John MacDonald: The problem I’ve got with Sevu Reece

In relation to what happened in the Christchurch District Court yesterday, I could be telling you right now how outraged I am about All Black Sevu Reece getting a discharge without conviction for causing damage to a car and a garage after he was kicked out of a party for being a drunken pain in the backside.  

I could be thumping the table, going on about All Blacks being role models and how they should know better, and how —if they do break the law— then, because people look up to them, they should face the full consequences of their actions.  

I could be banging on right now about Sevu Reece only caring about what he did that night after Cup Day last year because a conviction could mean an end to his rugby career. Or, put limits on it, anyway.   

I could be accusing him of crying crocodile tears about his apparent drinking problem. I could be saying: “oh yeah, is the drinking only a problem when it gets you in strife with the cops and you end up in court?”  

I could be saying all of those things, but that wouldn’t be strong enough. I’d be sugar-coating it.   

Because this is not just about what happened in court yesterday, this is about someone who I think, in my honest opinion, is taking the mickey.  

One discharge without conviction I could probably accept. But two? Forget about it mate. And for me, that’s a far bigger deal than what he did on that one particular occasion last year.  

I agree with the judge who said yesterday that the consequences of a conviction for that particular offence would far outweigh the seriousness of what he did.   

Yes, he was obviously a clown at that party last year, which is why the guy hosting him asked him to leave in the early hours of the morning.  

Yes, he was a muppet to get into that car outside the party, accelerate up the driveway and crash into the guy’s garage.  

And yes, I get that it had implications for the victims.  

And, yes, I accept that the way the justice system works, the judge yesterday could only consider things from the perspective of that one incident.  

But the audacity to even ask for a discharge without conviction when he got the exact same thing back in 2018 after admitting a charge of common assault on his then-partner. That’s what I’m thumping the table about.  

Because a discharge without conviction is the ultimate ‘get of jail’ card, isn’t it? It’s a ‘don’t even bother going to jail card’.  

And it’s something to be respected. I know if I committed an offence and managed to get the same thing, there’d be no second time.  

I’m pretty confident that I would see a discharge without conviction for the second chance that it is, and I’m pretty confident that you wouldn’t see me trying to get it a second time around.  

That’s because I’m not another arrogant elite sports person who thinks the world revolves around my career. And that’s the problem I’ve got with Sevu Reece.   

When he turned up at court yesterday, he wasn’t saying: “I’m a man fronting up and dealing with the consequences of my actions.”  

He wasn’t saying: “Look at this kids - this is what it’s all about. This is about being accountable.”  

In my honest opinion, what Sevu Rece was saying yesterday was: “I’m a celebrity, get me outta here”.  

And that’s exactly what he did. For the second time. And that, for me, speaks volumes about the man.   

It says to me that nothing’s changed. That there is still this thinking that if you represent your country in sport or whatever, then you are owed something. That you deserve special treatment.  

And, if I had my way, there’s no way the courts would have even entertained the idea of giving him a discharge without conviction.  

Because once is lucky enough. Thinki

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's Podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
In relation to what happened at the christ Church District
Court yesterday, I could be telling you right now how
outraged I am about all black cev Rus getting a
discharge without conviction for causing damage to a car and
a garage after he was kicked out of a party
for being a drunken pain in the backside. That's not
a technical term, but that's what the situation was. I

(00:35):
could be thumping the table, going on about all blacks
being role models and how they should know better, and
how if they do break the law, then because people
look up to them, they should face the four consequences
of their actions. I could be banging on right now
about ce v Rus ce Vie Russ only caring about
what he did that night after Cup Day last year

(00:57):
because a conviction could mean an end to his rugby
career or put limits on it anyway. I could be
accusing him of crying crocodile tears about as a parent
drinking problem. I could be saying, oh, yeah, yeah, is
the drinking only a problem when it gets you in
strife with the cops? Mate, And if it means you

(01:17):
end up in court, I could be saying all of
those things, but that wouldn't be strong enough. I'd be
sugarcoating it, because this is not just about what happened
in court yesterday. This is about someone who I think,
in my honest opinion, has taken the mickey. You know,

(01:42):
one discharge without conviction I could probably accept, but two
forget about it, mate, And for me, that's a far
bigger deal than what he did on this one particular
occasion last year. Now for starters, I agree with the
judge who said yesterday that the consequences of a conviction

(02:05):
for that particular effects would far outweigh the seriousness of
what he did. Yes, he was obviously he was a
dick at that party. It's being a boso, drunken bozo,
which is why the guy hosting him asked him to
leave in the early hours of the morning. It was
about twenty past one in the morning. Yes, he was
a clown to get him to that car outside the party,

(02:29):
accelerate up the driveway and crash into the guy's garage.
And yes, I get that it had implications for the victims,
And yes, I accept that the way the justice system works.
The judge yesterday could only consider things from the perspective
of that one incident, but the audacity to even even
ask for a discharge without conviction when he got the

(02:51):
exact same thing back in twenty eighteen after admitting a
charge of common assault on his then partner. That's what
I'm thumping the table about this morning, because the discharge
without conviction is it's the ultimate get out of jail car,
isn't it. I mean, it's a done even bother going
to jail card, and it's something to be respected if

(03:13):
you're lucky enough to get it. Now. You might say, oh,
this is all easy for you to say, but I
know that if I committed an offense and I managed
to get the same thing, there would be no second
time because I'm pretty confident that I would see a
discharge without conviction for the second chance that it is.

(03:34):
So I'm pretty confident that you wouldn't see me trying
to get it a second time round. That's because I'm
not another arrogant elite sportsperson who thinks the world revolves
around my career. And that's the problem I've got with
sev Res not what happened in court yesterday. This is
my problem. When he turned up at court yesterday, he

(03:57):
wasn't saying, I'm a man fronting up and dealing with
the consequences of my actions. He wasn't saying, look at
this kids, This is what it's all about. This is
about being accountable again. In my honest opinion, what ce
v Reese was saying yesterday was I'm a celebrity, Get
me out of here. And that's exactly what happened for

(04:20):
the second time, and that, for me, speaks volumes about
the man. It also says nothing's changed, nothing's changed, that
there is still this thinking that, you know, if you
represent your country in sport or whatever, then you are
somehow owed something that you deserve special treatment. And if

(04:42):
I had my way, there is no way the courts
would have even entertained the idea of giving him a
discharge without conviction. Reason for that is it once is
lucky enough thinking you can get it the second time,
even thinking you can get it, let alone asking for it, well,
that that is that's arrogance, and it's taking that, you

(05:06):
know what.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
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