Ben Barba at the Dally M Awards last year
THE CANTERBURY Bulldogs have indefinitely suspended star fullback and Dally M winner Ben Barba claiming that the rugby league player had breached the club’s code of conduct and needed time to seek “professional help” for personal issues Barba was facing off the field.
Barba, whose stellar 2012 season included a grand final appearance and winning the NRL’s highest individual accolade, is believed to have approached his management and Bulldogs officials over the weekend with concerns regarding issues involving his private life. News Limited sources are reporting that these ‘issues’ are related to an alleged problem with gambling.
Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg spoke to media today, saying that the club had made the decision to suspend Barba from the team as a way of keeping him out of the public spotlight. He said that the club did not know whether “Ben will be back in six weeks or six months.”
Greenberg said: “Ben needs help. He needs professional help. As a club and as a game we need to focus on Ben Barba the person and not Ben Barba the player. This is not one issue. It is the manifestation of a number of issues stemming from the breakdown of a personal relationship.”
The Bulldogs CEO confirmed that Barba’s personal problems stemmed from his split from long-term partner Ainslie Currie during the off-season. He said that Barba had made the decision to notify the club that he was struggling in advance of his scheduled appearance at the official launch of the 2013 NRL season on Wednesday night.
Greenberg said: “By terminating his contract it doesn’t help him. What we are trying to do is put support services around him and people around him to help him individually off the field. That is the sort of club we are, we help ours when they need it, but he needs to take a big step up here and if he doesn’t take that step up he won’t play. If he helps himself he will be a Bulldogs player for a long time but he needs to help himself.’’
Barba released a statement claiming that he felt that he had let down his family, friends and supporters by stepping down and was seeking professional assistance for personal matters that he faced “day to day”.
The statement said: “I’m incredibly sad to be stepping aside as I’ve been so blessed with what’s happened to me over the past few years, but I feel as though I would be wearing a mask if I didn’t confront the matters I’ve been dealing with until now. I feel it is best to deal with these problems front on and I believe that by doing so this will make me a better person and player in the future. This will be a step by step process for me and whilst I hope to return to football soon, I hope that through this next period you can respect my privacy so that sooner rather than later I can return to playing rugby league as best I can. When I do, I hope that everybody sees a better person.”
NRL CEO David Smith said that he agreed with the Bulldogs suspending Barba, claiming that it highlighted the fact that rugby league players often faced “real-life challenges” and that they needed the support of both the fans and the code itself.
Smith said: “This appears to be a challenging set of circumstances for a young man in the public spotlight and it is a time for us all to give him and the club some room to find the best way forward. Players are heroes to millions of fans but they are also real people facing real-life challenges and like anyone there are times when they need support. Given the attitude of the Bulldogs there seems every reason to believe that Ben will emerge a stronger person and I think fans will respect him and the club all the more for the approach they have taken.”
The Bulldogs are scheduled to kick-off their 2013 campaign on Saturday 9 March against the North Queensland Cowboys.
[ Source: Australian Times ]