THE GAA has effectively been semi-professional for some time now. It was front and centre of my thoughts when I came across a Cavan county player who shall remain nameless, in a gym this week.
He was in the process of running through a number of pre-hab exercises, which lasted at least 45 minutes, and this was before he even started his aerobic and weights session. Serious commitment.
Pre-hab was only really coming to the fore when I was exiting inter-county football and the days of beginning to lift weights three minutes after coming into the gym room was considered archaic almost overnight.
I hated change – not only was pre-hab significantly time-consuming, but you also feel it is not a work-out if you don’t expend some sweat.
I would have considered my commitment to inter-county football, and football generally, as extreme, partly because I did not have, nor wanted, anything else in my life.
My sole purpose was football, or so I thought at that time.
Today’s current players are extremists, but it must be highlighted that this is the case by choice.
Very few players nowadays at inter-county level would be doing the kind of hours now expected if they didn’t want to be playing at that very top level.
Do they feel the pressure to participate at times? Of course, but that’s the nature of elite sport.
The GAA at county level no longer fits the definition of ‘amateur’ from a sporting perspective and the time commitment now considered normal has even transgressed into the upper echelons of the top club teams.
Let’s’ just remind ourselves of the definition of amateur; a person who engages in a pursuit, especially a sport, on an unpaid rather than a professional basis.
I cannot think of anyone other than the players (in most counties) in an inter-county set-up who fit the definition.
I am excluding, of course, the loyal kit men and logistical support as, in most cases, these individuals have been and continue to epitomise true volunteerism.
‘Show me the money’ is a quote that springs to mind when I think of how professional sports people now approach contract talks, including the questionable behaviour of some agents who interact as intermediaries on their behalf.
Of course, the quote noted is from the movie Jerry Maguire, starring Tom Cruise.
Cruise plays a pro-agent who suddenly develops a conscience and consequently produces a report slating his industry and professional sport.
His job and life implodes, as does he, but thanks to a loyal professional American football player Cruise represents (Cuba Gooding Jr), he manages to work his way back into the industry.
Hollywood endings and all that.
Now, do I think future inter-county players will have agents? No. The closest representative body to individual agents will be the Gaelic Players Association and, despite the many people who question their role (and existence), there is no doubt that the GPA has been very good to inter-county players.
Without their establishment and influence, do we honestly believe that the generous county boards up and down the country would be delivering boots and gear willy-nilly?
Would the educational programmes and counselling services be available to the inter-county player had it been up to county boards?
As Croke Park has developed into the commercial and corporate animal it is currently, with significant funds being generated annually, the question should be ‘why are inter-county players not properly remunerated’?
I think it has to be only a matter of time and not ‘if’ but ‘when’ this follows through as a matter of policy.
I have stated my support for inter-county players receiving something much more substantial than they currently do.
I honestly believe that both the Irish government and Stormont (whatever use it is) has ignored the financial benefits inter-county football alone brings to the GDP’s national economy, north and south.
Without the selflessness of the players, what would bind these local and county communities together – certainly nothing ever established at government level in recent years.
The funding to support our county players could originate at Croke Park or governmental level via properly structured grants – and I am not talking about ‘paltry’ sums or token gestures.
Currently there are ‘so-called’ amateur athletes who receive full-time grant funding from the government and associated sporting bodies.
The reality is that players are taken for granted, the last people appreciated in the pyramid.
In a fair sporting society, the players should be respected on par with the managers and coaches who are directing them.
From a sporting perspective, we see the development of the successful rugby union commercial interests over the years and how this has trickled down respectively into real benefits for the players.
Given players have a relatively short-lived playing career, they are being properly remunerated for their efforts and, in many cases, they carry with them life-debilitating injuries or concussions.
We need not go into professional soccer and analyse Alexis Sanchez’s weekly salary or that of Paul Pogba, but suffice to say that any similar effort displayed by our inter-county players on the field will not exactly be greeted with huge fanfare.
Moreover, the criticism can be even more vitriolic toward our GAA players at times.
The start of the Championship is fast approaching which is a hugely popular and exciting event in the annual GAA lover’s calendar.
Considering the commitment of the average inter-county player in getting to this point in the year, never mind their career, I believe that the association greatly under-appreciates their value.
They are not alone.
The governments. north and south. take them for granted too.
No other body contributes as positively, either directly or indirectly, toward society.
From a player’s perspective, I just see don’t see the handshake and pat on the back as cutting it anymore.
