Wishing Kieran Foran All The Best As I Think About Player Welfare

Apr 29, 2016 League Freak Parramatta Eels 0

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It came as a shock last night when the Parramatta Eels released the following statement:

The Parramatta Eels have granted Kieran Foran an indefinite leave of absence to seek the best possible medical treatment regarding a personal matter.

The club will be making no further comment and request that the media respect Kieran’s privacy at this time.

The first reaction most had to this news was “What has happened?”. People started to try to piece things together and from there you had people tossing up “inside information”, otherwise known as complete bullshit, and things went downhill after that.

It made me feel really sorry for Foran, who is obviously going through some tough times, and it made me think about the wider issues regarding the reporting and dissection of the private lives of players.

Everything I’ve ever heard about Kieran Foran is that he is a really good person. He is the type of person that knows who he is and knows where he is headed. I think the way he has handled his move to the Parramatta Eels backs that up. With all of the turmoil going on surrounding his move, the weight of expectation that accompanies his big salary, and all of the talk of possible salary cap ramifications for the Eels, Foran has been rock solid and playing like someone that has nothing weighing him down.

That is why the Eels wanted him so much. It wasn’t just about Kieran Foran the player, it was also Kieran Foran the person that they needed.

What ever issues he is dealing with, lets all just hope he gets the support and care he needs to work through them.

As for the media’s handling of Foran’s leave, I was disgusted!

Media outlets saying Foran had been “stood down” were nothing but sensationalism in the face of facts. We saw journalists purposely misleading their followers on social media by misrepresenting the situation to either gain themselves some attention, or get people to hit the web sites they work for. It was gross to watch it play out and was followed up by a flood of rumour and speculation by people on social media who take their lead from what so called journalists were “reporting”.

The funny thing is that these same people will then cry foul when players don’t want to deal with them!

People need to realise that NRL players are not characters in play, they are real people. They lead real lives and deal with real problems. They have real pressure that they face, and just because they play for your favourite club doesn’t mean their personal lives are fair game for anyone to comment on as they see fit.

Think of how many people you have seen talk about Kieran Forans personal life in the last in the last 24 hours. Now think of how many of those people have never even met him.

As someone that can really only talk about Kieran Foran the football player, I wish him all the best. I hope he gets through what ever he is dealing with and I hope things turn out well for him in the long run.

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• Kieran Foran

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