Australian Olympic sprinter Eamon Sullivan is among a large group of Australians beginning to cry foul over the punishment handed out to teammates Nick D’Arcy and Kenrick Monk after photos of them in an American gunshop were posted on facebook.
This story from Australia’s The Age points out that on a 2007 training trip, Swimming Australia sent the team to a gun range for some good-old-fashioned team bonding. And those were loaded guns, with bullets, that were fired. As compared to D’Arcy and Monk’s cases, where the weapons were unloaded and simply inside of a weapons shop rather than a real firing environment.
“Shooting’s an Olympic sport,” Sullivan said to Australia’s Channel Nine. “The shooters don’t get in trouble for posing in their Speedos, and growing up as a kid you watch the Rambo movies, Dirty Harry, you know, it’s just a boys being boys situation.”
Swimming Australia will now have the opportunity to extend the punishment of the AOC if they desire, though with mounting pressure it’s looking more-and-more like that won’t happen.
Silly punishment.I doubt if anyone will be whining if was Steph Rice in topless holding a gun in a femme fatale pose.
Both athletes could/should have been punished before on more legitimate grounds (their prior misbehaviors). They were left out of the hook way too easily then. Mr. D’Arcy missed Beijing: one might think he would have learned something..
NOW, it is too little (a punishment) too late (why now) for too little (“holding guns”)..
And yes: they will keep on making “bad judgment calls”: why should they change, if they were not adequately punished before?!!
honestly,
I think the punishment for Monk and D’Arcy were far too severe. I understand how people could be disturbed given their public image, but I dont think they deserved tangible punishment.
If it were Lochte and Phelps in the photo, I doubt USA Swimming would do much. At most, coaches would sit them down and go “k… look guys….” but I truly believe the punishment was far too severe.