QRL CEO Ben Ikin pledges to play a big role in cleaning up the league
After being rocked by several unpleasant incidents in recent weeks, the Queensland Rugby League has vowed to take down hard-on racial and violent behavior.
Video of a nasty fight between the fathers of players during a Townsville under-9 club match was published by The Townsville Bulletin last week.
Toowoomba Junior Rugby League concluded its inquiry into a possible incident of racial abuse that occurred during the U15s match between Gatton and South Burnett on June 10. The next morning, the Bulletin published its findings.
After claims surfaced that a 15-year-old kid and his Indigenous teammates from South Burnett were the targets of racist abuse during the match, TJRL issued a statement to its clubs and the media saying, "A range of penalties have been implemented to the identified individuals."
In an exclusive interview, QRL CEO Ben Ikin took a stand against racism and violence in sports and society generally.
"The QRL rejects this type of behavior at any level of sport," Mr. Ikin stated.
As one person put it, "It's frustrating because it's hard to legislate against the lowest common denominator."
Many grass-roots sports groups in the Sunshine State are feeling the repercussions of bad behavior.
Mr. Ikin noted that it was both encouraging and disheartening to hear that all the main sports were suffering from the same challenges when they met with the Queensland government to discuss patron behavior.
"I believe that it is the responsibility of all the major sporting codes, not just in Queensland but across the country, to come up with solutions to the problem, because the QRL is adamant that when it comes to community sport, the environment should be safe and enjoyable for all participants, including volunteers.
To provide a safe atmosphere, the QRL and other sporting organisations will work together to implement any measures necessary.
"What we're doing now is so much better than what we were doing 20 years ago, and we'll keep pushing hard to make sure that violence as we saw in the Toowoomba Junior Rugby League and what we saw in Townsville last week involving not just patrons, but volunteers, becomes less common over time."
While athletic events are typically a reflection of the community they are held in, Mr. Ikin told The Chronicle that QRL will not tolerate any unacceptable behavior.
Those who break the regulations in the premier league will be punished severely.
Rugby league, he explained, "effectively" attracts members of the surrounding community.
"They bring their own perspectives and behaviors into those situations, so in terms of changing behavior and changing views we can play a role in that and we will be very clear on what our expectations are when you enter into our environment.
What we see in rugby league is effectively a snapshot of the horrible behavior and beliefs of the people who emerge out of communities and society, and we will be quite clear on the punishments we will hand down and the price you will pay if you do not achieve those expectations.
The former Chief Executive Officer of the Brisbane Broncos is also calling on society to do its part.
Mr. Ikin is calling for a united front against racism and violence.
He said, "This is a whole of society issue, and the thing we have in sport is an opportunity with our disproportionate share of voice to shine a light on those poor behaviors, we don't ever want to see them, but when they do enter our space is to make sure we call them out and send a message to everybody about what is unacceptable."
"There's a chance that what's going on in sports will be seen and talked about enough for people inside and outside of sports to stand up and say, 'This is happening, and if it's happening in rugby league, it's probably happening in other places.' Then it's not just the sport's responsibility, but the responsibility of a lot of people at different levels of society to say, 'This is happening, and it's not good enough. What are we going to do about it?