You may agree or disagree with this... but after the All Blacks' loss against South Africa over the weekend, there is some worrying behaviour unfolding in New Zealand.
We're a passionate rugby-loving nation, and we should be proud of our All Blacks.
But there is nothing to be proud of over the terrible toxic comments made about coach Ian Foster over the recent All Blacks losses.
We're better than this New Zealand.
Read Flynny's full piece below:
So the All Blacks lost again yesterday morning in a rugby game against South Africa. What I've seen in the last few weeks unfolding here in NZ really worries me.
Ian Foster, the All Blacks coach is copping it.
The vast majority of people are blaming him for the team losing.
Social media is full of people baying for his blood.
And some of the things I've seen written actually make me feel sick.
I would class myself as a real All Blacks fan, I love the All Blacks.
In the past few weeks, I've seen comments about Ian Foster saying:
He's a clown.
He's a loser.
He's an embarrassment.
I've seen comments about his weight, his appearance, his intelligence.
I've seen comments saying he should leave the country.
This is way beyond okay.
We all surely realise now that we have a big problem with mental health in NZ, in particular men's mental health.
So put yourself in Ian Foster's shoes, knowing people all over the place are speaking about him like that.
What do you think that might be doing to his mental health? His wellbeing?
Ian Foster is someone's partner, someone's Dad, someone's son.
How would you feel if he was part of your family and people were speaking like this?
He may well lose his job, but that's not the point.
We all need to think before we speak about others like this.
Kiwis, we are better than this.
It's time for us all to act like it.
