Respect the Official, Sport

Well people have been complaining that I need to update my blog as they need something to read at work. Lacking inspiration I turned to a certain housemate of mine who did journalism and he suggested I write on Couples who when they hook up spend all their time with each other and never see their other friends. Had a thought about it and thought yeah- I haven't seen Stevo since he got engaged really. But then i thought about the irate responses i might get from a certain house in riverside gardens (I'm not talking about scooter's house) and chickened out. Besides there are far bigger issues at the moment.
THE ISSUE of course is that lack of respect for anyone shown by Andrew Johns. While I'll acknowledge he is a very good player over the years he has consistently failed in his duty to rugby league. That's right duty to rugby league. In any sport if you make it You have a responsibility to promote the sport. This was shown by the socceroos. After probably the most intense playing schedule of any sport in the world and following the world cup how did some of the biggest names spend their month off? They came back to Oz and did promotional work. Not only that but they are investing their own money back into Australian Soccer developing young talent at the grass roots level.
As a person involved in sport I understand that some times in the heat of the battle you can loose it but twice in two weeks? The NRL had to draw a line somewhere and I believe has errored in reducing the sentence give to him. Especially given the circumstances surrounding it. Far enough it was a big call but to follow the Touch judge sarting straight at him and swear at him like that. And what was his first statement: I wasn't swearing at the touch judge I was just swearing, A tune he changed pretty quickly when he saw footage of him deviating his path to make sure the touchie had to run around him.
Andrew Johns over the years has been the poster boy of rugby league and how has he repaid it- Well there was the time when he was involved in a Punch-up with a forward who is now at manly over certain impropieties at the forward's wife. (This one was easily covered up because it was at the same time as Wayne Carey). And a few years ago who he was having an early end to the season because of neck problems- some one in the rugby league world and confirmed by another claimed it was for testing positive to Cocaine but the NRL wanted to protect its image and that of its star. An upstanding citizen I'm sure.
We could excuse him for sounding off once- but it was the 3rd time in 3 months. No other sport tolerates any sort of umpire abuse. Greg Williams in Carlton was suspended for 8 weeks for umpire abuse. Any soccer player who abuses a ref is red carded. Are these sports anymore intense than rugby league? No
However I don't think that the lack of respect given officials is limited to one player you only have to listen to Phil Gould with his consistent umpire criticism in his commentary. I believe the NRL should also hand out fines for his comments or better yet get him removed.
The thing we are all forgetting though is umpires are real people too. No body should be talked to like that in any circumstance. Walk up to any authority figure eg. a policeman and say the same words to him and see if you don't locked up in the slammer. I am an umpire for social soccer and in the time i have worked there I have been verbally abuse- people have swung punches at me and some days have been scared to walk around in my shopping centre because I've reconised people and even in one case had a guy whom I had red carded came at me. And where do you think these people are watching every Friday night? I rest my case.