Are we allowed to criticise Australian national teams?

We don’t like criticising our own, but here's how we should be viewing the Boomers' World Cup outcome this year.

The Australian Boomers failed at the FIBA 2023 World Cup.

That much was obvious to those watching on televisions around the country. Head coach Brian Goorjian admitted this last week. “We failed [at the World Cup], and, you know, you deserve criticism when you fail,” Goorjian told News Corp.

Credit: FIBA

Goorjian’s candour warrants special acknowledgment. He gave voice to the obvious, in a manner that is seldom seen from professional coaches in the modern age. The Ted Lasso-ification of professional sports has given voice to a culture of endless positivity. At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, I will admit to the benefits of seeing the world through an optimistic lens (especially in the world of youth sports), although something good can become toxic if it is excessive - especially when it is devoid of the truth that underpins our reality. For example, truths like the understanding that failure is part of life, and professional athletes are held to a higher standard when they enter the field of play. Most importantly, there’s the truth that great privilege in the sporting arena also comes with great responsibility.

Speaking truth into the Boomers’ performance at the FIBA World Cup requires the holding of multiple competing thoughts. In a media environment where groupthink formulates on Twitter (calling it X feels as hollow as praising a tenth-place finish at a World Cup) and boomerangs upon a dissenting voice with the power of a thousand clicks, this is challenging for many, and simply too hard for some. It creates a tendency to swim between the flags and speak around the results we see played out.