opinion

This is why Australia needs men like Nick Kyrgios.

 

Nick Kyrgios has once again set a fine example of what not to do during a sporting match and I couldn’t be more pleased.

The childlike behaviour displayed by the star during his first round French Open victory is an important lesson for us all.

Because teaching individuals what not to do is just as important as teaching them what to do.

How many lessons are framed in the terms of “don’t”?

Don’t be rude, don’t chew with your mouth open, don’t pull ugly faces because the wind might change and don’t throw international scale tennis tantrums when your behaviour is called out.

Source: Getty Images.
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Kyrgios received a code violation for the way he screamed at a ball boy after a tense opening set.

Marching along the court, Kyrgios threw out his left hand and shouted, 'towel!'

The attitude displayed by the star was apparently too much for Umpire Carlos Ramos and so he received a penalty.

But it was the behaviour that came after the ruling that truly showed Kyrgio's poor sportsmanship.

“You’re giving me a code for that?” he said.

“The crowd is too loud for him (the ball boy) to hear me, so I go ‘towel’ louder than usual and you give me a code for unsportsmanlike?"

"Really? What rule am I breaking? For saying ‘towel’ loud, what rule am I breaking?"

Ramos was quick to call Kyrgios out on his excuse.

“It’s not that you said towel loudly. It’s the way that you said it," he said.

The lesson seemed to go straight over the young champion's head as he continued to huff, puff and swear for the remainder of the match.

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But let's all take a moment to appreciate what Kyrgios has done with only three seconds of behaviour.

He has made international headlines with the easiest cautionary tale of all time: bad behaviour - no matter who you are or what you do - means punishment.

This man is no Cathy Freeman - his purpose is not to inspire through incredible feats of athleticism followed by a humble greatness.

The incident at the French Open is not even the first time he has displayed poor behaviour - in fact, it's not even the first time he's yelled at ball boys for not bringing his towel fast enough - there is nothing shocking or new about this incident.

What is shocking is that we don't hold up these examples of what not to do in the same way we hold up what to do.

Nick Kyrgios is a man our children should see because sometimes you have to touch the fire yourself to know it's hot.

Watch the moment Kyrgios made a cheap shot at fellow athlete's Stan Wawrinka's girlfriend.