australian athletes

blarg, is this really a big deal there? i don't understand why they would call it stupid to pose with guns, or that it's grounds for dismissal from the team for deeply inappropriate actions. swimming australia demanded taking down the pics? what's going on?



"Two members of the Australian Olympic swim team are under fire for posing with three guns and posting the photo on Facebook.

Swimming Australia demanded Kenrick Monk take down the picture of him and Nick D'Arcy in a California gun shop. He complied.

In the picture, Monk held pump action shotguns that resemble those used in the Port Arthur massacre of 1996, an incident which still stands as one of Australia's deadliest shootings. D'Arcy held semi-automatic pistols.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph was among the Aussie newspapers to question the decision of the young men. On its Twitter account, the newspaper asked, "Are you offended by this photograph of Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk in a US gun shop?"

The two young men need no introduction to stupidity. D'Arcy was involved in a brawl on the night the 2008 Australian Olympic team was announced and broke the jaw, nose, eye socket and cheekbone of a teammate. He was kicked off the team but avoided jail for the incident.

The lawyer of the man he punched was surprisingly surprised at D'Arcy's current brush with infamy. "I can't believe it," Sam Macedone told The Age. "Despite all the criticism, he still does things that are stupid."

Monk broke his elbow last September and blamed it on a hit-and-run driver. Four days after filing a police report, he confessed that he had actually fallen off his skateboard. Police didn't charge Monk, calling him a "wannabe B-grade celebrity athlete." (Police in Australia sound sort of awesome.)

"It was all just meant to be a bit of fun, the photos were just a bit of fun," D'Arcy told reporters upon his return to Australia on Friday. "If anyone's been offended I deeply apologize. It was never the intent, it was never supposed to be offensive."

There are reports that the Australian Olympic Committee could keep both swimmers off the team for the "foolish" action that was "clearly inappropriate for members of the 2012 Australian Olympic team."

Hey Louis
Probably not as straight forward as it may seem and if you ask a bunch of different aussies you’ll get a bunch of different opinions.

There are a lot of factors at play here:

• Without wanting to open a for and against debate, the gun culture in Australia is very different to that of the US
• The two individuals have a track record of poor judgement and inappropriate behaviour. Nick D’Arcy’s selection in the team was in itself somewhat controversial given his assault conviction and having previously tested positive to banned substances. The AOC has gone out on abit of a limb to give him a second chance and they are a bit peeved that he doesn’t seem to have understood that too well
• The poses would be seen as harmless fun by most, but D’Arcy’s punk gangster pose and Monk’s crossed firearm pose reminiscent of images of notorious Australian criminal, kidnapper and torturer Mark “Chopper” Read would undoubtedly be considered offensive to many.
• Once selected for the Australian teams, athletes sign up to a Team Member Agreement which includes a code of conduct covering standards for general behaviour and use of social and other media. From the AOC’s perspective this is not only about the gun issue, but also about compliance with the code of conduct.
• Australia is highly sports oriented and punches above its weight in many areas. Swimming is one of our elite sports. Whether they like it or not once selected to represent their country Australian athletes take on a high profile. The governing bodies and indeed the broader community expect them to behave as appropriate role models.

Cheers, Robbie

.....and, despite coming from a very wealthy background, D'arcy declared bankruptcy so he wouldn't have to pay the court-ordered damages to his assault victim who faced a very a large medical bill due to facial reconstruction.

As Aussie said, these two guys have been warned before yet still insist on being idiots in public. IMHO there are far more worthy athletes to represent Australia at the Olympics but personal integrity doesn't seem to count for much these days.

Exactly, it's a "representative of our country thing". I don't even like it when my friends post pictures of themselves posing as 'gangsta's' with guns.

Wouldn't it be great if our Olympic shooting team get into silimar strife in a swim-wear shop

Wouldn't it be great if our Olympic shooting team get into silimar strife in a swim-wear shop

Wouldn't it be great if our Olympic shooting team get into silimar strife in a swim-wear shop :D

LOL Yeah, Russell Marks and Michael Diamond posing in a bikini would probably be just as disturbing to most Aussies LOL

ok, i am really confused. now this is getting her into trouble. a swimmer tweeting a pick of herself in a bathing suit. wow. the outrage. what's going on down under?

what's going on down under?

Someone should go bush and investigate

ok, i am really confused. now this is getting her into trouble. a swimmer tweeting a pick of herself in a bathing suit. wow. the outrage. what's going on down under?

Haven't heard about this one. No idea what's wrong with it, but you can bet it has something to do with the bathing suit being smaller than usual. My bet is the complaint came from an ultra-conservative malcontent a$$hole with nothing better to do than look for things to be outraged at. Stephanie Rice in a skimpy outfit is not, repeat NOT, offensive.

Someone should go bush and investigate

Go bush!

Go bush!

LOL ....help!

blarg, the article mentioned that she may be in similar trouble as the above mentioned 2 guys with the australian olympic committee for violating behavioral rules. apparently a swimmer in a swim suit violates olympic behavioral standards.

Complete and utter beat up! Like Jamie I hadn't heard anything about this one and had to go looking for the story. I havenlt found any serious story in Australian media expressing concern or calling for action .... lots and lots of tongue in cheek comments but nothing for real. Overseas media just never seem to get Aussie humour. The only beef the AOC might have with this one is whether the photo and naming of the brand might represent a breach of the Team Member Agreement for promoting a product against the interests of the team sponsor ... but I doubt they'd go there for this one post.

.... Oh, and in my job I have to go bush regularly .... but I can honestly say I ain't yet come across teritory like that Jamie!

cheers, Robbie

... Oh, and in my job I have to go bush regularly .... but I can honestly say I ain't yet come across teritory like that Jamie!

Me either - not that I'd admit to it anyway

Louis - I don't get your original post.

Maybe the spirit of the Olympics would have been better rendered had the athletes been armed with knives? - ed

Louis - I don't get your original post.

Maybe the spirit of the Olympics would have been better rendered had the athletes been armed with knives? - ed

it's not about the spirit of the olympics. it's just taking a picture with guns should be reason to get banned from the olympic team?

I don't know, Louis. If one is an Olympic athlete, I think one has a responsibility to well represent Country, fellow countrymen, sponsors (who pay big money to get them there, btw), history, etc. These kids seem like naive, self-absorbed boneheads to me. Money talks here, and my guess is that the sponsors were appalled and had had quite enough. - ed

I don't know, Louis. If one is an Olympic athlete, I think one has a responsibility to well represent Country, fellow countrymen, sponsors (who pay big money to get them there, btw), history, etc. These kids seem like naive, self-absorbed boneheads to me. Money talks here, and my guess is that the sponsors were appalled and had had quite enough. - ed

the sponsors have nothing to do with decisions regarding who gets to go to the olympics. remember this is not professional sports. the olympics don't cost big money to get to. that's why small countries and athletes without any sponsors can also go.

Wouldn't it be great if our Olympic shooting team get into similar strife in a swim-wear shop :D

Well I guess it was inevitable really ......




Aussie Shooting Team Member Lauryn Mark - wife of another shooting team member Russell Mark. They are involved in a bit of controversy because they are not being allowed to share a room in the athletes village.

cheers, Robbie

now here is an aussie athlete worth watching

[youtube]tMgmYutL9W0[/youtube]

Still not the the same as the pictures published in Black+ White just before the 2004 Athens Olympics. But I guess the Aussies know that all too well I only know about that publication because one of models featured plays for the the WNBA Storm here in Seattle.

- Jos

I'd let her win just to follow her down the track. Who was she trying to warm up with the warm up? The main thing is it worked, so we'll probably get to see it again.

Sadly, Michelle won't be at the Olympics as she is still a junior. And she'll have to beat Sally Pearson, the current world champion, to qualify in 2016. But with that kind of routine I predict she'll be fighting off the male athletes in the Olympic village if she makes it to Rio.

Jos, would that be Lauren Jackson, arguably the best ever Aussie female basket baller to take to the court? She doesn't seem like the type to do a Black+White shoot.

I'd let her win just to follow her down the track. Who was she trying to warm up with the warm up? The main thing is it worked, so we'll probably get to see it again.

Sadly, Michelle won't be at the Olympics as she is still a junior. And she'll have to beat Sally Pearson, the current world champion, to qualify in 2016. But with that kind of routine I predict she'll be fighting off the male athletes in the Olympic village if she makes it to Rio.

Jos, would that be Lauren Jackson, arguably the best ever Aussie female basket baller to take to the court? She doesn't seem like the type to do a Black+White shoot.

that girl for sure truly enjoys what she is doing. the fact that she can move and is as hot as it gets is not as important as the joyful abundance she exhibits. that said, i don't think i have seen a girl that good looking in a long time. i think in four years she'll be beating just about anyone. i think she warmed up a few million people with this already

Jos, would that be Lauren Jackson, arguably the best ever Aussie female basket baller to take to the court? She doesn't seem like the type to do a Black+White shoot.

Hey Philby,

Well of course it's LJ! In a 2008 Seattle Times she expresses her slight disappointment by stating: "Instead of being known for my basketball skills, all of these nudie shots are always the first thing you see." In any case, with Sue Bird she has been the driving force behind the only professional basketball club in town (at least for now) for the last 10 years. She seems to like it here

- Jos