media personnel mentioned have hardly been balanced and every day they continue trying to force this story down our throats as if it’s the worst act ever committed.

**This article appeared on the Commentary Box Sports Website**