Why Mick Fanning is the greatest Australian sportsperson of all time
There is a lot of shallow and misguided idolatry of sports stars in this country. Often, it’s based on the sportsperson’s narrow physical ability without consideration of the person as a whole. We regularly dismiss casual misogyny or weekend drug abuse as larrikinism provided the perpetrator can kick a footy straight or bowl a wrong-un. There are plenty of Aussie sports stars alive today in this category, and although they are great sports “players” they make terrible sports “people”. Being a great sportsperson is more than physical talent. When you accept the fame, cars and sex, you inherently accept the responsibilities of being someone who Australian society looks up to, and there is no one who understands these responsibilities better...