Opinion

William Scholes: Ulster Rugby needs to promote its own values

William Scholes

William Scholes

William has worked at The Irish News since 2002. His areas of interest include religion and motoring.

Ulster Rugby boasts that a night at the Kingspan Stadium "s a safe, enjoyable, inclusive experience for people of all ages"
Ulster Rugby boasts that a night at the Kingspan Stadium "s a safe, enjoyable, inclusive experience for people of all ages" Ulster Rugby boasts that a night at the Kingspan Stadium "s a safe, enjoyable, inclusive experience for people of all ages"

I won't have been the only parent of a rugby-obsessed primary school child to have faced a barrage of tricky conversations over the last few months.

Attempts to hide the newspapers before my son saw that day's 'rugby rape trial' headlines or turn off the radio news bulletins before the latest gory details were broadcast were only partially successful, and the questions inevitably followed.

Part of me resents the fact that my son, who turned nine just a couple of weeks ago, felt prompted to ask "What's 'rape'?" because it had become associated, in some way, with his favourite sport.

"What does 'explicit text message' mean?" and "What did they do on WhatsApp?" were marginally easier to deal with; these days, even P5 pupils are aware of the ills that can lurk online and on social media.

The trial has, of course, now concluded. Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, both Ulster players who have also represented Ireland, were unanimously acquitted by a jury of raping the same woman in a bedroom at Jackson's house in June 2016.

Mr Jackson was also cleared of a further charge of sexual assault.

Two other men, Blane McIlroy and Rory Harrison, were also found not guilty of lesser charges.

Still, the debate around issues raised in the course of the trial continues, as a protest due to take place at Ulster Rugby's Kingspan Stadium tonight attests.

Rival groups of Ulster Rugby fans have taken to placing full-page adverts in the Belfast Telegraph.

Some want Jackson and Olding, who remain suspended from playing duties while a 'review process' is conducted, to be reinstated immediately. Others don't want them to ever wear the jersey again.

Whether Ulster Rugby seek to rehabilitate their players or cut them loose will eventually become clear, though it is a little open to parody that groups of fans are sending messages to the leadership of Ulster Rugby through the medium of crowd-funded newspaper ads, a hitherto under-explored business model in the publishing industry.

But it is also symptomatic of the absence of clear public leadership from Ulster Rugby in the wake of the trial, which has been distinguished by the lack of a visible figurehead at chief executive or chairman level.

It has been a strikingly amateur public relations performance, particularly for a modern professional sporting organisation operating in a commercially-sensitive environment.

A further public relations problem is the disconnect between the promotion of watching a match at the Kingspan Stadium as a family-friendly night out and the sort of behaviour among players evidenced during the trial.

In a prominent section on its website entitled 'values', Ulster Rugby boasts that a night at the Kingspan - as the Ravenhill ground is now known in this era of stadium sponsorship - "is a safe, enjoyable, inclusive experience for people of all ages".

It then lists these values - there's even a little video to help illustrate them - and asks "all our fans to support them throughout the season".

These include: "We drink responsibly"; "We are mindful of our language, especially when there are children and young people near us"; and "We do not tolerate sectarian, homophobic or derogatory language".

One might reasonably expect that the values the club expects its fans to uphold should also be observed by its players.

Ulster Rugby should seek to further emphasise these values with players from an early age.

An analysis, currently being undertaken by Ulster, of the structures and governance of rugby played at schools and clubs by secondary-aged players would seem to present an ideal opportunity to build this in to future coaching programmes.

Schools, in particular, should guard against allowing their rugby players to be put on a pedestal from a young age.

The status of professional rugby players as role models to young players is undeniable.

My son, for example, demands boiled eggs for breakfast because Jacob Stockdale - who is attached to the club he plays for and was the outstanding player in this year's Six Nations - told the boys that they were part of his diet.

But the real strength of rugby, as with any sport, lies in the grassroots and the volunteers who turn out to coach and encourage young players.

There will be around 1,400 of them, including my son, in more than 100 teams turning out for a mini rugby tournament in Co Antrim tomorrow.

Each of them will be an Ulster boy or girl worth standing for - but what of the Ulster men?