Australian swimmers punished for posing with firearms in CA

[petronius]

D'Arcy, Monk to have Olympics visit cut short

SYDNEY -- Australian swimmers Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk will be sent home from the London Olympics as soon as their events have finished as punishment for posting pictures of themselves posing with guns on social media sites.

...

"We are prepared to allow them to compete but we have 400 other team members to consider and we are not going to have them distracted," Green said in the statement. "It is too big a risk."

The pair could yet face more sanctions, with a Swimming Australia investigation continuing.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=oly&id=8029269

Sad to see the Wild West atmosphere and low standards of my state jeopardizing the Olympic experience for 400 Aussies. It's also sad to see what restrictive gun laws have done to once-proud Australia: young athletes unable to pose with firearms without looking like complete and utter dorks...


D'Arcy (left) and Monk

[bowens43]

1. good.it's nice to see there are sensible people in the world

Too bad we can't do similar things here. ALL guns should be banned. It's sad that we live in a country that allows the the death merchants to ply their trade freely.

[southernyankeebelle]

2. Oh boy you just openned up a bag of worms. Be ready friend.

[rrneck]

3. It's impressive

to watch someone feeding off their emotions. Carry on and have fun.

[gejohnston]

4. yeah about that

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-12/gun-ownership-on-the-rise/3662504

speaking about Australia being as free in other areas too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_by_country#Australia

Notice how they parallel Europe in the 1920s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Australia

[BiggJawn]

11. Yes, it is sad.

So what are *YOU* doing in the fight to ban High Fructose Corn Sweetener?

Talk about your "Death Merchants".

[derby378]

13. In your world, "sensible" appears to be a code word for "tyrannical"

Welcome to the Department of Pre-Crime. You posed with firearms, and that means you have violent intent, step right this way...

[Meiko]

5. The Aussie leadership involved in this

should be ashamed. What possible harm could this do. Just kids having a little fun with a photo op.

[petronius]

8. It's indicative of a knee-jerk, emotional, antipathy to firearms

The Australian official quoted said "...Australian Olympians are required to meet very high standards of conduct..." as if safe and legal use of firearms was somehow deficient in that regard. It's a 'gunz baad!' response...

(Although to be fair, these two do not seem to be the most stellar representatives of Australian athletes in general - the reaction may have been different if the athletes in question had had less of a history of misbehavior. These two doofuses are under a bit of a microscope, I think.)

[Warren Stupidity]

9. Apparently the members of the Australian olympic team are required to behave

appropriately at all times, these two clowns have been repeatedly unable to do so, and are having their wrists slapped. They will have to leave immediately after their events are over, instead of hanging out and partying. Oh the horrors!

[PavePusher]

10. Please explain how this was "inappropriate".

Then explain how it's a problem for the rest of the team.

The Austrailian shooting team should probably be sent home ommediately, before they can be photographed actually firing guns.

Oh, teh horreruers!1!!1!11!

[Warren Stupidity]

12. It is up to the Australian olympic team to decide what is or is not appropriate.

But it appears that gun porn is considered repulsive in Australia. You might disagree, but then again it really is none of your business.

[PavePusher]

15. "gun porn"? What is that?

They made it everyone's business when they made it public.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. They have rules, these clowns have repeatedly broken them.

As to your other question:
Here

[PavePusher]

17. Can't be porn, no-one's naked.

What rules?

[Warren Stupidity]

21. naked guns. Porn is in the eyes of the beholder, or community standards.

It may come as a surprise to you, but all the major olympic teams have rules that control conduct on and off the field. When you join the team you agree to the rules. Violate the rules, and in this case you get your wrist slapped and have to go home instead of getting to party like a fool.

[PavePusher]

24. Please cite to this rule about not having one's picture taken while holding a firearm....

in a country where it is 100% legal to do both at the same time.

[friendly_iconoclast]

22. That's odd, it seems they had no problem with 'gun porn' a couple of years ago:

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympics-2012/rifle-range-bonding-session-reveals-olympic-double-standard-20120610-204ev.html

Rifle range bonding session reveals Olympic double standard

Samantha Lane
Published: June 11, 2012 - 3:00AM

IN 2007, the Australian swimming team went to a Canberra shooting range as a team-bonding session.

Libby Trickett - or Lenton as she was when pictured here - was the star of the show, reeling off a few shots for the cameras....

Can we assume your other posts are of similar accuracy?

[spin]

25. The Austrailians have a shooting team?

How is that possible?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. this will just feed into the myth. stupid.

[sarisataka]

7. What I find funny is

they are good enough to compete in the events but not good enough to be around the other athletes...

Ring any bells from U.S. history?

[derby378]

14. Oooh! Ooooh! Ooooooh! Pick me! Pick me!

[Hoyt]

18. Good on Australian Olympic Committee. That photo is about as sick as these.

Last edited Sun Jun 10, 2012, 04:05 PM - Edit history (1)

Australia got smart about guns in 1996.

[friendly_iconoclast]

20. You're *almost* as well-informed as you are influential:

http://www.smh.com.au/action/printArticle?id=3364951

Rifle range bonding session reveals Olympic double standard

Samantha Lane
Published: June 11, 2012 - 3:00AM

IN 2007, the Australian swimming team went to a Canberra shooting range as a team-bonding session.

Libby Trickett - or Lenton as she was when pictured here - was the star of the show, reeling off a few shots for the cameras.



Yet now, Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk find themselves being disciplined for taking a happy snap in an American gun shop while on a swimming tour and posting it on social media sites.

Their teammate, Eamon Sullivan, has backed D'Arcy and Monk in railing against the Australian Olympic Committee - which has ordered the pair home early from London because they posted the pictures online - and Swimming Australia, which is set to impose its own sanction today.

Raising the fact that Australian swimmers shot guns at a Canberra firing range in a so-called team bonding exercise in 2007, Sullivan said Monk and D'Arcy "haven't really done anything wrong"....

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-07/diamond-mark-head-shooting-team/4058532

Record-equalling Diamond, Mark head shooting squad

Posted June 07, 2012 14:45:26

Michael Diamond and Russell Mark will both equal the record for most Olympic Games by an Australian athlete after being named in the 17-strong shooting team for the London Olympics.

Diamond and Mark, whose sixth Games equals the records of James Tomkins, Colin Beashel and Andrew Hoy, will line-up alongside Beijing gold medalist Warren Potent, Athens champion Suzy Balogh and 2004 bronze medallist Adam Vella.

It is the most accomplished shooting team sent to an Olympic Games, with six of the 12 Olympic medals won by Australians in shooting history belonging to the London 2012 squad....

[ileus]

19. Australia lost their way with firearm freedoms and basic civil rights in 1996.

Sad to see the knee jerk whiners winning the PR game on such an innocent picture as this.

[Hoyt]

23. Yep, those tough Aussies said fuck fools carrying guns on our streets.

My hats off to them. American right wing wusses would soak their pants at the suggestion here.

[spin]

26. If I wished to be as impolite and insulting as you were in that post ...

I would ask you if you wear Adult Depends while you are in public since you do appear to have an irrational fear of those who legally carry concealed.

But I will admit that you specified "right wing wusses" so I may have to give you a pass.

[krispos42]

29. Says the person who lives in terror...

...that the person next to him at the diner might be legally carrying a gun.


I'm honestly convinced you're much more concerned about the millions of licensed CCW permittees hurting you than the the millions of unlicensed carriers.

[Glaug-Eldare]

27. I'm all for gun rights, but their team, their rules.

Professional athletes can be required not to eat yogurt with active cultures or wear blue shirts. Their liberties are abridged in exchange for the privilege of competing on their nation's behalf.

Those guys in the picture don't appear to be very mindful of gun safety, anyway. Are shotgun dude's fingers on the triggers? I can't quite tell in this light.

[belcffub]

28. It's hard to tell but it looks like they had poor trigger discipline...

hopefully their punishment included some training...

[Nuclear Unicorn]

30. Because banning isn't enough

people are being punished for mere imagery.