People for All Seasons

Jim Stynes, the former President of the Melbourne Football Club, Brownlow medallist and record holder for the most consecutive games played, lost his battle with cancer some years ago. He was a remarkable man; a man who stands as a role model for every one of us.

I was fortunate to meet him during the Brownlow medal evening in 1997. I spoke to him during a lull in proceedings and what struck me was Jim’s capacity to listen. Here was a revered footballer who took the trouble to ask a mere mortal about my profession- education. He then told be about the Reach programme he had set up two years before on the streets of Footscray and Fitzroy. Stynes spoke with such passion that it was difficult not to go out immediately to do something about the plight of these adolescents.

Football was a passion but not his sole passion! Jim could see the value of being a high-profile footballer in improving the lot of these thousands of youth touched by his programme.

In an age of vapid, cult of the celebrity, it is refreshing to see someone who surmounts the need for adulation, using instead their abilities to change other lives. I will never forget the 15 minutes or so that I spent in conversation with Jim Stynes.

I remember he said to me “You know Paul that I always wanted to teach. Well, he did teach others to see their worth, the greatest aspect of teaching and his legacy will abide with us all.

Sportspersons are role models whether they like it or not. Because they are in the public eye, they do have both the rights of celebrity but also the responsibilities to show their rerspective sports in the most favourable light and to serve as a beacon to youth who will someday aspire either to the elite level or simply as a competitor who loves the sport.

Only yesterday an adult ran onto a rugby field to assault a child, a referee was assaulted and some fans racially vilified a player. Where does this behaviour stem from? Role modelling, surely and setting the bar higher.

We need role models more than ever in these lockdown days. People who are not afraid to model hope, resilience and empathy. What happened to taking full responsibility for actions? Politicians know how to assuage guilt by simply flick passing to someone else.

There is a book called “Legacy” that tells of the famous All Blacks Rugby team. There is a tradition of humility, of not getting too far ahead of yourself. Each of the squad is required to clean the dressing rooms thoroughly after each match. No entitlement here!

So, let’s celebrate people like Jim Stynes, Anna Mears and so many others who display grace in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and show us that we can both endure and prosper.

Mr. Paul Cullen

paul.cullen@cg.catholic.edu.au