Without contracts all sports would be a mess. Clubs would not be certain how many players they could muster on any given day - and players could not be certain that there would be a pay cheque at the end of any given week.
The whole concept of contracts is one of mutual obligations. Contracts stipulate how long a person will play for a club or a sport - and in return there are rules the player is obliged to meet - and what amount of remuneration will be received.
Sonny Bill Williams walked away from such a contract, left the country - and it is rumoured that he has changed codes and will play for a foreign club at several times the salary he was receiving here.
There are suggestions of legal action. A contract is a legal document that can be enforced through the courts and the whole sporting spectrum will be watching the outcome with interest.
They need to do so. If Williams gets away with walking out of a binding contract because he can get more money elsewhere then the whole concept of teams of franchised players goes out the window.
This is the time that all sports should stand united. There is no difference between players changing clubs, changing sports or changing codes if it means ignoring a legal contract - and thumbing their nose at the law.
If sport is to survive without the chaos of broken contracts and player's lured by the offer of more money then they must present a united front. No player under contract should be engaged by any other sport unless the club concerned releases the player from the contractual obligation.
The one certain penalty that will ensure compliance is a world life ban, removing the rebel from any hope of further fame or fortune !
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