Even young stars need a little help
Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:39
Centre of the saga: Mathieu Bastareaud
Can we really blame young stars for struggling under the pressure? rugby365 columnist Jon Harris takes a broader look at the drama involving 20 year-old French centre Mathieu Bastareaud.
Powerfully built, dreadlocked French centre, Mathieu Bastareaud has been hospitalised for mental illness after it emerged that the alleged attack by "four or five men" did not indeed occur and that he had injured himself in a drunken fall in his hotel room.
Reports, depending on source and allegiance, are a bit confusing and at times contradictory. In essence, Bastareaud alleged that he was assaulted by about four or five men outside his hotel in Wellington on June 20 after the French victory over New Zealand. The accusation led to an apology from New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key.
Subsequent investigation and reviewing of security video material indicates that no such attack took place and Bastareaud has admitted to covering up
a drunken night of celebration, adding that he fell onto the coffee table in his room and sustained facial injuries. Without getting too caught up in the web of lies, further allegations of his team mates resorting to a "punch in the face" to calm him down and other allegations have arisen.
The long and the short of it is that the player appeared to have had too much to drink in celebration, misbehaved, took a smack and then made an allegation which, without realising it, had national implications.
Key's apology on behalf of the New Zealand people was admirable, and indeed in line with the demeanour of the nation. Most other countries would have ignored the incident on a diplomatic level. Yet, this is where the snowball perhaps started.
If this was just another drunken rugby brawl, then perhaps it could have been swept under the carpet, as with most others. Allegations indicate that Bastareaud misbehaved on a major scale and the only
way to calm him down on the day, was for him to be physically dealt with, resulting in facial lacerations.
This is not the issue of this piece, so let's not get caught up in semantics and "he said, she said".
There are a few issues at hand here. Players are assisted in every aspect of their professional careers when it comes to the physical, but how much are they helped when it comes to the psychological. If we all take a moment to assess, we'll see just how much we, as individuals, have changed from one decade to the next, i.e. 20 to 30 etc.
Assuming that we are all the same, ordinary folk, the daily challenges of life have moulded our behaviour. But what happens when this is put into fast forward, when at the age of twenty, one is expected to behave like the 35/45 year old coach or manager? The ordinary person has gone through the course of life, one maybe two steps at a time. The modern day rugby star is being forced through that course at
a rate of absolute breakneck speed, yet he is expected to take it all in his stride. How can he mature into a role of adult human being?
Assistance is given to these guys if they require it, but it is not part of their programme. Ask any of the modern player what his typical 'work' day is, and he will say things like a morning session, followed by a team meeting, followed by the afternoon session, then gym and so on. Perhaps pride prevents them from admitting it, thereby creating this perception, but not one will admit to a session with a counselor of sorts. Why at the age of 20 or so, should a player be expected to be catapulted from being a schoolboy star to a national star without any mental assistance?
He'll be given the dietary and physical assistance, he'll even be recommended financial advisers to help him deal with his newfound wealth; but is he helped with dealing with the stresses and strains of fame? Is he helped with dealing with being an
extraordinary 19/20 year old, one who can commit himself to a task wholeheartedly, but who like anyone else of his age, blows off steam with an absolute bang? I doubt it. He's left to producing the goods on the field, where the exuberance of his youth is an injection of nerve that no coach wants to tame as it is such an advantage. Taming it would be counter-productive.
We know that coaches have tremendous influence on individual players's lives. They are mentors and guides, but they are not omni-present, and once out of the sight of that mentor, the young talent may feel the release and freedom to relax and unencumber himself of the restrictions imposed by his chosen career. We all do that at the office or away from the office with our colleagues, why not them?
In essence, have a look at yourself or your 20 year old cousin, why should Bastereaud, Francois Steyn, or any other 20 year old player be any different?
The next issue is the
diplomatic furore caused as a result. The web of deceit around this incident is causing some confusion. Some reports say Bastareaud was punched by one of his own teammates in an attempt to subdue him. If this is so, then there are witnesses available. Why was the accusation of a gang beating allowed to go public if this was so? Naive team management?
The truth is now out, and the FFR have announced that Mathieu has been admitted for psychiatric assessment. Is this not another PRO faux pas? Surely one does not admit to the skeletons in the cupboard unless absolutely necessary? Has this young lad not been sold down the river, been 'put out there', in the face of a diplomatic furore? Is it not unfair to go about asking forgiveness for what is surely a series of errors by making out that the central character is certifiable? AND on top of that, he is one of the players they have identified as being central to the team's future.
Perhaps Bestareaud is in
need of the help he has been sent for, one is grateful for that facility. But what if he is a victim of the growing pressures of being a top-flight rugby player? What if there was a management bungle surrounding this incident, and that the lies were discovered far quicker than their contrived anticipation of events? What if this young talent was just out for a jug, had one too many, got a bit bolshy with one of his team mates, took a smack and then someone decided to cover it up in the most amateurish manner one could imagine?
It conjures up an image of a perfectly healthy young lad sitting in a padded room, with a straightjacket inhibiting his movement wondering if it was the wine or the whisky which did not agree with him.
Aren't we all just a wee bit left of centre? The impression, if indeed Mattieu Bastareaud is a mentally balanced, typical twenty-year-old, is that Marc Lievremont's management team need some introspection and that the sport on
the whole needs to look at how to assist these young players who are physically up to the challenges of the game, but perhaps not sufficiently equipped to handle the off the pitch demands of the game.
by Jon Harris
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