Player power in the GAA

As Hurling Blog says, the "prima donnas" in Cork are at it again. And as he rightly calls it, it's all about player power. Gerald McCarthy makes that clear in his statement. The players are abusing their high public status and forgetting how they got to be inter-county stars. 

No matter what the truth behind how McCarthy's appointment was handled it's hard to argue with his position on what he considers the nub of the problem:

"The fundamental issue here is whether players have a right to effectively appoint their own managers or veto the appointment of managers. I don't believe they should. It is undesirable, unworkable and untenable. It is a basic truth in sport that managers manage and players play. For Cork hurling to capitulate to a demand that would not be entertained in any other sport would be massively damaging to hurling here".

Consult them by all means, but that should be the limit to their involvement. Makes sense.

The problem in Cork is that the players, with their rancorous relationship with the County Board, clearly no longer respect the County Board as a legitimate authority to make these decisions.