91 replies to this topic

[choombies]

I cant understand how someone so focused and committed to being at the top of his field (in my eyes the best AFL footballer ever) cant put that kind of commitment to his own recovery????
I don't pray like Dave but I really hope he can beat it and recover.

[bradfitzy]

Nobody does it to him ... its his choice and he chooses to do it to himself.

[spendy]

Addiction has gone nothing to do with how talented u are,how much money u have or about what job u have..
Addiction has no boundries or chooses to pick a specific person..
I have met thousands of addicts from all walks of life. And truth is about 2%and i see alot die from the disease of addiction actually stay clean. Regardless of ahe sex or race..!
Some eople dont realise how hard it can be to give up drugs and alcohol..some cant jusy stop cos they want to. Or because they should....

Lol.. U might also know some people that cant stay clean....who are so in denial of theyre own problems..!
Just because the news wants the goss is why we all hear about it. And some people wanna point the finger...there are plenty people in the world with the same problem just not in the tabloids.
.
Renato

[Mausberg]

let him rot. if it were you or me nobody would give a s%#$.
agreed with above ,the guys a dikhed

Edited by Mausberg, 14 January 2012 - 01:29 PM.

[choombies]

The guys a champion in my eyes..just not for his personal life which I agree should be just that personal.

[sandgroper]

The guy had it made and blew it what an Idiot. Put him and Fev together they would make a lovely pair.

[Anka]

made it and blew it on more than one occasion. He has had his second chance - time is up!

[Neakit]

Meh he never got caught. He was a great footballer but now its history.

[Kleinz]

Ben Cousins Blah blah blah....

His only talent in life is good genetics resulting in superb stamina and fitness.

The number of column inches devoted to this guy does not bear thinking about.

People who take a great deal of drugs are "junkies" and "criminals". If they hang with Kizon, they are "thugs".

But not Ben... nooooo.... not Ben. He's just a nice misguided lad with a million bucks to spare. We should all be so lucky.

Not the golden boy. Just because he has golden glutes the law doesn't apply to him. Poor Ben. All he ever wanted was to be buds with some of the worst criminals in Perth and do as much whores and coke as his rather impressive salary would allow.

Normally I wouldn't give a rat's ring about what people do in their off time, but the hypocrisy on this one stinks. Guy is not special. He should be bound by the same rules as the rest of us.

He is worth neither more or less than anyone with a problem or a talent and should be treated as such. He is not someone to either be put on a pedestal or p&ssed on from a height.

If he breaks the law, he should get the same punishment as lesser mortals can expect, not paid to do an expose on his "tough life", so all you guys can read about it in the women's weekly with your kleenex...

Edited by Kleinz, 14 January 2012 - 06:35 PM.

[waxy]

Ben Cousins Blah blah blah....

His only talent in life is good genetics resulting in superb stamina and fitness.

I must admit this statement made me laugh, Genetics plays a small part in what he has achieved in football, the other 99% comes from passion, blood, sweat and hard work.
Absolute LEGEND of the game! I would love to see him fully recover from his addiction and could only imagine what his family has been through over the last few years.

[Kleinz]

Fine example of what I mean:

Guy has never done a thing for anyone other than himself in his life. He just plays footy rather well.

He bears no indications of having any interest in honesty or honour. He runs away and weasels out of sanctions and punishments, and gets away with it by virtue of being wealthy and able to kick a footy.

He boasts of the crap he did and got away with. All the while a legion of weepy fans want to excuse whatever he did. He could get caught with a dead whore or a live boy, and the tragics would still be saying a"awwww, Don't pick on Ben! It isn't his fault!"

Genetics is most of it, Waxy. I don't believe there has been a caucasian in the 100 metres olympic final since the 80's at least. This is no accident or quirk of training.

His only interest in life was seeing how much of the white stuff could fit up his nose. It's not like he was ignorant of the dangers. How long do you let the guy suck up public sympathy before attributing at least a smidge of the responsibility where it belongs?

[spendy]

Lol @ kleinz u sound as if u know his life and story personaly, And i doubt u do.. Because alot of what u say is based on media and snap shots of he's problem.....!

I have actually met the guy and he is just another human being thats got in over he's head with descision hes made whilst under the influence...!

Renato

[Kleinz]

Meh. This is life. We are all in over our heads.

[bigjohnnofish]

when you watch footy or cricket or any other sport for that matter at the top level you want to see the best play..... what a sportsman does after hours should be his own business and no-one elses... if the media didnt stick its camera into their business no-one would know... and if the media didnt pump the situation up... then the sportsman who got caught doing drugs would be punished just like anybody else... the judicial system is influenced by the media and hence the lenient penalty....

on a footy basis... benny is one of the best to play the game....
on a personal basis.... benny is just another person affected by the evils of hard drugs....

one must remember benny has never tested positive to any afl drug test... his football status was achieved by hard work...
his personal status has been achieved by making stupid life decisions that cannot be reversed after the fact...

when people merge the 2 it gets under my skin....
yes benny has been good
and yes benny has been bad

but you can never take away his brownlow medal or his premiership medal.... he is a legend...

[waxy]

Genetics is most of it, Waxy. I don't believe there has been a caucasian in the 100 metres olympic final since the 80's at least. This is no accident or quirk of training.

Other than the fact Ben was brought up with a passion for footy I don't think you can put his skills and achievements down to genetics. You could argue that the game is more natural for aboriginal players also, but in bens case no one pushed themselves harder on the footy field or in the gym. I remember an interview with juddy after he left the eagles saying that Ben opened juddys eyes to the training and what it takes to be an elite afl player, never had he seen such dedication to his personal preperation for the game.

since then I have seen an interview with Bryce Gibbs and Marc Murphy , one of them saying they could not believe Juddys commitment in the gym and game preperation, something he took to Carlton . After learning from the best.


I'm not one to say poor Benny, he has blown many chances to turn his life around, and appears to love the spotlight almost as much as the media loves him. His personal life is between him and his family, all the best to them.

[theonetruepath]

when you watch footy or cricket or any other sport for that matter at the top level you want to see the best play..... what a sportsman does after hours should be his own business and no-one elses... if the media didnt stick its camera into their business no-one would know... and if the media didnt pump the situation up... then the sportsman who got caught doing drugs would be punished just like anybody else... the judicial system is influenced by the media and hence the lenient penalty....

on a footy basis... benny is one of the best to play the game....
on a personal basis.... benny is just another person affected by the evils of hard drugs....

one must remember benny has never tested positive to any afl drug test... his football status was achieved by hard work...
his personal status has been achieved by making stupid life decisions that cannot be reversed after the fact...

when people merge the 2 it gets under my skin....
yes benny has been good
and yes benny has been bad

but you can never take away his brownlow medal or his premiership medal.... he is a legend...

That's where the whole problem starts. Footy players should stop being idolised the very first time they do drugs. One year ban for a first offence, strip all medals. What are we telling the kids that idolise these guys? That's no way to run a code.

Learn from Union. If you let drunkards and drug takers get away with appalling off-field behaviour, you're sending a signal to hundreds of thousands of kids out there. This is not just a job he's doing well and "the personal stuff is just that". The personal stuff is part of being a legend and superstar. If you can't get that right you have no business in the job.

By all means help him with his addiction, but after his 1-year ban for a first offence and 6 months mandatory therapy etc, if he does it again he's toast. There's simply no other responsible way to run the code. I couldn't believe how many times they let this guy come back. Shame shame shame AFL.

[Peckoltia]

I loved Benny while he was playing footy (and still do) but I'm getting a little over hearing about him now to be honest. Let him have a bit of privacy, I'm sure there are more important world and local issues for the media to report on. Why is an ex AFL player of such great interest?

[Donna]

Hi Everyone,

Genetics has played a part in what Ben is, no doubt. You inherit the potential to develop stamina, big muscles etc. Not everyone could get to Ben's level of physical development no matter how hard they worked.
Genetics isn't just about physical traits, its about cognitive ability etc etc.

There are external aspects to consider. One is Reward. People keep working when they get external rewards. This is called extrinsic motivation. The opposite of that is intrinsic motivation where we are motivated to do things not because of external rewards, but do things because they make us feel good about ourselves internally, there is NO external reward.

Well I suspect Ben was extrinsically motivated when it came to football. The race horse quality body he built, the money, the fame, the recognition...all extrinsic motivation. When it came to feeling good about himself intrinsically, BLOW helped him to do that. Just a theory People are complex, and there is not a one size fits all. Addiction is interesting in itself. There are many high functioning addicts around who will never even become visible. I just think that Ben was so extrinsically motivated there has never been anything that can compare to that. At one time he must have been a very high functioning addict...so what changed? Football was motivating him...he was taking all his self-esteem from the rewards he was getting from football. When that stopped, he probably lost his identity to an extent and has been unable to REINVENT himself as others have been able to do.

If Ben is not intrinsically motivated to be a good father and partner then he will draw no self esteem from these things. I mean, no-one walks around saying 'mate, you are a great father and partner' we just have to be intrisically motivated to do that and take the rewards when our relationship is good and our kids are happy....very different rewards from blow, women, constant attention, sponsors, a kick ass body that everyone can see, you get the drift.

Genetics, motivation, rewards, self esteem, environment have all played a part in making Ben what he is today. I don't think he has chosen to be this way. However, it is easy to see what happens when someone is extrinsically motivated and spoiled. When that is gone, there is very little left.

I hope he can get to the point where he can draw some self esteem and rewards from some of the more simple things in life....only time will tell.

Regards,

Donna