Headland / Selwood - Both Free To Play

Madden · Post by **Madden** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 2:47 pm

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,,21 ... public_rss

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HEADLAND SPURRED ON BY SLUR ON DAUGHTER
By Courtney Walsh
April 16, 2007

FREMANTLE player Des Headland is expected to claim provocation as a mitigating factor after being charged with striking West Coast rival Adam Selwood in a fiery western derby at Subiaco Oval on Saturday.

An irate Headland was reported after launching into Selwood at the 20-minute mark of the third quarter in an off-the-ball scuffle during the Eagles' 14.17 (101) to 11.4 (70) victory over the Dockers.

Headland, who started the quarter in excellent fashion, complained that Selwood had allegedly called his six year old daughter, Madison, "a slut".

Fremantle coach Chris Connolly immediately dragged Headland from the field and implored him to calm down, but Headland was still seething and had to be restrained by trainers when he attempted to confront Selwood after the siren.

Headland also shouted at former Eagles premiership player Drew Banfield, now working as a boundary line commentator for FOX SPORTS, after the incident. Banfield refused to disclose what Headland said, but a cameraman standing near the recent retiree told journalists that Headland yelled: "You're an Eagles bloke. You tell Selwood that if he calls my daughter a slut again I'll kill him."

Selwood, 23, declined to be interviewed after the match.

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Hmmmmm.

I'm a big one for letting all comments slide on the field, but if there was ever one that crossed the line it might be this one. If the girl was of age, I even reckon that it would be an okay comment. But for a six year old? Come on.

Selwood = shit bloke.

Thoughts?

Western Red · Post by **Western Red** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 3:00 pm

Not a good thing but really Hedland should have turned around and said "You idiot she is only six"

Its a pretty tasteless comment but with no actual substance. Six year slut????? But it did the job and sucked Hedland in. I have daughters and if someone said that to me I would laugh him off or call him a peadophile or weirdo. Reacting is the worst thing to do.

jimmyc1985 · Post by **jimmyc1985** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 3:12 pm

One of the funniest sledges ever involved kids. In the famous Rod Marsh-Ian Botham exchange when Botham came out to bat in '81, Marsh said to Beefy: "So, how's your wife and my kids?" Botham replied: "The wife's fine, but your kids are retarded".

.

Calling someone's 6 year old a slut is not very funny, but as Western Red said, Headland handled it poorly. I'll be interested to see what stance the tribunal takes on Headland in light of those comments being made. Will they give him a reduction from what he would otherwise get, will they let him off altogether, or will they give him the full penalty irrespective of the fact he was obviously provoked?

Stocksy · Post by **Stocksy** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 3:25 pm

Western Red summed it up best, I am sure 99% of footballers would have shrugged it off. I am sure plenty of others will use this against precious Des now they know it bothers him.

If the tribunal goes easy on him for this they want to give it away. Most players who throw punches are reacting to being provoked, what makes this wanna be any different to them...

robrulz5 · Post by **robrulz5** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 3:58 pm

There is no doubt Headland should be punished for reacting but will Selwood also be punished for soimething that is deemed to be crossing the line?

You would think players would respect eachother enough to leave any family out of sledging.

Stocksy · Post by **Stocksy** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 4:07 pm

robrulz5 wrote:There is no doubt Headland should be punished for reacting but will Selwood also be punished for soimething that is deemed to be crossing the line?

You would think players would respect eachother enough to leave any family out of sledging.

Sledging has been around for as long as the game, where do you draw the line... Players dish it out, get it back, its there designed to take your mind off the game. Only the weak actually let that happen. You cant punish a bloke for throwing a line in the water. There men, there not that precious we need to wrap them in cotton wool.

bomberdonnie · Post by **bomberdonnie** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 4:24 pm

Stocksy wrote:
robrulz5 wrote:There is no doubt Headland should be punished for reacting but will Selwood also be punished for soimething that is deemed to be crossing the line?

You would think players would respect eachother enough to leave any family out of sledging.
Sledging has been around for as long as the game, where do you draw the line... Players dish it out, get it back, its there designed to take your mind off the game. Only the weak actually let that happen. You cant punish a bloke for throwing a line in the water. There men, there not that precious we need to wrap them in cotton wool.

The same argument could be used for bashing a bloke as a response to the verbal abuse... Let it all stay on the field??

BenDoolan · Post by **BenDoolan** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 4:30 pm

bomberdonnie wrote:
Stocksy wrote:
robrulz5 wrote:There is no doubt Headland should be punished for reacting but will Selwood also be punished for soimething that is deemed to be crossing the line?

You would think players would respect eachother enough to leave any family out of sledging.
Sledging has been around for as long as the game, where do you draw the line... Players dish it out, get it back, its there designed to take your mind off the game. Only the weak actually let that happen. You cant punish a bloke for throwing a line in the water. There men, there not that precious we need to wrap them in cotton wool.
The same argument could be used for bashing a bloke as a response to the verbal abuse... Let it all stay on the field??

Yep, fair game. If it's OK for him to stoop to those verbal comments, then he should be fair game to have his teeth knocked out.

Madden · Post by **Madden** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 4:42 pm

If that's the case BD (and I agree), then is it poor form by Headland to report the incident to the AFL?

You could either leave it on the field and beat the crappers out of him , or you could dob on him, but can you have it both ways?

Stocksy · Post by **Stocksy** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 4:45 pm

Agree totally, would love to see the biff come back into football. But the mum's have had there say and won. The boys can no longer play rough.

The AFL can police the physical side of the game, but realistically can not police the verbal side unless there are players close enough to hear what is said. Unless they are about to put microphones on players then cases like this just becomes a he said/she said battle, and football is in a bad enough state now with out letting it go further down.

Sticks and stones boys, if Des had half a brain he would have stored it away and lined him up fairly later on, and then again and again, and each time he could have whispered something back in his ear as Selwood was gasping for a breath.

Western Red · Post by **Western Red** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 4:47 pm

Thats the problem he didn't beat the crap out of him on the field. Don't be surprised if Selwood goes up on Tuesday for eye gouging as well as there is footage of both of them doing it.

Unbelievable this and the Braun swearing were the lead up stories last night ahead of everything and not the sport the main news!!!!

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 4:49 pm

Hope Headland catches up with sometime.

robrulz5 · Post by **robrulz5** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:10 pm

The next time they play will be interesting.

Rusty1978 · Post by **Rusty1978** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:14 pm

Dont get me wrong, Selwood should not have said it, but the way Headland reacted is just stupid. He is a deadset nutcase, he sanps all the time. I think it is because he STILL thinks he is better than what he is. Gets carried for a season by one of the best midfields of all time and now he thinks he is a gun. He is a f***wit i reckon!!!

tonysoprano · Post by **tonysoprano** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:40 pm

Pretty average stuff by Selwood. Stupid response by Headland. People may say that it is part of the game, and always will be, and similar cliches, but it bores the hell out of me. Just play footy. If your an elite athlete playing at the highest level in any sport - it means you have excelled better than most in your chosen physical profession. It would be great to see that you excell at sportsmanship too.

ZRS · Post by **ZRS** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:00 pm

Western Red wrote:Not a good thing but really Hedland should have turned around and said "You idiot she is only six"

Its a pretty tasteless comment but with no actual substance. Six year slut????? But it did the job and sucked Hedland in. I have daughters and if someone said that to me I would laugh him off or call him a peadophile or weirdo. Reacting is the worst thing to do.

spot on Western Red.

both are idiots really, and happy for both of them to go for a few.

BenDoolan · Post by **BenDoolan** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:39 pm

Staggy wrote:If that's the case BD (and I agree), then is it poor form by Headland to report the incident to the AFL?

You could either leave it on the field and beat the crappers out of him , or you could dob on him, but can you have it both ways?

I guess he did that because he is the only one facing the consequences of what happened out there....

Gone are the days where the cone of silence existed. Blokes would be facing serious striking charges and the other player would always say "I can't remember" or "my head actually contacted his forearm" sort of stuff.

Post by **Megan** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:51 pm

Now if what I heard on the news tonight was accurate, this is only half the story... evidently the conversation went something along the lines of

(in regards to the tattoo) "I f***** her last night"

"What are you talking about? She's six years old!"

"I know, she's a slut"

IF that were the case... does that change anyones opinion of his reaction? I'm not a mother, but I'm fairly certain if I had a 6 year old daughter and someone said something like that I'd damn well react in a similar way. Frankly I'd have flown off the handle straight away. Totally inappropriate, I hope it was overheard by someone who is prepared to back him up...

Mothers, girlfriends and sisters are bad enough but tolerable, you gotta have a thick skin. But someones kid?

Rover 7 · Post by **Rover 7** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:51 pm

tonysoprano wrote:Pretty average stuff by Selwood. Stupid response by Headland. People may say that it is part of the game, and always will be, and similar cliches, but it bores the hell out of me. Just play footy. If your an elite athlete playing at the highest level in any sport - it means you have excelled better than most in your chosen physical profession. It would be great to see that you excell at sportsmanship too.

Agree.
Yeah,it has always been in sport ,yah gotta take it,hand it out later,blah,blah,blah.Jesus I'm macho aren't I.Rubbish.
They were small minded and pathetic people then and still are now.The sooner all this stuff is exposed and expunged the better.A bit of wit is fine but resorting to the gutter is pathetic and all players involved in similar crap should join Cousins.
That bloke,or anyone else for that matter wouldn't have the guts to say that at the pub unless he already had an appointment at the nearest emergency ward already booked and enjoyed the stay.

BenDoolan · Post by **BenDoolan** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:51 pm

Stocksy wrote:Agree totally, would love to see the biff come back into football. But the mum's have had there say and won. The boys can no longer play rough.

The AFL can police the physical side of the game, but realistically can not police the verbal side unless there are players close enough to hear what is said. Unless they are about to put microphones on players then cases like this just becomes a he said/she said battle, and football is in a bad enough state now with out letting it go further down.

Sticks and stones boys, if Des had half a brain he would have stored it away and lined him up fairly later on, and then again and again, and each time he could have whispered something back in his ear as Selwood was gasping for a breath.

What you're saying is quite right, but there are limits to everyone's tolerance. What may offend one may not offend the other etc

Take Glenn McGrath's incident in the West Indies a couple of years ago. He saw fit to walk down the pitch and say to Ricardo Sarwan "So what does Brian Lara's cock taste like?". Sarwan responded "I don't know, ask your wife". McGrath went troppo because Jane had just been diagnosed with a 2nd round of cancer. Now that aint Sarwan's problem, and he didn't start the shit. What right did McGrath have to off tap? He went off tap because it emotionally hurt him, just as I suspect with Headland.

The silly thing is, if Selwood racially vilified him, he would be dragged through the mud and face suspension. But what he said was far worse than calling him a coconut or (something similar), but nothing will happen to him.