Opinion Stringer theory. NO ESSENDON SUPPORTERS.

[Dry Rot]

I think there are two issues at play here. One that should not concern the club/players/supporters and one that should:

1. Jake's morally suspect behaviour and his relationship with Abby.

"Famous, good looking, wealthy sports star has sex with loads of women". Not exactly a never before seen headline. Jake has conducted himself poorly, and people are free to agree/disagree with his actions, but it's a private matter that he and his family will have to work through. Personally, I don't agree with his behaviour but I think it was unfair of Abby to slay him in the media like she did. Ultimately, this should concern no one but the Stringer/Gilmore families.

2. Jake's relationship with the 17 year old.

This is where the club/players/supporters should be concerned. There are two options: Jake met her on his own time in a non-playing capacity or Jake met her on club time as part of his Western Bulldogs commitments (as seen with the StK school girl situation).

If it is the former, then the club/players/supporters not be concerned provided it was completely consensual and Jake has not broken any laws (there is no suggestion that he did).

If it is the latter, then the club/players/supporters should be very, very, very concerned. The club/players/supporters have right to be outraged and need to make a stand that his actions were/are unacceptable. There is no way Jake can return to the club.

You missed one other angle. Punting. I hope to God it wasn't on footy games.

 

[total football]

You missed one other angle. Punting. I hope to God it wasn't on footy games.

It's an issue but if there was even the slightest indication he was betting on league games/match fixing, the betting agencies/AFL/media would be all over it. Money talks and bullshit walks...

I actually don't have a problem with his punting. I know plenty of people with gambling addictions. Jake is one of so many that it's almost normal.

 

[yebiga]

Perhaps I've overestimated your ability to read between the lines. For the sake of clarity, I'll be more specific. A few others seem to have picked my drift, though...
Without going into too much detail, I have had a young lady who is very close to my family experience alnost the same situation that's being discussed here. Different club, lesser player, similar di****ad attitude and behaviour.
Therefore, I have empathy for Abby and anger toward Jake. Who wouldn't ?
Being so close to this situation, I believe I have more experience ib the area of the way many footballer' treatment of women. Perhaps you might even agree with me. Who knows?

No, I don't live in a monastery. I grew up close to where you grew up and I am anything but naive. My outrage Is clearly the result of having seen this crap once too often.

It's just that I think before posting. I sek clarification before posting amart****

If you take Abby's story at face value, the taunting by those other women was the worst aspect of it for her - the last straw.
You appear to be hinting at something which has not as yet been stated which I cannot fathom. So when you say "the way many footballers' treatment of women" your overlooking the other women's treatment of women.
If my daughter told me she was in a relationship with a young afl footballer, I would advise her to be very careful and maybe find one who his about 30 years of age.

Do you really think you would be any different? - Imagine you are in your early 20s, $300K+ a year, and every hot chick throwing themselves at you? Dude, I suspect your anger is projected envy.

 

[footyfan000001]

Disappointing. In saying that there is a time and place to sort out issues and doing it in a newspaper isn't it. The fact she said the club ignored her too is disappointing if true.

 

[boydsno1]

Also do we even know if Stringer at the time knew she was 17?

How many 16 17 yr old girls would pass off as over 20. Heaps. And it's not like a lot of them lie about it either.

 

[Scary_Foot_9]

He would have been closer to 21 when this happened but be that as it may, I still don't get the predatory implications if the girl and her parents were okay with it. Morality is not something I want to get into but that is a judgement each person needs to make for themselves. I do think people need to cool it on the use of words like "predator" or "pedophile" though without proof.

Would have at least been 22 if it happened last year.

I have no proof but I don't see the use in putting my head in the sand at this point. All signs point towards something having happened.

If the parents were okay with it as it was Jake Stringer, star Bulldogs forward that makes it all the worse imo. I can't really imagine a set of circumstances where it would be advisable to condone your child entering into a liaison with an adult who themselves in a committed relationship with kids on the way.

Stringer is clearly woefully emotionally immature (that much is obvious) so I'm not saying he did it with a totally cruel and lascivious intent as some would but on his end it seems likely that he used his position as an AFL footballer (specifically Bulldogs footballer by the sounds of it which is what makes the whole thing particularly cringe inducing) for ill gain and that is pretty reprehensible.

Notions of morality are what they are, but I think the reality is most would agree with my perspective. And really if this was something known in 2016 he should have been gone last year.

Might be pretty harsh on Jake to say this. But I don't think its asking too much not engage in sexual activity with people who are underage.

 

[Rockford18sx2]

Wow, what a read the last 15 pages has been. Alot of assumptions and infighting. Jake's been a very naughty boy by the sounds of it and needs to seriously sort himself out. No one knows how much the club has, or hasn't done to help Jake. But my bet is that Bevo has done all he can. Jake's embarassment from this will difficult for him to deal with. In looking back on his press conference with trade radio, whoever advised him to speak about how he was the victim should be sacked. Once again who needs further proof that we should back Bevo's judgement.

Also, those asking for the victim to provide evidence should seriously consider the ramifications and further shame for Jake if evidence was forthcoming.

I hope Jake can sort himself out, however long that takes, I just feel so sorry for his two little girls.

 

[dogwatch]

And what facts could possibly excuse the club for this public humiliation of one of their employees? The signs were there last year when Bev omitted him from the team. The signs were there for most of this season when he consistently played in a disinterested fashion. He was / is an unhappy man.

The club needs to acknowledge that it is poorly equiped to deal with the emotional complexities involved with a very young player with kids and a relationship break-up. The presence of children will always heighten emotions which threaten to spill out the moment the relationship breaks down - unmanaged the partisan vitriol becomes irresistible and draws ever larger numbers into its vortex - poisoning everyone it touches.

Having said that, with the benefit of time, everyone comes to realise the futility and idiocy of apportioning blame and finds a maturer empathy and understanding. For Stringer and Abby this may be years. The clubs role is to prepare, mitigate the angst and foster understanding within the playing group and there immediate friends and family - thereby minimising the disruption and its longevity. To the degree that Stringers personal life and habits effect his performance and the harmony of the team and its performance - the club must act proactively. Nothing could be clearer than that the club has failed. Now whether it has the necessary skill set is another matter, but that skill set is available and needs to be acquired and implemented.

So little information. So much outrage and certainty that you are right and that no alternative explanation is possible.

I can sort of understand the outrage and wanting to blame someone but there's only so many dots we can join at this stage. There's a lot we just don't know ... and some of it we may never know.

As with the player, let's not judge the club on supposition, innuendo or inference. It may have stuffed up. Or it may have acted in an exemplary manner. Until we have some evidence that is a bit more compelling it's not fair or helpful to cast such harsh judgements on the club.

 

[GetDimmaBack]

If you take Abby's story at face value, the taunting by those other women was the worst aspect of it for her - the last straw.
You appear to be hinting at something which has not as yet been stated which I cannot fathom. So when you say "the way many footballers' treatment of women" your overlooking the other women's treatment of women.
If my daughter told me she was in a relationship with a young afl footballer, I would advise her to be very careful and maybe find one who his about 30 years of age.

Do you really think you would be any different? - Imagine you are in your early 20s, $300K+ a year, and every hot chick throwing themselves at you? Dude, I suspect your anger is projected envy.

Projected envy? Dude, your worse than I thought.
Pethaps you have trouble understanding stuff you haven't been through.
Sadly, this is not isolated behaviour. Having been close to one situation has meant becoming aware of other similar things happening at that club. Of course, that club doesn't exist in a vacuum...
As you said, you'd advise your daughter to choose carefully. Why? Because you'd be "morally outraged" if the same thing happened to her.
Dude, just because you're not affected personally doesn't mean it's no big deal.

 

[goodcop badcop]

Abby's comments about the club ignoring her don't seem to add up to me. In the next line she says you have to want to change etc. To me that says something was setup by the club like counselling, but Jake was the one that chose to ignore it because he was/is in denial. Perhaps the club was a bit slow to react, but I'm finding hard to believe that she was ignored.

 

[yebiga]

Projected envy? Dude, your worse than I thought.
Pethaps you have trouble understanding stuff you haven't been through.
Sadly, this is not isolated behaviour. Having been close to one situation has meant becoming aware of other similar things happening at that club. Of course, that club doesn't exist in a vacuum...
As you said, you'd advise your daughter to choose carefully. Why? Because you'd be "morally outraged" if the same thing happened to her.
Dude, just because you're not affected personally doesn't mean it's no big deal.

They are young men with high testosterone, too much money, time and women chasing them - what do you expect? Of course its not isolated its entirely ****en normal!
You seem incapable of acknowledging

Why persist with this facade of empathy. Abby has the excuse of knowing Stringer since he was 13 and entered into a relationship with him when she had no idea what it would be like as a partner of an AFL player. You don't

 

[TMoney22]

I'm 6 years older than my wife and if I heard the stuff being said on here about being predatory at that same time i would tear you guys apart.

Get in the real world people. This sort of stuff happens a lot. It's no excuse for what stringer did, it was dog act to the highest order. But just proves to me we aren't professional enough as a club to ever be truly successful.
I know that won't be popular but other sporting teams around the world would deal with it. And by that I mean administration and the players.

This stuff makes people who they are, and it could well make Jake a better person in time. Probably the time in 3 or 4 years when he matures and fulfills his potential. But we will lose out for taking the moral high ground. Good guys finish last.

 

[total football]

Abby's comments about the club ignoring her don't seem to add up to me. In the next line she says you have to want to change etc. To me that says something was setup by the club like counselling, but Jake was the one that chose to ignore it because he was/is in denial. Perhaps the club was a bit slow to react, but I'm finding hard to believe that she was ignored.

The club doesn't exist to micro-manage Abby's relationship with Jake, no matter how hard she wants that to be true. Western Bulldogs Football Club, not Western Bulldogs Matchmaking Service.

 

[NBates]

I think the club should also step up and take some responsibility. Obviously whatever player welfare arrangements they have in place, have failed Jake. If they have known about this situation for any length of time, why was he still being played? The first priority should be to get him professional help and not just flick him down the road for someone else to sort it out.

I know footy clubs are a tad different, but would your employer get you assistance for your gambling or family issues? All our employers look at is performance and if it's down for some reason and you explain to your boss you have personal issues you're handed an employee assistance number to dial for a few counseling sessions and then they've done their bit and you should have your shit together according to your employer. I mean, how much can/could the club actually do? I bet he got more offers of various assistance than any of us ever would. Plus he can afford his own private help.

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[NBates]

If we think this is the end then you are mistaken. Will be interesting to see if the rest comes out.

What's the rest?

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[NBates]

Trying to keep morality out of it. I'm severely disappointed in all parties in this sordid ordeal.
The club, Beveridge, Jake and the playing group have failed in their duty to keep things professional.
Gilmore has basically made this a fire sale, (no value judgement) and Jake is worth very little. No team will want to recruit this PR mess, I hope the bridge isn't ash at our club.

How the hell are the club and Beveridge to blame for this article? Their silence WAS the professionalism and trying to get him out was the only solution they had while keeping mum.

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[TiAn_]

No doubt Jake has some things to work out.

That said, what person out there doesn't have some kind of problem?!

Being an ice addict must be about 1000 times more destructive to a footballer than playing around on your partner and punting too much.

Nothing in the article that explains why Jake "has to go". Well for me at least...

It's obviously not the only difficulty that arises, but I would imagine having an AFLW side plays a large role in our handling of this controversy.

It opens the club up to plenty of opportunity to be pilloried for being seen to condone sexist/misogynist behavior at the same time our club holds itself out as a leader in the 'women in football' space.

Very delicate situation for the club.

It now makes sense to me why his exit meeting discussion was purportedly about family and not football.

 

[TiAn_]

Trying to keep morality out of it. I'm severely disappointed in all parties in this sordid ordeal.
The club, Beveridge, Jake and the playing group have failed in their duty to keep things professional.
Gilmore has basically made this a fire sale, (no value judgement) and Jake is worth very little. No team will want to recruit this PR mess, I hope the bridge isn't ash at our club.

Given the details of this controversy, I think you're unfairly apportioning blame on a lot of people.

An employer and fellow employees can only go so far in interfering in an employee's personal life. If you don't know how those people responded, which we really don't, I don't see how you can apportion blame on them?

The point of difference between this situation and similar others in the AFL is that Jake's ex partner was willing to publicly air all of the dirty laundry contemporaneously. There will be many WAGS with stories like hers, unfortunately, but we will never hear about them.

The cynic in me says doing this benefits her desire to build a profile for herself and become a celebrity in her own right. But, if she's been treated poorly by Jake, then she's entitled to use whatever platform she has to discuss whatever aspects of that she chooses, if she thinks that is the right thing to do, regardless of who it may adversely impact.

This is the flip side of being a footballer - great opportunity comes with great risk.

There are no winners here.

 

[RWnBluey]

Wow, what a read the last 15 pages has been. Alot of assumptions and infighting. Jake's been a very naughty boy by the sounds of it and needs to seriously sort himself out. No one knows how much the club has, or hasn't done to help Jake. But my bet is that Bevo has done all he can. Jake's embarassment from this will difficult for him to deal with. In looking back on his press conference with trade radio, whoever advised him to speak about how he was the victim should be sacked. Once again who needs further proof that we should back Bevo's judgement.

Also, those asking for the victim to provide evidence should seriously consider the ramifications and further shame for Jake if evidence was forthcoming.

I hope Jake can sort himself out, however long that takes, I just feel so sorry for his two little girls.

Probably the same bloke that also helped feed his gambling addiction.

 

[NBates]

It's like "who cares. Next" on the main board.

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[fronkalicious]

Very very telling the Herald Sun had a low profile staffer write the yarn.

If Robbo, Ralph, warner, Clark etc put their name to a story like that, they'd be blacklisted from clubs left right and centre.

 

[Senor Ed]

Ouch. Other's disagree but I'm lowering my expectations on trade value now. Perhaps the recruiters knew all this but I didn't. I previously thought around 4 - 8 was his range. Now think 12-16. JJ and Toyd just became favourites tho

What did Toyd do??

 

[Mutt]

I find it interesting that nobody says this to posters who claim the "club did all it could/should".

I say to all sides of the debate - hold your fire until a more complete picture of the situation emerges (and I'm sure it will.) No good bagging the crap out of anyone involved until more is known. I'll bet we on here know 20% or less of the total story.

I'd also add that the club has to handle situations like this very, very carefully. The club is Jake's employer. It doesn't own him. It isn't his parent. The club can offer support but it can't enforce acceptance and full engagement with the support offered. What exactly the club did and didn't do is largely unknown at this point.

 

[theAthenian]

Great to see the passion - its been increadibly....obscure
Facts seem irrelevant and somehow moral issues and blind emotions have won the day

Elvis has left the building......And noone at the kennel gave a yelp
Have we been professional? Did we do enough? Have we failed him?
HAVE YOU ALL LOST YOUR MINDS _WE DONT WANT HIM

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

For those who blame the club, what did you expect the club to do?

There is a welfare manager available to speak to who could link Jake into counselling for gambling or relationship counselling. The fact that Abby was managing the finances tells me that some sort of intervention has taken place, undermined by the manager who still gave him money.

If Abby and JJ didn't know he was screwing around, can you reasonably expect the club to know? Abby states everyone knew but her, more a statement than truth. Abby is understandably angry, she has lost her partner, her money, self esteem and feels betrayed. She has lashed out but she could have done this 12 months ago, maybe she does genuinely believe it will help him now, as misguided as I think it was.

If your relationship breaks down, do you expect your employer to allow you to slack off with your work for two years?

The reality is that help is available for Jake, but he has to want it. His 'shock and I am upset' routine on the media, implies he doesn't get that he has created this mess.