Any leader is there to be shot at. You don’t have to look too far in modern day politics to see that.
Paraic Duffy’s proposals to change the quarter-finals of the football championship have been met with no end of hysteria and then, when others at Congress stand up in support of such motions – like Jarlath Burns did – the criticism and frustration is projected ferociously in that direction to anyone in the vicinity.
Regardless of the outrage, the Super 8 format will come into play as of 2018 and the All-Ireland final will be brought forward three weeks. It’ll be entertaining no doubt but it will cause serious congestion in the fixtures – less doubt.
However, the Chairman on the Standing Committee on Playing Rules – that’s Jarlath Burns, by the way – stands by the changes and he calls them a “starting point” and “a step in the right direction”. He knows they’re not perfect, he knows there are more transformations to be made but, in his own words, “we had to be realistic about what we could get through Congress”.
The Armagh native appeared on one of Monday’s two GAA Hour football podcasts to defend his stance and lift the lid on what the Gaelic Players Association actually did to help their players.
They’re supposed to be representatives of the players, but Burns revealed the extent to which the GPA went to in order to object to the motions at Congress and, honestly, it is very damn grim.
In the close build-up to Congress, they released a statement and opposed Duffy’s motion. One of their main points was because of the lack of sufficient and meaningful consultation with players regarding all aspects of the proposal.
That’s quite ironic when you listen to what Jarlath Burns had to say on their action – or lack of – on the latest GAA Hour.
“This proposal came into my inbox on the 5th of August – six months ago. We were told – as all units were told – to consult widely with your membership on it,” Burns told SportsJOE’s Colm Parkinson during a spirited debate on the matter.
“On the 17th of October, the clubs got the document – that was three months later. In between that, the following week, there was a Central Council meeting. The GPA chairman attends that meeting as a representative of the players.
“Now, they have all the players’ email addresses. At that stage, there was no issue with them setting up focus groups and going around the country. They have 10 full time staff on their secretariat. They could’ve been meeting with their players, talking to their players, explaining what it was and going through all of that with them.
“On the 8th of February, three weeks before Congress, they sent a WhatsApp to their players.
“They sent a WhatsApp basically with the three proposals, yes or no. No educational process, no consultation, no focus groups and not even a SurveyMonkey around those players to ask, ‘What would you like to see? Are you for or against the provincial championship? The backdoor? The B championship? A Champions League format? What would you like to see?’ Nothing.
“Now, for me, that is a serious leadership issue in the GPA.”
He didn’t stop there. And why should he have? What he was saying was important.
“They were told about it on the 5th of August. The following week at a Central Council meeting, they said nothing. There was a further meeting on the 29th of October after an extensive document which their representative was at. This was a Central Council meeting where only one issue was discussed on the agenda. They said nothing.
“Now they’re talking about a lack of sufficient and meaningful consultation when it’s their job to consult with the players – it’s their job, with their well-staffed secretariat. For our county players to get a WhatsApp three weeks before Congress – a simple yes or no – for me, it’s a player welfare issue.
“What were they at?
“From a strategic level, that is a serious problem. If you want to talk about a disconnect, there is some disconnect between the GPA leadership and their players.
“They have every single player’s email address. In my school, I wouldn’t move two inches without informing my staff and sending out a SurveyMonkey asking ‘what do you think of this, that, or the other’. And we move forward on that and that’s only a school of 100 staff.
“They have the email address of every single player. Why did they not properly consult with their players? It was their job to consult with players.
“As a result of that, they created a narrative that the players were not properly consulted with. For me, that’s not good enough and it’s not acceptable.”
Listen to Burns’ full interview below. It is bloody fascinating.
