Maradona should warn us: excusing our sports stars’ bad behaviour has become an Australian pastime

Last week, I received a blunt text message. “Maradona. Should be a lesson to every child.”  

In other words, a complete waste of a life. 

And a reminder here in Australia we need to remind, remind, remind our youth and hero our past sporting heroes who have NOT let themselves descend into a decayed decadence as the decades pass. 

The person who sent me that text had no idea that an hour before I had given a potted version of Diego Maradona to my three primary school-aged kids, complete with the on-field highs and lows as well as the off-field woes and drug scandals that cut short the life of one of the greatest footballers of all time. 

History exists to not only remind us of what has happened but to give others the…