Monkey Business

[Andy #24]

The Aussies are masters of sledging, because they know there is a fine line, & they don't cross it.

The Indians would say we lost the line in the horizon.

My point is that there are other forms of abuse which can be considered as offensive as racism. The level of offence taken is always subjective to the receiver so I think it's impossible to compare whatever Symonds said to what Harbajan did. Putting objective labels like racism on these kinds of things distorts the issue.

Greg Matthews is obviously trying to sound sensible again after saying he could still play for NSW. He is right in saying that the captains should sort it out. Both are acting like children at the moment.

[Cambridge Clarrie]

The part I find most amusing is that it's a man of darker skin calling another man of darker skin a monkey. I'm of lighter/white skin. If I call a fellow competitor 'whitey' or 'white trash' am I a racist or just a plain idiot.

And sorry guys but if you live by the sword you die by the sword. I have a great deal of respect for a number of players in the Australian side but next to no respect for others...

Someone mentioned previously that cricket was once a game for gentlemen. I agree. Certainly not the case any more.

Not to say that the Indians are all perfect. Their threat to quit the tour was simply pathetic.

What a crap summer of cricket it's been this year (excluding the last test). The schedule is ridiculous. Following on from the World Cup debacle I'm ready to give up on it...

[JAS]

I'm afraid I find the whole thing absolutely pathetic. They are all behaving like children. If it was the crowd chanting then it might be a different matter but the point is that this is a team sport and it was said on the field of play. Comments have always been made in that manner in every team sport...it's all part of the tatics of the game...an attempt to break the team/players concentration and discipline and, if successful, it gives your team the upper hand.

I doubt very much that Symonds is so perfect that he has never said anything equally insulting to another player and I doubt that any coach/manager has ever seriously told his players not to do it either (maybe on show for the cameras but not behind closed doors). Next thing you know they will all be falling to the ground every 5 minutes faking injuries like soccer players.

I'd say to them...get over yourselves, stop being so fking childish and get on with the game.

Regards
JAS

[TroyGFC]

Perhaps at the next test everyone should dress up like Monkey Magic.
FWIW he does look like a monkey!!! (I have finally found something to interest me in cricket)

[Andy #24]

Australia's new team song:

Hey Hey we're the Monkees

And Harby says we monkey aroound

we're not too busy playing

to put some curry munchers down

[Snaggletooth Tiger]

I vaguely recall Peter Fitzsimons on 'The Back Page' saying something about
'Hannuman' the Hindu Monkey God when this issue first came up during Australia's 2007 tour of India!

[westcoastpanther]

Give Symonds & Harby a pair of gloves and a ring* every time they insult each other. I'm sure Harby wouldn't say too much then.......

[JK]

Someone mentioned previously that cricket was once a game for gentlemen. I agree. Certainly not the case any more.

Unfortunately once there's enough money in a sport to make a livelihood from it (and a pretty tidy one at that) that's always going to be the case

[therisingblues]

Dogwatcher, have you considered that perhaps there is a bit of difference between a crowd of people throwing peanuts and bananas and making ape noises at a black man and one black man calling another black man a monkey in what is his second language?

To the majority, where is the evidence that this happened anyway?

If this happened in India and an Aussie had been suspended for three games after being accused, without any evidence, of calling somebody a fat cow on the field of play how would everybody's reaction be reading then?
I know as Aussies we wouldn't be picking up our bat and ball and going home, but throw in constant sledging and crap home side umpiring decisions and watch everybody's outrage brew.
A few on here are lacking perspective in their condemnation of India at the moment.

[bulldogs]

I havent read all the post on this topic but i will give my two bobs worth.

There is no place for racism on a cricket field or in any day of life. Being called a monkey to me is racist to a black man of symonds background. There is alot of difference between the Indian and African way of colour even though they are both black, it is also a class way of thinking in india. What would of happened if a aussie player had called an indian player a black curry eater or something of that effect im sure that would of been reported but thats not the point any racism should not be tolerated. We are not living in the past now when what is said on the field stays on it when it becoms a racists issue, sure it may of been handled differently but what pointing did by going to the umpires is the way every test captain has been instructed to do by the icc.

India need to pick up there bat and ball and go to perth and set about playing better cricket for longer. Yes the umpires didnt help them but hey thats cricket we all have had those days you just need to move on.

[smithy]

A great unbiased article from an Indian scribe - http://content-www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/329824.html

[am Bays]

A great unbiased article from an Indian scribe - http://content-www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/329824.html

I personally like Greg Baums article from yesterdays Age, gets to the heart of the matter two teams acting like idiots who need to pull their heads in. In other words both teams are at fault or have not played in teh spirit of the game (hopefully hid colleague Roebuck has read this article and has learnt something about writing a balanced article).

http://www.theage.com.au/news/cricket/if-petulance-has-no-place-at-junior-level-it-has-no-place-at-all-in-tests/2008/01/07/1199554570951.html?page=2

Hopefully both umpires umpire the next test match and not leave it up to the captain(s), i.e. if you have doubts if someone caught it.....give it not out don't ask the fielding captain....

[tigersupporter]

Have the Aussies bitten off more than they can chew with the racism allegations. It seems evident that the Australian team has made offensive remarks to other teams but cries foul when it happens to them. I understand that there is no place for racism but it is not the only way to overstep the mark. We should be prepared to temper our own behaviour now as we can't just pick and choose what we think unnacceptabley offensive.

3 matches is a bit harsh. Does anyone believe the kid is racist? He was probably overwhelmed and retorted to Symonds with the first thing he knew could piss him off. This kind of punishment will not change any underlying beliefs that spawn racism, nor is there any need for a deterrent. I can't see these kind of remarks becoming prevelant and the offenders claiming a precedent of an absence of punishment.

Show some maturity boys, shake hands and get over it.

I'm with you Andy.

I love the fact that the Aussies find it acceptable to bag opponents in so many different ways but then become oh so precious when one of their own is allegedly called a 'monkey'. Calling someone a monkey hardly constitutes racism to me.

I've thought the Aussies have become unbearably arrogant since Steve Waugh retired and Ponting became captain.

Ponting - great batsman, terrible example as a captain.

BULL SH!T

[Wedgie]

Called my kids monkeys many times but they never got offended.
Heard my Dad called a bastard once and he went through the roof.
A monkey's a cute animal, a bastard is someone born out of wedlock.
FFS get a grip Ponting you wanker.

How anyone could have someone in their team call others bastards and then report someone on the other team for calling someone a monkey is downright embarassing to this country.

Anyway, neither should matter, what goes on the fields stays on the field, the Indians only reported Brad Hogg in retaliation for the childish Australians and I don't blame them, they would have left it on the field otherwise.
Crikey, the amount of things I heard on the cricket pitch, 99% of the times we shook hands after the game and laughed about it over a beer, if 99% of people can do that in C grade Southern League surley Ponting could learn a bit of class and do the same.
Embarassing.

[THE BARKING SPIDERS]

all i wanna know is,
is what did monkey boy say to harbajan,
all we know is that they were goin at each other 'for awhile' & all weve heard is what was apparantly said by harby

[smithy]

0,,5835932,00.jpg (13.4 KiB) Viewed 297 times

[LaughingKookaburra]

As I stated in a previous post on another link.I am more annoyed with the Indians saying the Australians did not play to the spirit of the game. Any one who watches any series that is played in India will see how much the Indians put the umpire under the gun with appeals that they know are not out. Put the series in 2001 in question,the 2nd and 3rd tests were a disgrace with ridiculous appealing and trigger finger umpires sending every man and his dog on their way when they clearly were not out.Not to mention how Sourav Gangully arrived late to the toss on numerous occasions during the same tour just to annoy Steve Waugh, now thats not in the spirit of the game. Also do people honestly beleive if India at least drew the match they would go to the same measures as they have?? (I don't think so). Lets go back to the 1996 World Cup Semi final with India v Sri lanka where India were chasing a fair total and India were in deep trouble and surprise, surprise the crowd did not like some of the umpiring decisions and the way India were batting so they decide to set fire to the stands and pelt bottles at the outfielding Sri Lankans and in the end the match was called off due to the rioting crowd. Those who live in glass houses shalt not throw stones and India are as guilty as any test nation for putting the game in to dis-repute over recent history. Just a point aswell,If the over rate was followed through out the game by both sides India would have been bowled out with plenty of time in hand.......

[rod_rooster]

Called my kids monkeys many times but they never got offended.
Heard my Dad called a bastard once and he went through the roof.
A monkey's a cute animal, a bastard is someone born out of wedlock.
FFS get a grip Ponting you wanker.

How anyone could have someone in their team call others bastards and then report someone on the other team for calling someone a monkey is downright embarassing to this country.

Anyway, neither should matter, what goes on the fields stays on the field, the Indians only reported Brad Hogg in retaliation for the childish Australians and I don't blame them, they would have left it on the field otherwise.
Crikey, the amount of things I heard on the cricket pitch, 99% of the times we shook hands after the game and laughed about it over a beer, if 99% of people can do that in C grade Southern League surley Ponting could learn a bit of class and do the same.
Embarassing.

I wouldn't be offended by being called a lot of things used as racial slurs against indigenous Australians. I would never ever ever insult any Indigenous Australian by using such a term towards them though. Andrew Symonds made it very clear in India some time ago that being called a "monkey" was offensive to him based on a history of racial abuse relating to that term. This was made clear to Harbajhan a couple of months ago. Should i make a remark to you that you found offensive on the cricket fields (ie. calling you a bastard) and you explain how offensive that is to you and your reasons for it yet next time i play against you i call you a bastard twice more would you be fine, shake my hand and have a beer?

Brad Hogg calling an Indian player a bastard is a seperate issue and does not reverse the fact that Harbajhan crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed. Had it been Jason Gillespie and an insult towards indigenous Australians been made towards him would you feel the same?

Also what has Ricky Ponting done to offend people. Been good at cricket, followed the guidelines set out by the ICC? Sure he didn't walk but so what. Yuvraj Singh showed much worse dissent in the first Test but have we heard people calling his family and abusing them? How many players walk anyway, and while on that why should they. Umpires are there to decide and for as many times you get a decision in your favour you'll cop more bad ones against you.

The tall poppy syndrome is alive and well in Australia that's for sure.

[Wedgie]

Should i make a remark to you that you found offensive on the cricket fields (ie. calling you a bastard) and you explain how offensive that is to you and your reasons for it yet next time i play against you i call you a bastard twice more would you be fine, shake my hand and have a beer?

I wouldn't be offended at all and I never explained how that is offensive to me as it isn't in the slightest.

The tall poppy syndrome is alive and well in Australia that's for sure.

Crap, Im one of the biggest critics about people with tall poppy syndrome. That has nothing to do with it, the Aussie Cricket team are poor sports and I despise that, if I was suffering from tall poppy syndrome I'd be having a go at people that make a lot more money than them or who have been successful in worldwide sports.

The Brad Hogg issue is only a matter of tit for tat started by the Australians. They can give it out but they can't take it, pathetic IMHO.
The Aussies have been calling the Indians curry munchers for years and they've never reported it once.
FFS its not rocket science.

And as for people talking about crowds I bet you'll find a hell of a lot more people are arrested and kicked out of grounds in Australia than India. Seperate issue IMHO though.

Even more ridiculous saying that Ricky Ponting's parents get more nasty calls than Singhs, I think its pretty damn obvious that the calls they'd be getting were from Australians who are embarassed by their child's behaviour and leadership. Next you'll be telling me that Im an Indian as are the many people calling up radio stations and sending in letters to the press. Stupid point.

I wont even get into the issue of 70% of the decisions going the Aussies way yet them still showing dissent towards the umpires.
Douglas Jardine and Harold Larwood conducted themselves a hell of a lot better and always conducted themselves fully inside the rules and look at the crap they got poured on them.

Andy summed it up perfectly in the first post on this topic:

It seems evident that the Australian team has made offensive remarks to other teams but cries foul when it happens to them. I understand that there is no place for racism but it is not the only way to overstep the mark. We should be prepared to temper our own behaviour now as we can't just pick and choose what we think unnacceptabley offensive.

Having said all that if the Aussies came out and said they were being pricks purely and simply to get the Indian bastards back for those annoying marketing/sales phone calls all the time then I'd fully understand and fully support them om the way they behave.

[Cambridge Clarrie]

BULL SH!T

Yes. That is exactly how I'd rate his abilities as captain.

And you put it so eloquently Tiger Supporter...