Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Tony Johnson: Rugby Commentator on Sevu Reece's discharge without conviction for wilful damage

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Tony Johnson: Rugby Commentator on Sevu Reece's discharge without conviction for wilful damage · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: All Black and Crusaders player Severy Reese was named yesterday
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: as the sports star who admitted to a charge of
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: wilful damage driving a car into a garage at a
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  Speaker 1: Cup day party in christ Church. He was granted a
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  Speaker 1: discharge without conviction. It is the second time he's been
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  Speaker 1: discharged with that conviction. The last time was in twenty
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  Speaker 1: eighteen he admitted to a charge of common assault on
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  Speaker 1: his then partner. Tony Johnson is the rugby commentator with
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  Speaker 1: US this morning. Tony, good morning morning. Right, do you
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  Speaker 1: see a problem here? He's sorry, he's contrived. He said
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  Speaker 1: he's stopped drinking. He's been to court. That process is over.
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  Speaker 1: Story end.
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  Speaker 2: No, not really. You know it's up to him now.
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  Speaker 2: As you say, two ribbons alcohol related, the first far
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  Speaker 2: more serious. He has expressed contrition and a desire to
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  Speaker 2: stay away from alcohol to sort himself out, and you
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: had to stay true to that. Now it's already costing
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  Speaker 2: one lucrative job overseas another repeat, and you can't imagine
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: it's going to exactly have a positive impact on his
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: prospects of future employment in the game. I suppose that
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: the thing is with sports people or anyone in the
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  Speaker 2: in you know, the public eye. You have to be
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  Speaker 2: careful that they don't get tried twice, you know, once
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  Speaker 2: in the courts, once in the court of public opinion.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Do we have too much Do we put too much
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  Speaker 1: emphasis on them being perfect? I mean, they're all flawed
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  Speaker 1: humans like the rest of us, are they not.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a really good question because often, you know,
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  Speaker 2: people talk about the need to be a good role model.
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  Speaker 2: To me, that's up to the individual. I mean, don't
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  Speaker 2: get me wrong. Being well paid to play sport as
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  Speaker 2: a privilege, and with that privilege comes the responsibility of
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  Speaker 2: projecting yourself and your sport in a positive light, or
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  Speaker 2: at least not to bring the sport of disrepute. And twice. Now,
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  Speaker 2: I guess he's fallen below that line. But then I
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  Speaker 2: suppose you look at it in the broader context. Our
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  Speaker 2: courts are full of young people. A lot of them
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  Speaker 2: are there because the people who should unconditionally be their
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  Speaker 2: role model, their parents have failed them badly. So why
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  Speaker 2: should it really fall on sports people to show them
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  Speaker 2: the way. I don't think that's the case yourself, that
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  Speaker 2: that should come down to sports. But in a way,
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  Speaker 2: Sibbe Reese has now put himself in a position where
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  Speaker 2: he has no choice but to become a otherwise as
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  Speaker 2: a risk, his career could be finished.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely absolutely, and he's took a step in the right
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  Speaker 1: direction I think in doing exactly that after the discharge
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  Speaker 1: with that conviction at court yesterday, Tony, thank you very
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  Speaker 1: much for being on the show. Great to have you
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: on as always. Tony Johnson, rugby commentator with us just
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: gone twenty three minutes after five. I do think that
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  Speaker 1: all black sports stars in general are not perfect people,
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  Speaker 1: and often we look at them and think that they
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  Speaker 1: should be. I think they should be good at their job,
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  Speaker 1: which is playing rugby or playing netball or whatever it is.
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  Speaker 1: And can you not look up to a flawed character?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, obviously if so long as you're not still
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  Speaker 1: driving around drunk. You know, if you have admitted to
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  Speaker 1: what you've done, if you are remorseful, if you're trying
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  Speaker 1: to fix the issue, you should be given a second chance.
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  Speaker 1: And you can still look up to flawed people, can
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  Speaker 1: you not?
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  Speaker 2: For more from early edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: to news Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, or
• 3:11
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