Sean Cavanagh's bad example makes poor sportsmanship acceptable

Irish Examiner columnist Mike Quirke believes the antics of Tyrone’s best player influences the attitudes of his teammates.

Writing in his Wednesday column, Quirke argued that Tiernan McCann’s theatrics against Monaghan "seemed to typify a theme of dishonesty and an apparent lack of sportsmanship."

Quirke wondered who among the Tyrone set-up can talk to McCann about his responsibilities, pointing out that team captain Sean Cavanagh is also prone to unsporting episodes.

"Sean Cavanagh is the leader of the Tyrone squad and is a footballer that would grace any team in the land, but his behaviour as alpha male of the group has made it acceptable for his team-mates to act in an unsportsmanlike way," wrote Quirke.

"He too went to ground softly after getting brushed by Conor McManus on his way to take a free which was moved forward because Cavanagh himself wouldn’t retreat the requisite distance. He along with substitute Justin McMahon and a few others were the antagonists of the piece all day. It was unpleasant to see one of the greatest players to ever play the game lead his team to victory in such a classless manner."

Quirke recalled previous instances of diving and simulation in Gaelic football, including a high-profile incident involving Kerry colleague Aidan O’Mahony, and accepted that poor decisions can be made in the heat of the moment.

"Tiernan McCann is not the first GAA player to throw himself to the floor in a ridiculous fashion and he won’t be the last either. These decisions are made in split seconds, sometimes your brain fools you into thinking this would be a good idea. It obviously wasn’t.

"But his act on Saturday last was more than a just poor snap decision, it seemed to typify a theme of dishonesty and an apparent lack of sportsmanship being displayed by this latest edition of Mickey Harte’s Tyrone all evening long."

Quirke argued the incident typified a win-at-all-costs philosophy employed by Mickey Harte’s side and feels it will damage the team’s reputation in the eyes of Gaelic games supporters.

"It’s wasn’t so much McCann’s dive; nor Tyrone’s generally inability to stay on their feet following any type of a challenge, or even their repeated feigning of injury to bring about a more severe refereeing penalty that really irritated… no, it was their constant, almost systematic sledging of Monaghan players that really left a sour taste in the mouth.

"If winning Sam Maguire is literally all that matters, you can quickly lose sight of all perspective of acceptable sportsmanship and what legacy you want to leave behind for the next generation of footballers to follow in your footsteps."