Sydney Swans ruckman/forward Jesse White has become an unwitting pawn in the Kurt Tippett trade sage. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: adelaidenow
JESSE White has become the unfortunate pawn in negotiations over Kurt Tippett.
Now that 201cm giant Angus Graham has landed at West Lakes to ease any big-man shortfall, what for White as the Crows head back to the drawing board to re-evaluate the deal over their star defector?
This is the unsavoury part of the AFL's meat market as a man's future is bartered for like a replica handbag in Bali.
Forget Tippett, the game now has an undeniable responsibility to White's wellbeing first and foremost.
In an era where player welfare on and off the field is paramount, surely the AFLPA has an obligation to make this process better for the innocent parties like White.
The emotional strain on a player as he is loved one minute and loathed the next in a very public forum potentially leads him down a path fraught with genuine danger.
Our great game must be better than this.
At 24, White has plenty of upside as a footballer but his best interests are definitely not here in the fishbowl environment of Adelaide.
With an uncertain future at Sydney he should be seeking a move to the Gold Coast, Brisbane or GWS to get his opportunity for more game time.
In our state, White will always carry the burden of being the man that replaced Kurt Tippett and he doesn't have to look far to see how unfair that type of expectation can be.
Potential team-mate Richard Tambling has carried the psychological burden of being the man taken the pick before Lance "Buddy" Franklin in the 2004 draft and it has haunted him his entire football life.
Few recall picks one, two and three but everyone knows Tambling went at four and Buddy at five, and without doubt that emotional baggage has hindered Tambling's on-field performance.
White's unprecedented publicity over the past five days will pale in comparison to what he will receive if he ever dons the tri-colours in a game for premiership points.
It's time to force Tippett to find his new home through the pre-season draft
The best outcome for White is a move to one of the AFL's non-traditional heartlands .
THE best outcome for the Crows is to show the courage they demand from their players and deny Tippett an easy passage to his club of choice.
It's time to put principle ahead of player and force Tippett to find his new home through the pre-season draft and accept nothing for him in return but restored pride and renewed respect.
That decision will have its critics but this is a pivotal moment in the history of this football club.
They don't come along often but when they do best get them right or as their arch-rivals at Alberton clearly show get it wrong and the consequences will haunt you for many years to come.
This is now a board decision and any criticism of list manager David Noble is way off the mark
Noble is not gun negotiator but planner for the future.
The call on Tippett's trade is so significant it must be rubber stamped by the appointed decision makers of the AFC.
This is a call that determines a club's standing in the football community, that defines a club's respect for its players and its supporters, and in return their love for their club.
Defining moments like this have been few and far between for the Crows since their debut season in 1991.
The change of coach from Graham Cornes to Robert Shaw at the Crows caused two years of turmoil and significant collateral damage but was saved by a similar big moment in the appointment of "The Messiah" Malcolm Blight.
The trading of Tony Modra, the recruiting of Wayne Carey and the sacking of Neil Craig are other key moments in the club's history.
The loss of their highest paid player in Tippett with their premiership window wide open will be another.
The Crows have declared they will get " the best god damn deal possible" for Tippett but in this case they will be damned if they do and damned if they don't.
Sometimes the best deal is no deal at all.
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