5 Thoughts on the Ben Cousins Documentary

For those of you living overseas, under a rock, or just personally despise the square box known as television, the two-part documentary, Such is Life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins screened two weeks ago.  I, along with over two million other Australians, watched both parts.

If you live in Australia, it's hard NOT to know who Ben Cousins is, but for the benefits of international readers and those who do not follow the AFL, I will explain.  Ben Cousins is a Australian Rules footballer, who recently retired after a fourteen-year career in the Australian Football League (AFL).  He played for the team I barrack for, the West Coast Eagles, from 1996-2007 and finished his career with Richmond from 2009-10.  In 2008, he was infamously deregistered as an AFL player for bringing the game into disrepute.  The reason?  Ben is a drug addict who has admitted to using recreational drugs such as cocaine, ice, speed and ecstasy regularly since his late teens (basically since his AFL career began), but successfully managed to evade the AFL's strict drug-testing regime.

The documentary was Ben's idea, and he originally intended it to simply document his journey and recovery after being deregistered.  It turned into a much bigger project and was shot over a period of two years.

Here are five of my thoughts after seeing the documentary:

1.  I still find it really hard to see drug addiction solely as an illness which the 'experts' keep claiming it to be.  Like I said in my previous post, Ben made that initial choice to take drugs.  Certainly his addiction has imprisoned and mastered him, but I don't like the way the term 'illness' is used as if to diminish personal responsibility.  It was stated repeatedly that Ben's personality type (very driven) made him prone to drug addiction.  There is probably some truth in that.  It's hard to have compassion when you've been personally affected by another person's addiction.  Imagine if you discovered someone was taking pictures of your child and using them for porn, but denied responsibility because their porn addiction was an illness!  Would your first reaction be sympathy then?  They also kept stating that drug addiction is a health problem and not a criminal one.  It's not a criminal one in Ben's case where, being a filthy rich footballer, he can afford to spend $10,000 on drugs over five days, as he admitted in the documentary.  But for the average addict, it becomes a criminal problem when they have to steal to feed their habit.  Far be it for me to disagree with the 'experts', but they are seeing things purely from a medical and psychological point of view, and not a spiritual one.

2.  I think Ben has a way to go before he takes responsibility for some of the things he has done.  He admitted seeing the enormous toll his addiction has taken on his family, but he still seemed to have the attitude that he is an island and that his actions don't affect anyone else.  He also seems to misunderstand the difference between forgiveness and trust, and this was shown particularly in the way he reacted to the AFL when they demanded a hair sample for testing prior to his return to football.  He can't expect everyone to believe him simply because he says he has kicked his habit.  Trust takes a long time to rebuild. 

3.  I appreciated his honesty, but the way Ben kept smiling irritated me.  I realise it's probably his personality type, in that he doesn't like crying publicly or showing a lot of emotion, and that's totally his right.  But I think a lot of people would have interpreted his continual cheeky grin as a sign that he doesn't really care or has come to terms with his addiction.  I know a few people like Ben.  They'll be talking about something serious or even quite horrible, and be smiling or chuckling the whole time.  I especially get angry when I'm trying to tell THEM something serious and they smirk or laugh.  It just annoys me.

4.  I think much good can be gained from this documentary.  Many are saying that he is just trying to make money, but he seems genuine in that he wants to help others learn from his experience, and that if his story can help keep one person from drugs, then it was worth it.  I think all teenagers and young adults should watch it.  It's no good burying our heads in the sand and pretending drugs don't exist.  I've been offered drugs during my life.  You probably have too.  Kudos to Ben for making the documentary, and I take my hat off to Bryan Cousins, Ben's father.  He is an amazingly strong man who obviously loves his son.

5.  I was quite worried when I heard that he was retiring from football.  Ben admits in the documentary that he needs a strict routine and to keep busy to keep fighting the temptation, and quotes, "Idle hands are the devil's tool."  I hope he manages to find purpose and direction for his life and wish him well in everything.  More than anything, I pray he comes to Christ.